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Re: [Phys-l] Is evolution something to believe in?




In other words, to make any statement about a scientific theory, you
have to know what you're talking about. Creationists always skip this
bit, and therefore for them it does come down to what to believe in,
because they are not capable of any kind of rigorous thinking. This is
why the whole "creationism-vs-evolution" quarrel is so sterile. It
doesn't lead to anything and it never will. You can lead a creationist
to evidence but you can't make him think.

Alfredo

I think this is the crux. Moving beyond belief to evidence is very hard
work--especially in a world where there is lots of misinformation. There
is no way that any of us can have "evidence" for everything we believe--we
all trust sources at some level. (From textbooks, to journal articles, to
colleagues.) Even within our scientific community there is disagreement
about which sources are and are not reliable. People span a wide spectrum
from pure "faith" to evidence-based "belief" on all of these issues
raised.

I think the best we can hope for is to encourage students to pay attention
to the source (and therefore reliabilty) of information, and continually
check to make sure new information is consistent with previous knowledge
and experience (your own and others). This is the "process" of science
mentioned earlier.

Trouble is, using this process is much more difficult than accepting what
you are told, and beyond the interest and motivation of a large portion of
the public, who "trusts" virtually anything that is broadcast, in print,
or on the internet without consideration of the source.

Mike