Texas Vote May Challenge Teaching of Evolution

tboulay writes "The Texas Board of Education will vote this week on a new science curriculum designed to challenge the guiding principle of evolution, a step that could influence what is taught in biology classes across the nation. The proposed curriculum change would prompt teachers to raise doubts that all life on Earth is descended from common ancestry. Texas is such a large textbook market that many publishers write to the state's standards, then market those books nationwide. 'This is the most specific assault I've seen against evolution and modern science,' said Steven Newton, a project director at the National Center for Science Education, which promotes teaching of evolution." Both sides are saying the issue it too close to call. Three Republicans on the school board who favor the teaching of evolution have come under enormous pressure to reform their ways.

As someone from Alabama, let me say thanks

[elrous0]

I'm just grateful this wasn't us for ONCE. Of course, now our redneck legislators will feel the need to one-up the Texans with some Bill declaring Jesus the official state mascot or something.

Re:Cue the following:

[PrescriptionWarning]

I'll take combo #1, #2 and #3, hold the mayo, super sized please. Oh and hold the pickles, they give me gas.

Common ancestry: Hera

[fahrbot-bot]

The proposed curriculum change would prompt teachers to raise doubts that all life on Earth is descended from common ancestry.

Duh, her name was Hera Agathon [wikipedia.org].

Re:Cue the following:

[bytethese]

Gas due to the evolved symbiotic bacteria that live in your intestines or did the magically appear there? :)

perhaps they shouldn't vote

[circletimessquare]

perhaps it would be better to release the members of the board into a remote ecosystem with limited resources, and allow them to compete, whereby the most well-adapted board member is selectively chosen not to starve, and he or she at that point decides the issue of whether or not to teach evolution

if on the other hand, angels are heard singing, a bright light shines from the sky, and a booming voice chooses one particular board member while the rest perish in a scream and a flash, destined for eternity to hell, maybe that will decide the issue instead

Re:Cue the following:

[Ethanol-fueled]

FUD. Flamebait. You rage, you lose:

Texas is such a huge textbook market that many publishers write to the state's standards, then market those books nationwide.

No. That would never fly nationwide. It would lead to an ugly mess of boycotts and TPB for the major publishers, who are all located in Northeast America.

Texas school board chairman Don McLeroy...believes that God created the earth less than 10,000 years ago...The textbooks will "have to say that there's a problem with evolution -- because there is," said Dr. McLeroy, a dentist.

Awhawha? A dentist? And what the hell does that joker think about all of those Biology classes he took in college? Oh, wait. According to another site, Texas Governor Rick Perry, who supports teaching Intelligent Design in high school science classes, recently hand-picked that assclown from Bryan University, a Christian college in Tennessee.

Exhibit 'A' for the theory of evolution

[slashdotlurker]

Frankly some of these people are an embarrassment to the country. Maybe they can band together parts of the old Confederacy, make Chuck Norris its new Jefferson Davis, and get the hell out of the US. As it stands, most of these states survive on federal aid handouts (they take more in federal assistance than give in in taxes). The reason is simple - educated people and the high paying jobs that follow them don't want any part of their 19th century thump-the-good-book-to-get-all-answers "paradise".

With Chuck Norris, they can take their rightful place along with witch doctors of Africa, voodoo practitioners of the Caribbean, fundamentalists in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan, etc. and form a living human history museum of sorts, where we can bring our kids off and on to show how we used to live in the old times.

Evolution states among other things that not all members of the same species evolve/progress at the same rate. The odd century gap between these jokers and the rest of humanity is a startling confirmation of that.

silly republicans ... science is the devil!

[zig43]

"Three Republicans on the school board who favor the teaching of evolution have come under enormous pressure to reform their ways."

Lest they be sentenced to eternal damnation and cast into hell. :)

Re:As someone from Alabama, let me say thanks

[Ambiguous Coward]

This just in: Alabama feels threatened, drafts legislation to declare the square root of two as "the baby jesus." Overwhelming approval from all constituencies.

Re:What do you expect

[joggle]

There's a certain poetic justice when driving to Texas from Colorado. As you cross the border you see a small sign saying, "Welcome to Texas! Proud home of George W Bush." A few miles later, one of the first towns you drive through is named Dumas and smells like manure.

