Belief in Evolution No Longer a Metric for Science Literacy at NSB-NSF. YAY!
| April 12, 2010 | Posted by scordova under Darwinism, Education |
There are many biologists and philosophers of science who are highly scientifically literate who question certain aspects of the theory of evolution
John Bruer
National Science Board, National Science Foundation
Lead Reviewer
What Happened to Evolution at NSB
Way to go National Science Foundation. Say it again!, “There are many biologists and philosophers of science who are highly scientifically literate who question certain aspects of the theory of evolution.”
The NCSE of course whines over these developments:
A section describing survey results about the American public’s beliefs about evolution and the Big Bang was removed from the 2010 edition of Science and Engineering Indicators. According to a post on the AAAS’s Science Insider blog (April 8, 2010) and a subsequent report in Science (April 9, 2010; subscription required), although survey results about evolution and the Big Bang have regularly appeared in the National Science Board’s Science and Engineering Indicators, its biennial compilation of global data about science, engineering, and technology, they were absent from the 2010 edition.
NCSE’s Joshua Rosenau decried the decision, saying, “Discussing American science literacy without mentioning evolution is intellectual malpractice ….”
the response
Officials at the National Science Board defended the decision. Louis Lanzerrotti, chair of the board’s Science and Engineering Indicators committee, told Science that the questions were “flawed indicators of science knowledge because the responses conflated knowledge and beliefs.” George Bishop, a political scientist at the University of Cincinnati who is familiar with the difficulties of polling about evolution, regarded that position as defensible, explaining, “Because of biblical traditions in American culture, that question is really a measure of belief, not knowledge.”
HT: www.NCSEweb.org
97 Responses to Belief in Evolution No Longer a Metric for Science Literacy at NSB-NSF. YAY!
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At least 3 members of the National Academy of Sciences question the role of Darwinism in the emergence of features of biology:
1. Phil Skell
2. Michael Lynch
3. Masotoshi Nei
At least 4 Nobel Prize Winners:
1. Richard Smalley (Chemistry)
2. Ernst Chain (Medicine)
3. Christian Anfinsen (Medicine)
4. Eugene Wigner (Physics)
High time we drop BELIEF in evolution as a metric for science literacy. Polling for knowledge is ok, but polling for belief is inappropriate.
BA77 in Msg 88:
“PlanetQuest – Exoplanet Exploration
Excerpt:
CURRENT PLANET COUNT: 430
stars with planets: 363
Earthlike planets: 0
http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/
Not a good batting average thus far creek;”
From a little deeper in your own citation: http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.go....._index.cfm
“If planets like Earth exist, with smaller masses and longer orbital periods, their discovery will require more sensitive instruments and years of precise, sustained observations.”