Angus Reid: Canadians and Britons strongly believe in evolution, Americans not

[Associate Justice PiT]

Though Jargon-tastic, it would perhaps be more accurate to describe Evolution (and gravity for that matter) as a 'paradigm'. A paradigm which best fits all the available evidence.

     Someone has read Thomas Kuhn, I can see.

[Link]

Though Jargon-tastic, it would perhaps be more accurate to describe Evolution (and gravity for that matter) as a 'paradigm'. A paradigm which best fits all the available evidence.

The planet is still irked we Americans continue to use the archaic Imperial system and refuse to implement the metric system outside of the learned class.  I don't think they are going to want to redefine Theory and Hypothesis because some religious crazies in America can't get their heads out of their rear ends.  The problem is numerous journal articles have already been written and we need to stay consistent.  We cannot keep redefining terms just to make uneducated troglodytes happy.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Though Jargon-tastic, it would perhaps be more accurate to describe Evolution (and gravity for that matter) as a 'paradigm'. A paradigm which best fits all the available evidence.

The planet is still irked we Americans continue to use the archaic Imperial system and refuse to implement the metric system outside of the learned class.  I don't think they are going to want to redefine Theory and Hypothesis because some religious crazies in America can't get their heads out of their rear ends.  The problem is numerous journal articles have already been written and we need to stay consistent.  We cannot keep redefining terms just to make uneducated troglodytes happy.

No doubt. But I do think there is some ambiguity in term 'theory' between its scientific use and its popular use (this regardless of any actual theory) which is why I mentioned it.

[minionofmidas]

Yeah well, Evolution is just a Paradigm. I don't believe in Paradigms.

[Torie]

Though Jargon-tastic, it would perhaps be more accurate to describe Evolution (and gravity for that matter) as a 'paradigm'. A paradigm which best fits all the available evidence.

A simpler way to put it, is that some theories are more equal than others. Evolution at the moment has more going for it than the theory of the origin of the universe, and a lot more going for it than the theory of supply side economics or the Phillips Curve for example. At the bottom of the heap is the theory of why people are gay.

I think that about sums it up. Thanks.

[opebo]

The planet is still irked we Americans continue to use the archaic Imperial system and refuse to implement the metric system outside of the learned class. 

What do you mean by 'learned class' here?  Computer repairmen or other technicians?  Because I don't think it comes up that much in law school or the humanities, does it?

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Is it not possible to believe in both creationism and evolution?

[dead0man]

Is it not possible to believe in both creationism and evolution?

Not creationism in the traditional sense as DNA and other evidence shows that modern humans evolved from lesser great apes, but one can certainly believe in evolution designed by a deity.  Not very likely, but clearly more plausible than everything being created 10,000 (or whatever) years ago.

[John Dibble]

Is it not possible to believe in both creationism and evolution?

As dead0man points out creationism as it is usually defined in the sense of this conversation is mutually exclusive with evolution. There are a few ways you can believe both though:

1. You can believe that a deity created the universe with natural laws that allow life to arise on its own (abiogenesis) and then evolve.
2. You can believe that a deity created the universe and the first single celled organism that was then allowed reproduce and have its offspring evolve independent of its creator. (abiogenesis and evolution are related but still separate theories, something many creationists do not understand)
3. You can believe that a deity created the universe and the first single celled organism, after which the deity intervened in a limited fashion for a few special cases to control the evolutionary outcomes but evolution could still occur without intervention in the majority of cases.

The idea that a deity specially designed everything, either by immediately creating it or by controlling every mutation, is mutually exclusive with evolution as natural evolution is an undirected process.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Sad (and kinda scary) to observe that so many Americans are so ignorant on this (and other) issues.

I don't really fault them though....this kind of religious irrationality is absurdly dominant in certain regions of the country, and among segments of the right-wing Protestant population. And as memphis said earlier in the thread, it's not really the fault of the public schools. It's the families and the churches (and other social influences in the communities).

[Spanish Moss]

Sad (and kinda scary) to observe that so many Americans are so ignorant on this (and other) issues.

I don't really fault them though....this kind of religious irrationality is absurdly dominant in certain regions of the country, and among segments of the right-wing Protestant population. And as memphis said earlier in the thread, it's not really the fault of the public schools. It's the families and the churches (and other social influences in the communities).

Honestly, it's not only scary, it's downright embarrassing.

[Badger]

What I just find retarded is how people somehow think that its either God or Evolution when they are apples and oranges. When was faith ever about being ignorant or knowledge about having no faith?

You find it retarded; as a Christian who sees no disagreement with may faith and the Theory of Evolution, I find it depressing.