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Piltdown
Skeptic Friend
USA
312 Posts |
 Posted - 03/14/2002 : 19:39:58
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Professor Richard Dawkins and other scientists allege that a British school is teaching "ludicrous falsehoods" and should be re-inspected. The specific allegation is that fundamentalist teachers at the school are pushing creationism as science. This is minor stuff by American standards, but it does show that nobody is immune:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/education/newsid_1872000/1872331.stm
Abducting UFOs and conspiring against conspiracy theorists since 1980.
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dhuxley
New Member
USA
15 Posts |
 Posted - 03/15/2002 : 05:02:49 [Permalink]
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And I thought the British were above all that nonsense.  |
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NottyImp
Skeptic Friend
United Kingdom
143 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2002 : 12:41:27 [Permalink]
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I think you'll find we British folk are capable pretty much all the same stupidities as any other nation. Having said that, I sat up and took notice of that item when browsing the BBC news site. I've followed the Creationist/Evolutionary debate with moderate interest from afar, but this is the first time I've seen it come up in the context of mainstream education in this country. If I spot any follow-up items that give more detail or exactly what the accusations are, I'll post them here.
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Piltdown
Skeptic Friend
USA
312 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2002 : 12:55:59 [Permalink]
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Here's a more detailed story, with comments from Professor Dawkins:
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,664608,00.html
The headmaster of the Emmanuel School uses a favorite argument of American creationists, the "monkey-see" fallacy: quote:
To teach children that they are nothing more than developed mutations who evolved from something akin to a monkey and that death is the end of everything is hardly going to engender within them a sense of purpose, self-worth and self-respect.
Of course, he has no facts to support this sweeping declaration, but creationists are notably oblivious to the real significance of facts.
Abducting UFOs and conspiring against conspiracy theorists since 1980. |
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Piltdown
Skeptic Friend
USA
312 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2002 : 13:11:20 [Permalink]
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AAAARGGHH! Just noticed this in the same article:
quote:
The star speaker at today's conference at Emmanuel is Ken Ham, president of the Answers in Genesis international ministry, whose lectures include Evolution: The Anti-God Religion of Death.
Ham (no relation to the astro-chimp of the same name) has been the subject of many threads here at SFN. http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=297&FORUM_ID=2&CAT_ID=1&Topic_Title=You+make+the+call%21&Forum_Title=Creation%2FEvolution
He is a major celebrity in the creation-wacky world. His presence, and the financial backing of the Vardy car empire, indicate that this may be a big deal after all.
The Guardian will recognize this as an American cultural invasion, but resisting it may present some difficulty. These are shrewd, ruthless, and highly experienced manipulators. The British scientific and education communities may not have the experience to cope with them. American evolution activists have been hardened by decades of experience and still barely manage to hold the line against creationist propaganda. This may develop into a major struggle.
Abducting UFOs and conspiring against conspiracy theorists since 1980. |
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James
SFN Regular
USA
754 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2002 : 20:08:51 [Permalink]
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quote:
AAAARGGHH! Just noticed this in the same article:
quote:
The star speaker at today's conference at Emmanuel is Ken Ham...
I'd ask if Great Britain would consider keeping him, but I think that'd be seen as an act of war.
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." -Buddha |
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2002 : 20:21:12 [Permalink]
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I thought Ken Ham was Australian.
@tomic
Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law! |
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NottyImp
Skeptic Friend
United Kingdom
143 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2002 : 04:39:11 [Permalink]
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quote:
The British scientific and education communities may not have the experience to cope with them.
Luckily we have Richard Dawkins (of course), who is a high-profile advocate of evolution, and is both extremly erudite and inexorable in his opposition to creationism. I have seen him debate these issues on British TV with religious leaders, and you can bet your bottom dollar trhat he will be attempting to set up similar debates as we speak.
We also have the advantage that there is no large base of people currently accessible to Creationists in Britain, as there is in America.
Still, not a pleasnat development, I'll admit.
"Specialisation is for insects." Robert A. Heinlen |
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Piltdown
Skeptic Friend
USA
312 Posts |
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NottyImp
Skeptic Friend
United Kingdom
143 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2002 : 04:52:22 [Permalink]
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Unfortunately, he seems somewhat discouraged given his comments at the end of the article.
"Specialisation is for insects." Robert A. Heinlen |
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