ScienceDaily offers us a study from Ohio State University demonstrating that:
Scientific Literacy Happens …When Students Think For Themselves
Giving students (in this study, introductory-level biology lab courses in college) less instruction and more freedom to think for themselves dramatically increases their test scores. As in 83% vs. 23%.
In my previous blog about Randy Olson and the Dodo movie, I found myself wondering how it is that such an opponent of design intended to paint a flattering picture of the Discovery Institute. Well, Randy Olson himself has shown up to offer his explanation:
The history of science shows the questions asked by science are often influenced by the culture of the questioners. Many critics have convinced themselves that ID is to be viewed through the lens and filter of religious apologetics and a political agenda. That's their perspective. But ID can also be viewed as the product of our own times. We live in a reality that is increasingly artificial. We increasingly communicate through our technology, rely heavily on technology to move about and work, and entertain ourselves with technology. Our imaginations become reality and we have linked ourselves to this new reality. This reality is dependent on our machines. So dependent that were we to lose the ability to generate power to run our machines, most of us would die. With each passing year, Nature is becoming the "other reality."
Nature, of course, is tremendously powerful. Currently, our technology cannot substitute for it and it doesn't take much to remind us of this. Nevertheless, it is also clear that Nature cannot account for our technology. When the Earth was born, Nature had almost four billion years to spawn something as humble as the toaster. The toaster only exists because we exist. Our machines only exist because we exist. Mind clearly has done things that Nature did not do.
The recent topic on the rabbit's digestive system, and whether or not it is an example of dysteleology, and whether or not dysteleology can be used as an argument against Intelligent Design Theory, reminded me of Michael Denton's comment, when he discussed the inverted vertebrate retina here:
Vision is such an important adaptation in higher vertebrates that if the retina is indeed "wired wrongly" or "badly designed" it would certainly pose, as Dawkins implies, a considerable challenge to any teleological interpretation of nature.
Nick Matzke and Mesk made comments in several threads yesterday [Feb. 21] about how "information about the environment" is encoded in genomes. This set me to thinking (look out!) about how positively Lamarckian that sounds, even as used in purely defensive terms against objections to the current theory's arbitrary restrictions on adaptive "information" and its actual origin.
Matzke readily admits that life forms (and their genomes) "closely match" - are adapted to - their environments. I doubt that many biologists would dispute this, not even Richard Dawkins, who admits that life "looks designed." The issues revolve around how life acquired the appearance of design.
First, it became unconstitutional to teach "creation science" in public school. Then it became unconstitutional to teach intelligent design as well. And not so long ago, even the attempt to just teach criticism of traditional evolutionary biology failed. But surely, a 16-year-old student in Russia who wanted to be exempt from being taught Darwin's theory would mark the onset of the theocracy that ID critics have been fretting about for years? No, apparently not:
A Russian court on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit brought by a 16-year-old student who said that being taught the theory of evolution in school violated her rights and insulted her religious beliefs.
After looking through his book (see below the fold), there is something about Pennock that suggests he is a closet ID sympathizer. I can't quite put my finger on it and neither can I find a good quote to show you what I mean. I can't expect him to admit this publicly, but still, I just get this weird feeling that he is winking at us.
So Robert, if you are out there, I'm receiving the vibes.
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| Life's Solution by Simon Conway Morris |
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| The Design Matrix: A Consilience of Clues by Mike Gene |
