There's a particularly lively thread on this issue which many list members may have seen on the ISEN-ASTC mailing list.  Seems to vex the americans much more than it does us brits.

Strikes me that some philosophy of science in schools wouldn't go amiss, particularly with reference to evo/cre 'debate'.  It would also help with citizenship issues where these touch on scientific topics - stem cells for example.  The AS level in science for public understanding currently under trial goes some way towards this.



Josh Phillips
Science Communication Officer
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
Manchester M3 4FP
0161 6060117
www.msim.org.uk



> -----Original Message-----
> From: psci-com: on public engagement with science
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Martha Holley
> Sent: 10 August 2005 15:37
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] (Un)Intelligent Design (was [PSCI-COM] Content
> filters)
> 
> 
> The theory of evolution is science: hypotheses are actively tested by 
> experiments, with the aim of disproving the hypothesis.
> Intelligent design is religion: an attempt to make evolution an 
> easier pill to swallow for those people who believe that religious 
> doctrine is in conflict with science.
> 
> By all means, teach intelligent design in school, but not in science 
> lessons, only in religious studies lessons.  Even then it should only 
> be given the time is deserves: we are not talking about a major new 
> world religion here, just a niche within a niche.  Everyone has the 
> right to be exposed to different beliefs.  But this is not science.
> 
> If ID is taught in a science classroom, you risk undermining the 
> entire scientific process and also completely confusing students 
> about what science even is!
> 
> Martha
> 
> 
> >Hi All
> >
> >Yes, lets expose kids to both sides of the argument. If the 
> arguemt is
> >conducted fairly (and we can make deciding if it is or not 
> part of the
> >process) then evolution has noting to fear from the so 
> called Intelligent
> >Design hypothsis as this latter is so full of holes as to be 
> basically
> >meaningless. It can also, and this is my main point, be shown to be
> >internally inconsistent as much of the supposed 'design' of 
> organisms is
> >anything but intelligent.
> >
> >As someone who earns a crust by (mostly) intelligent design 
> of hands-on
> >interactive exhibits and other things I find the 'Intelligent Design'
> >hypothesis to be insulting as it is clearly advanced by 
> people who do not
> >know anything about how human intelligent designers work.
> >
> >Leaving aside the many examples of crass bad design in the 
> human body, such
> >as the shared gullet and windpipe, non repairing dentition, 
> and the blind
> >spot in the eye one of the most amazing things about all 
> organisms is the
> >amount of detailed 'design' they share across large groups 
> of very different
> >organisms.
> >
> >Designed artefacts don't have this characteristic - its 
> quite common to find
> >that different solutions to the same problem have no common 
> components, and
> >that in producing an improved vesrion of a particular 
> product the designer
> >has gone right back to basics and reworked the whole thing 
> from scratch. So,
> >two succesive models may bear the same name and come from the same
> >manufacturer but they don't have any components above the 
> nuts and bolts
> >level in common. Good examples can be found in things like 
> cars, where a
> >late model Ford Escort (front wheel drive), has nothing 
> physically in common
> >with an early model Ford Escort (rear wheel drive) at all.
> >
> >Now as I understand things the living world isn't really 
> like this at all -
> >if it were then surely things like using mice as test-beds 
> for human drugs
> >would be much less successful than they are- and it seems to 
> me that this
> >similarity across huge ranges of species actually argues 
> against there being
> >a designer, at leats in any terms we can understand, because 
> a designer
> >would have been able to start from scratch to produce 
> improved forms on
> >several, if not many, occasions.
> >
> >Hope this is interesting and not too off the point
> >
> >Cheers for now
> >
> >
> >Richard Ellam
> >L M Interactive
> >3 Winterfield Road
> >Paulton
> >Bristol
> >BS39 7RF
> >
> >e: [log in to unmask]
> >
> >tel/fax 01761 412 797.
> >
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