Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Ichneumon
And yet, the "IDers" assure us, it'll finally bear fruit "any day now, we swear!", so by gosh, it deserves to be taught in school *today* without any support whatsoever, just like the equally established fields of astrology and crystal auras.

ID has rights too. All ID wants is an equal opportunity to be heard. Stop the discrimination! Present both theories! Free speech! What are you afraid of? Are you so frightened, is your faith so weak, that you can't allow the other side presented? End the censorship! Teach the controversy! Let the children decide.
</brain dead mode>

837 posted on 02/02/2006 12:58:08 PM PST by PatrickHenry (Virtual Ignore for trolls, lunatics, dotards, scolds, & incurable ignoramuses.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 834 | View Replies ]


To: PatrickHenry

ID isn't a theory, it's an untestable hypothesis.

Evolution is a THEORY, like general relativity. It is subject to alteration as new advances are made. It is even subject to being overturned entirely if evidence in support of generating a second opposing THEORY is sufficient to do so.

I am capitalizing 'theory' because it is a word often misused by those not familiar with scientific nomenclature. There is NO stronger scientific term than the term 'theory'. A 'theory' is the highest possible attainment that any collection of evidence of a particular result can attain. A theory is what we regard, in a loose sense, as 'fact' until something better comes along to usurp it (as often occurs; e.g. certain aspects of Newtonian physics by general relativity).

As for facts as the laymen sees them - something comepletely irrefutable - there is alas no such thing in science. As has often been said, there are no facts in science, only statistics.

When there is sufficient evidence to boost ID from a hypothesis to a theory, then we can talk about changing school curriculums. However, much of the ID hypothesis is simply untestable. An untestable, ergo non-falsifiablem hypothesis cannot be considered science. It is simply faith. Nothing wrong with faith, I'm all for it. But it doesn't belong in a science class. What next? Do we give equal say to the 2+2=5 crowd in junior math? Of course not. That would be ridiculous.


843 posted on 02/02/2006 1:12:58 PM PST by Incitatus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 837 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson