The average American doesn't really care if the earth is 6,000 years old or 6 billion years old. They don't care if evolution is a fact, a theory, or just plain dead wrong. All they know is that they have to get up in the morning and go to work and come home in the evening to be with their family, play some sports, and get in a little relaxation. Whether some deity created "life" or if it evolved is irrelevant and people should not be faulted for not caring one way or the other. If given the choice between a bunch of scientists squabbling over the use of the terms "fact" and "theories" and simply following the tenets of their religion, I think religion is a reasonable way to go.
I think Bill is entirely correct about us not using the word "fact" for "theory" in a pseudo-religious mania to beat people over the head who don't accept (or care) about something we are convinced about. Robert Cohen has made a well reasoned summary of Bill's opening comments - it certainly captures my feelings on the matter.
Bob at PC
________________________________________
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Spinozalens@aol.com [Spinozalens@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 8:56 AM
To: phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] About the "why" and "how questins."
The problem is always trying to convey information to the lay public who
are regrettably often scientific illiterate. All scientific models are
forever open to challenges to the results of experiments and new observations.
The creationists have exploited this with" it's just a theory" mantra. Most
lay people in the United States at least have an emotional attachment to
the Bible creation story so this kind of framing is very effective. I am not
sure it's a majority, but many Americans still believe the world is 6000
years old. Certainty a majority of Americans don't "believe" in evolution.
The state of scientific literacy is dismal and actually getting worst with
the religious attacks on science education. Even the religious who claim to
accept evolution actually believe in a form of intelligent design, life
evolves but under god's guidance. The take home message of evolution is that
life evolves based on natural selection, a process that leaves no room for
guidance by any divine hand. The fundamentalists know this. There is no way
to sugar coat evolution, it is one of the great revolutions in human
thinking. To merely accept the process and not accept the underlying "revelation"
of evolution is to miss the most important point.