The problem with a democracy is that right and wrong are not two fixed things. They are defined by what the majority thinks. This, is a flaw in democracy.
With that bit of background information, I would point you out to the following articles in MSNBC and the Washington Post on Intelligent Design being accepted to be taught in Science classes as an alternative theory on how life evolved. You can find several more here . *Sigh*
I have no complaints against Intelligent Design as such. Sure, an intelligent being could have created the universe and have guided how we live. It’s a theory and it fits the data. It could even be true. But, it’s not science. It’s not science, because it cannot be proved/disproved, and this is the one of the basic principles of what science is. If it cannot be proved or disproved, it’s not science. There, I said it again. So, please don’t term ‘Intelligent Design’ as science, however right you (proponents of id) feel it is.
If the same standards were applied to the Flying Spaghetti Monster , and if enough people thought that it was applicable, it should be allowed to be taught in class. The very fact that you cannot distinguish between the FSM theory and the Intelligent Design theory, Intelligent Design should not be taught in school as part of a science class .
Update:
I spent about two hours going through the transcripts of Kitzmiller vs Dover Area School District (Pennsylvania) hosted at Talk Origins where a similiar thing was proposed. Thankfully, the court ruled in favour of ID not being taught in school. It is quite an interesting court trial, (finally, i have some respect for lawyers) where Professor Behe, a professor at Lehigh University is a main proponent of ID. BTW, the board members in favor of ID were kicked out by the sensible pennsylvania people.
I quote from the transcript:
Q Big Bang was between the lines here.
A Actually, I mention the Big Bang as often as I can. I’m surprised I didn’t have it in here.
Q Maybe we could take this as a precedent.
And if you could go to the second page. And the second to the last paragraph, you write, “Intelligent design may mean that the ultimate explanation for life is beyond scientific explanation. That assessment is premature. But even if it is true, I would not be troubled. I don’t want the best scientific explanation for the origins of life; I want the correct explanation.”
There, you said it yourself. Now don’t call it science and don’t teach it.
Here is a link to the part of the transcript I talked about before. This is basically the difference between science and conjecture. Scientific theories describe mechanisms, ways and means by which it happens. All Professor Behe’s theory says is whatever happens, it’s because of intelligent design. And so, it’s does not afford the possibility of being wrong, and hence is not a scientific theory.
I would recommend the readers of my blog to read the transcripts. It’s long, but it’s a good read!
Another Update :
Here is the summary of the Dover Trials, for those short on time.
Creative Commons
Repost ? I’ve read the same thing somewhere, and i Think it’s your blog. Ah, i remember “Link of the Year” ?
I thought you knew about it being taught in classes then. Anyways, I guess their only point is how to make a good design depends on how well you can sell it to an audience ! (Marketing !) rather than how true it really is !
Bigmouth
Bigmouth: No, you got it a bit wrong. When I posted the link, it was a proposal before the Kansas School Board. It was approved yesterday. Plus, I don’t quite follow you on the marketing aspect. Could you elaborate on that part?
Well, the part about it being the link of the year seems to be prophetic. Cause now, it surely is!
robotgeek
According to your logic evolution is not science since it can not be proved or
disproved. The difference is that evolution is also illogical since no one can
explain where any of the matter came from to start the process.
Truth in Teaching
It doesn’t really matter if we don’t know where we started off from. Evolution is change in the gene pool of a population over time. “Truth in Teaching”, you should definetly take some time out to read the Talk Origins FAQ
robotgeek
Truth in Teaching evolution can be proved!!! Of course!! Where did you hear/read that it cannot be???????????
Evolution not being proved is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.Why do you think
that people suffering from HIV keep changing their medication/combination of anti viral drugs??
It’s because the pathogen keeps evolving to keep up with change in its
environment (quality and quantity of medication in the bloodstream of the patient)
.I gave you a virus example as the lifespan of viruses is so small, that their evolution
is actually an observable phenomenon (by humans).
So rest assured, evolution is a proven scientific fact.
Trying to say evolution didn’t happen is like saying gravity doesn’t exist.
Or that water isn’t a polar molecule.Or that elemental carbon/sulphur cannot
exist in many forms.These just are facts of life/universe.We take time learning
about them, that’s all.
Or
deepti
Sorry about the extra ‘or’…I was carried away and listed many more examples and
then realised that my point was made anyway.
deepti
The fact that they name it “Intelligent Design” is deeprooted in their ignorance of what started it all.
Some people, due to, probably their highly programmed lives, just cannot accept the non-existance of an “Intelligent Entity”, what we call GOD.
“It has been the trend of mankind to attribute great discoveries to the amazing power of the human mind, yet it has also been the the trend of the same kind to attribute great ignorance to the work of GOD”
Ankur Tangirala