Re:Whatever

[__aaclcg7560]

According to the last episode of Battlestar Galactica, a Human/Cylon child 150,000 years ago became the "Eve" of all humanity. Yet the current theory of evolution doesn't take this into account. :P

Re:Whatever

[BarryJacobsen]

as a good biology grad, I'm always interested in hearing about holes

I think I speak for all males when I say, you're not the only one!

Re:As someone from Alabama, let me say thanks

[Loko Draucarn]

They're just confirming what we already knew.

The Baby Jesus is irrational.

Re:What do you expect

[genner]

I mean, this is the same state that gave us the amazingly anti-science George W. "I believe God wants me to run for president" Bush.

I agree'd with his statement. Clearly the Bush Presidency was divine punishment for our sinful ways.

Re:Cue the following:

[Waffle Iron]

OK, so we'll to agree that evolution is only approximately right, but the approximation error w.r.t. 100% right is immeasurably small unless the species in question are traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light relative to the paleontologist.

Re:As someone from Alabama, let me say thanks

[DisKurzion]

No silly. Everyone knows that "The Baby Jesus" is sqrt(-1)!

Re:Cue the following:

[shrubya]

* only applicable for sufficiently small values [of] truth(**)

(**) where "sufficiently small" means "90+% of all human activities that benefit from knowledge of physics".

Yeah sure, you can complain that GPS satellites wouldn't work without accounting for relativistic effects. But when I throw my Garmin at your head, it will travel in a parabolic path (minus air resistance) with sub-millimeter accuracy. Then I will write "annoying pedant" on your face in magic marker while you're knocked out.

Re:Compromise

[PhxBlue]

How about they teach Evolution and just leave out the part about how the amino acids and the first cellular life arrived.

While we're at it, let's teach math but just leave out the part about long division.

Re:More than two sides

[dln385]

While you are correct that making a vague claim without backing it up is despicable at best, your argument is an appeal to ignorance and is therefore not valid either. Lets make a deal. Since we are both ill-equipped to dispute each other's claims, we should both research them so we don't stay ignorant. I believe that is the best we can hope for.

Re:Whatever

[CensorshipDonkey]

Mod parent down! I can't believe you would post a naked spoiler. I had not yet finished catching up in BSG, what a fucking asshole move.

Re:Cue the following:

[BlackCreek]

These backwards magical-thinking buffoons have no evidence, no tests, nothing to point to a different theory; they have a book. A book they believe trumps the evidence of our own eyes and our most advanced scientific methods.

Evolutionary theory has no tests either. You have a book too: Origin of Species. You have no evidence of your own eyes because your life span is less than 100 years and the lifespan of human existence is easily less than 10,000 years. Your only "evidence" says that because Animal A has feathers and Animal B has feathers and Animal A lived a long time ago then Animal A must be related to B. How do you explain that leap of logic? That's what I call magical thinking. That is no evidence at all.

YES! YES! I agree!!!

Evolution is just theory and science is just a bunch of theories!

I also want public funds to be spent teaching the gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster! [venganza.org]

We also have a book! [amazon.com]

I say all three theories (evolution, ID, F.S.M.ism) should be presented with equal time and children should be left to decide on their own!!

Re:What do you expect

[geobeck]

If you're one of the major benefactors of an extraction based economy, you want your average neighbor to be as idiotic as possible.

Like the neighbor to the #1 supplier [doe.gov] of oil to the US?

Hey, you said it; I didn't...

Re:This will influence

[adamchou]

Wait, so let me get this straight. You want cars that produce more harmful emissions AND you want ID to be taught in the class room? You must be either a Texan or a wannabe Texan.

Re:What do you expect

[Anonymous Coward]

Ooooooh you're so precious and cute, I could just eat you up!

Re:silly republicans ... science is the devil!

[Tenek]

They're already in Texas...

Re:Compromise

[Anonymous Coward]

The apostrophe's. They've evolved.

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[nizo]

That depends; is California manufacturing cars without wheels and with the steering wheel conveniently located in the trunk?

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[Sancho]

I don't believe in gravity. I believe in Intelligent Falling [wikipedia.org].

Re: People don't really believe in Noah's Flood

[bckrispi]

Fantastic! Now how do you rationalize the magical fruit and the talking snake??