If Scientific Thought Is The Pinnacle of Civilization, Why Is The Missing Link Still Missing?
science has brought us some great stuff. granted, most of it has been by accident, but science does deserve some credit for making our world better and easier. i am a big fan of anti-biotics (when they are actually needed), anti-sceptics, and of course, nutri-sweet. a lot of science can't be explained, even by the scientists themselves. complexities like why aspirin actually works and why scientists will believe in anti-matter (which they can't see, but can observe the effects of) but not believe in God (which they cannot see, but can observe the effects of) continue to puzzle us all.
many people in western societies worship science. often, they display the same, if not greater, intensity of feeling than a supposed "bible thumper". the average public school-educated person will proudly tell you how the universe started with the big bang, how mankind came from monkeys (starting with single-celled creatures that eventually crawled out of the muck- yes, i know- i went to public school too) and that plants may have the same range of emotions as human beings, we just don't know it yet. sadly, almost to the person, not one of them can explain- with logic or even coherent sentences- any of these concepts. religious people are written off as mind-numbed robots blindly following some antiquated principles, letting others do their thinking for the. ironically, these very people, who cling to science as a lifeline to brilliance, are some of the most brainwashed zombies i have ever met. what makes it worse is that they wear the cloak of intellectual superiority, puffed up with pride about their extensive knowledge base, when in actual fact the dogma they adhere to is as intellectually bankrupt as any fringe-element cult.
case in point, the missing link. now, i hate to pick on old ML. he really never did anything to me. but i do remember the endless science units, year after year, shaping the young minds of me and my classmates, continually questing after this holy grail of science- the missing link. we learned about darwin the way christians learn about john the baptist. we studies his theories with the fervor of missionaries in the field. we watched the video made about the scopes monkey trail- inherit the wind?- and practically cheered for clarence darrow's eloquent defense of evolution (as opposed to backward creationism, espoused by that hateful william jennings bryant). we read article after article that backed up evolution- without ever hinting that there was another viable option. no "theory" of evolution. no this is one explanation of several. not, heaven forbid this is one version of the truth. not that this theory is as full of holes as the flat earth theory, but we just keep on teaching it because we can't seem to let it go. nope, we studied evolution.
okay, before you have a seizure, let me disclaim. no, i don't wish we'd studied the bible instead. yes, i've heard of separation of church and state, although i would postulate that my understanding of the concept is somewhat greater than yours. no, i don't think that equal time has to be given to every opinion on every subject.
that being said, i can't believe the textbooks STILL persist in "educating" students about evolution. when i was in school, the missing link was due to be found at any moment. although no links had actually been found to that point, and no one alive or in recorded history had actually seen or heard about any species morphing into any other (or even a higher order of itself), we and our earnest teachers believed with our hearts and minds that the missing link was out there, laying dormant for generations, just waiting to be found to put the last piece of the puzzle of darwinian evolution. well, young scientists, the missing link is still missing.
as a student in college, i learned about punctuated evolution. at least the was an attempt at intellectual honesty, although even punctuated evolution was little more than voodoo in terms of explaining the problems with the theory of evolution. really, there are no convincing ways to explain the development of complex structures like the eye in evolutionary terms. really, that could be okay if they were just honest about it. we think species evolved from single-celled organisms. we think there is survival of the fittest, in spite of the evidence to the contrary sitting in the seat next to you. we think that adaptive traits are procreated into the majority, while maladaptive or useless traits are bred out. okay, fine. but to teach scientific dogma, while at the same time belittling and invalidating religious dogma, and not even entertaining competing scientific theories, is just intellectually wrong, educationally unsound, and morally bankrupt.
so, if scientific thought is the pinnacle of civilization, why is the missing link still missing?
many people in western societies worship science. often, they display the same, if not greater, intensity of feeling than a supposed "bible thumper". the average public school-educated person will proudly tell you how the universe started with the big bang, how mankind came from monkeys (starting with single-celled creatures that eventually crawled out of the muck- yes, i know- i went to public school too) and that plants may have the same range of emotions as human beings, we just don't know it yet. sadly, almost to the person, not one of them can explain- with logic or even coherent sentences- any of these concepts. religious people are written off as mind-numbed robots blindly following some antiquated principles, letting others do their thinking for the. ironically, these very people, who cling to science as a lifeline to brilliance, are some of the most brainwashed zombies i have ever met. what makes it worse is that they wear the cloak of intellectual superiority, puffed up with pride about their extensive knowledge base, when in actual fact the dogma they adhere to is as intellectually bankrupt as any fringe-element cult.
case in point, the missing link. now, i hate to pick on old ML. he really never did anything to me. but i do remember the endless science units, year after year, shaping the young minds of me and my classmates, continually questing after this holy grail of science- the missing link. we learned about darwin the way christians learn about john the baptist. we studies his theories with the fervor of missionaries in the field. we watched the video made about the scopes monkey trail- inherit the wind?- and practically cheered for clarence darrow's eloquent defense of evolution (as opposed to backward creationism, espoused by that hateful william jennings bryant). we read article after article that backed up evolution- without ever hinting that there was another viable option. no "theory" of evolution. no this is one explanation of several. not, heaven forbid this is one version of the truth. not that this theory is as full of holes as the flat earth theory, but we just keep on teaching it because we can't seem to let it go. nope, we studied evolution.
okay, before you have a seizure, let me disclaim. no, i don't wish we'd studied the bible instead. yes, i've heard of separation of church and state, although i would postulate that my understanding of the concept is somewhat greater than yours. no, i don't think that equal time has to be given to every opinion on every subject.
that being said, i can't believe the textbooks STILL persist in "educating" students about evolution. when i was in school, the missing link was due to be found at any moment. although no links had actually been found to that point, and no one alive or in recorded history had actually seen or heard about any species morphing into any other (or even a higher order of itself), we and our earnest teachers believed with our hearts and minds that the missing link was out there, laying dormant for generations, just waiting to be found to put the last piece of the puzzle of darwinian evolution. well, young scientists, the missing link is still missing.
as a student in college, i learned about punctuated evolution. at least the was an attempt at intellectual honesty, although even punctuated evolution was little more than voodoo in terms of explaining the problems with the theory of evolution. really, there are no convincing ways to explain the development of complex structures like the eye in evolutionary terms. really, that could be okay if they were just honest about it. we think species evolved from single-celled organisms. we think there is survival of the fittest, in spite of the evidence to the contrary sitting in the seat next to you. we think that adaptive traits are procreated into the majority, while maladaptive or useless traits are bred out. okay, fine. but to teach scientific dogma, while at the same time belittling and invalidating religious dogma, and not even entertaining competing scientific theories, is just intellectually wrong, educationally unsound, and morally bankrupt.
so, if scientific thought is the pinnacle of civilization, why is the missing link still missing?
posted by BlogBlond @ 1:58 PM
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