Britain, Evolution doubts grow...

[Thor]

Very telling stuff in those stats.

Whats sad is the 22% college graduates who don't believe in Evolution, maybe they are arts majors

I wonder IF the wording "do you believe in Evolution" is problematic in the discussion today, because really its like asking do you believe in gravity.

Maybe the wording should be reworded.

I hate to think that people think Evolution belief is like belief in god, a leap of faith and nothing else. Sadly I'm sure in the instances of most of those in the "dont believe in Evolution" camp thats exactly the case.

By the way, on National Geographic HD at least, there's been some episodes of "Evolutions" which show specific species and how they evolved, the 1st 3 I've seen are on the Bear evolution, Bird from Dinosaur evolution, and my favorite whales evolution.

I see nothing on the guide for at least 2 weeks, if I see it come up again I'll post for you guys, its a very well done show.

Oh another thing, if anyone wants to download the new BBC Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life just send me a PM and I'll get you a link.

This is the program for the National Geographic series "Evolutions" http://natgeochannel.co.uk/programmes/evolutions

[flip]

I also believe this one from the link Photon posted is important:




Hopefully all the non-evolution people will die out and the next generation of youngsters will be even more likely to believe in evolution and this problem will go away.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by flip

I also believe this one from the link Photon posted is important:




Hopefully all the non-evolution people will die out and the next generation of youngsters will be even more likely to believe in evolution and this problem will go away.

They should change the "% No opinion either way" to too afraid to speak my mind or too stupid to know what evolution is.
I hate polls like this, It's a straight forward question so answer the damn question, It's not like your name gets published.

[Thor]

For those of you who viewed AronRa's youtube series called Foundational Falsehood of Creationism.

He's got a new 2 parter in the series, now part 15:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wv6k...eature=related

[Thor]

Four out of five Britons repudiate creationism

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009...lligent-design

The east of England may be the most godless region of the UK, according to a "belief map" published by a theology thinktank today. Almost half of adults there believe the theory of evolution makes God obsolete, and more than 80% disagree with creationism and intelligent design, which propose that humans were created by God in the past 10,000 years, and that life owes its complexity to divine intervention.
The map was drawn up by the thinktank Theos following a survey of 2,060 people across the country who were chosen to be representative of the adult population.

This is more what I expected, anyhow check out this cool interactive map which shows the various parts of the UK and their views:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/inte...uk-creationism


Neat stuff.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Thor

For those of you who viewed AronRa's youtube series called Foundational Falsehood of Creationism.

He's got a new 2 parter in the series, now part 15:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wv6k...eature=related

*Update*

AronRa has a more recent series of videos entitled Falsifying Phylogeny, in which he builds a case more specifically against the tired argument that there are unbreakable boundaries between species that prevent large-scale changes anticipated by evolution.

AronRa's critique of this argument in six video instalments is positively withering, and should also be required viewing for anyone who wishes to gain a more comprehensive understanding of biology. I would especially recommend Part Six: "Phylogeny Challenge", but it is all very, very good.

[DFO]

Caught some of 'What Darwin Never Knew' on Discovery last night - a worthwhile watch.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by DFO

Caught some of 'What Darwin Never Knew' on Discovery last night - a worthwhile watch.

I watched bits of that myself yesterday, as part of my repertoire of sick-day activities that included viewing both Iron Man movies. What I continue to find most remarkable is the surprises uncovered in mapping the genome: it seems so counter intuitive that humans actually possess fewer genes than corn. Who would ever have thought to propose such a preposterous claim?

[Byrns]

Is this the anti-creationist/anti-christian forum?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Byrns

Is this the anti-creationist/anti-christian forum?

I am a Christian myself, so I don't know how you managed to conclude the latter. As for "creationism", the impression is most certainly enhanced by the presence of a high number of astute members who are either scientists, or are keenly interested and enthusiastic about science. As "creationism" is not science, but rather religious propaganda intended to adjudicate for a very specific metaphysical impression of reality, then the animosity that persists towards it from within the scientific community should be not in the least bit surprising.

I recommend that you better familiarize yourself with the specifics of the debate, and why the science community feels so urgently about repudiating creationism. It has nothing to do with anything specifically "anti-Christian", and is actually fuelled by a strong desire to promote a more rationally sensitive society.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I am a Christian myself, so I don't know how you managed to conclude the latter. As for "creationism", the impression is most certainly enhanced by the presence of a high number of astute members who are either scientists, or are keenly interested and enthusiastic about science. As "creationism" is not science, but rather religious propaganda intended to adjudicate for a very specific metaphysical impression of reality, then the animosity that persists towards it from within the scientific community should be not in the least bit surprising.

I recommend that you better familiarize yourself with the specifics of the debate, and why the science community feels so urgently about repudiating creationism. It has nothing to do with anything specifically "anti-Christian", and is actually fuelled by a strong desire to promote a more rationally sensitive society.

This is exactly how I feel. The scientific method seems to be very poorly taught in all levels of school and, as a result, is very poorly understood. I frequently meet people who claim to follow science and the scientific method but do not have a hot clue how it really works.

[MelBridgeman]

life is so much easier when you accept the fact that other people may not believe the same things you do. and changing them aka christian missionaries etc..isn't worth your time.

things like this TAKE time to change, hundreds of years....chill the #### out.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

This is exactly how I feel. The scientific method seems to be very poorly taught in all levels of school and, as a result, is very poorly understood. I frequently meet people who claim to follow science and the scientific method but do not have a hot clue how it really works.

By the same token, we as a society depend upon scientific reasoning in our daily lives instinctively, but without any recognition of its constituent parts. When deciding whether to leave the house with or without your umbrella, do you base your decision upon consulting a weather service, or only after making the requisite offerings of appeasement / arousal to whichever deity you find to be the most influential in matters of meteorology?