This has indeed become an interesting thread and couldn't agree more that 
slinging slogans doesn't increase the civility of the debate.   The real concern 
I have is that most of the material I've read on the ID website involves a lot 
of fuzzy thinking and obfuscation.   It is not, in fact, clear and cogent 
exploration.   The concern is that museum need to uphold clear, critical 
thinking, analysis and sound conclusions.   Museums need to support the concept that 
"Intellectual" is NOT a pejorative, but a description of a thinking, aware, 
curious and searching individual whose efforts are to be admired.

It falls into the same area of concern as that   when it is reported that the 
current administration is changing the data and conclusions of scientific 
reports to fit an agenda, the concern is that clear, logical intellectual debate 
is somehow lost to spin and distortion......and that the very idea of 
intellectual debate is somehow reduced to "just another opinion," as opposed to 
respecting facts and ideas over propaganda and spin.

If Museums do nothing else, they certainly exist to educate.   Education 
requires step by step introduction of ideas and facts that lead to sound 
conclusions.   The scientific method is an effort to verify ideas by observed fact.   
One can discuss the old conundrum that the observation alters the fact, 
nevertheless, in a positive manner scientists are attempting to create knowledge that 
is provable, backed up by verifiable data.

ID and Creationism rely on faith-based conclusions, not observable, 
verifiable data.   There is also room for that form of thinking, but the arena in which 
that is useful is quite different from the arena in which the scientific 
approach is useful.

Since there has never yet been any discovery of Homo Spain remains dated to 
the same time frame as dinosaur remains, one wonders about the derivation of 
books showing humans and dinosaurs coexisting.   What form of thought can create 
this conclusion?   What is the basis for this?   Even the Bible does NOT 
speak of dinosaurs and humans together so what strange distortion of thinking 
forms this particular line of "education."

The book 1984 sounded the alarm that State-controlled thought would become 
the norm.   Equally alarming is the idea that Religiously-controlled thought 
must be the norm.    Aren't we fighting world-wide terrorists who have been 
"educated" to believe that their highest religious act is to blow themselves up 
along with as many innocent bystanders as possible? and that the USA is the 
"Great Satan?"

For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church let stand the excommunication of 
Gallileo because he dared to suggest that the earth went around the sun instead 
of vice versa.   In the 1990's, this excommunication was lifted and the reality 
of a Sun centered universe was officially acknowledged.

Are we really going to allow equal time for those who wish to teach children 
that dinosaurs and humans co-existed?

M

 

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).