On 2006-03-16, Dan Youngquist wrote:
religious belief and superstition. Some folks don't think kids should
even be told that evolution is only a _theory_, not a proven fact, and
that there are other views with good scientific arguments behind them.

As soon as someone says '...evolution is only a _theory_' you can
immediately tell they actually have no idea what a scientific theory
actually is. They are equating the scientific meaning of 'theory' with
the common every day use of 'theory'.

The common use of 'theory' often really means a hunch, or a gut feel, or
maybe even as much as a conjecture. In science, a 'theory' is something
much different. A theory must be falsifiable for a start. It must make
predictions that can be tested. I won't waste my time here going over
the full definition of a scientific theory, if you're interested, Google
will help you do that.

Electricity is also "just a theory" too. So is Einstein's Theory of
General and Special Relativity. Even though, as you put it, they are
'just a theory', you tell the residents of Hiroshima in 1945 that E=MC^2
is part of something which is 'just a theory'.

On the other hand, Intelligent Design is not a theory or even a
hypothesis - it only qualifies as conjecture. It is not scientific in
any way. It has no place being taught in science classes. That's not to
say it should *not* be taught at all - perhaps it should be taught as
what science ISN'T and why it is not science. Perhaps it should be
taught in religious studies classes and philosophy classes. But it
should not be taught as a valid theory in a science class because it is
not science.

Teaching the theory of evolution is not religious or religious
fundamentalism. It is just science. Of course, those who don't even
understand what a scientific theory actually is (probably because their
own science classes failed them) are not likely to agree.

--
Dylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man
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