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Scientific American gets religion

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Batman Jones, Apr 8, 2005.

  1. Batman Jones

    Batman Jones Member

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    http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=000E555C-4387-1237-81CB83414B7FFE9F

    Okay, We Give Up

    We feel so ashamed

    By The Editors

    There's no easy way to admit this. For years, helpful letter writers told us to stick to science. They pointed out that science and politics don't mix. They said we should be more balanced in our presentation of such issues as creationism, missile defense and global warming. We resisted their advice and pretended not to be stung by the accusations that the magazine should be renamed Unscientific American, or Scientific Unamerican, or even Unscientific Unamerican. But spring is in the air, and all of nature is turning over a new leaf, so there's no better time to say: you were right, and we were wrong.

    In retrospect, this magazine's coverage of so-called evolution has been hideously one-sided. For decades, we published articles in every issue that endorsed the ideas of Charles Darwin and his cronies. True, the theory of common descent through natural selection has been called the unifying concept for all of biology and one of the greatest scientific ideas of all time, but that was no excuse to be fanatics about it. Where were the answering articles presenting the powerful case for scientific creationism? Why were we so unwilling to suggest that dinosaurs lived 6,000 years ago or that a cataclysmic flood carved the Grand Canyon? Blame the scientists. They dazzled us with their fancy fossils, their radiocarbon dating and their tens of thousands of peer-reviewed journal articles. As editors, we had no business being persuaded by mountains of evidence.

    Moreover, we shamefully mistreated the Intelligent Design (ID) theorists by lumping them in with creationists. Creationists believe that God designed all life, and that's a somewhat religious idea. But ID theorists think that at unspecified times some unnamed superpowerful entity designed life, or maybe just some species, or maybe just some of the stuff in cells. That's what makes ID a superior scientific theory: it doesn't get bogged down in details.

    Good journalism values balance above all else. We owe it to our readers to present everybody's ideas equally and not to ignore or discredit theories simply because they lack scientifically credible arguments or facts. Nor should we succumb to the easy mistake of thinking that scientists understand their fields better than, say, U.S. senators or best-selling novelists do. Indeed, if politicians or special-interest groups say things that seem untrue or misleading, our duty as journalists is to quote them without comment or contradiction. To do otherwise would be elitist and therefore wrong. In that spirit, we will end the practice of expressing our own views in this space: an editorial page is no place for opinions.

    Get ready for a new Scientific American. No more discussions of how science should inform policy. If the government commits blindly to building an anti-ICBM defense system that can't work as promised, that will waste tens of billions of taxpayers' dollars and imperil national security, you won't hear about it from us. If studies suggest that the administration's antipollution measures would actually increase the dangerous particulates that people breathe during the next two decades, that's not our concern. No more discussions of how policies affect science either-so what if the budget for the National Science Foundation is slashed? This magazine will be dedicated purely to science, fair and balanced science, and not just the science that scientists say is science. And it will start on April Fools' Day.
     
  2. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    Government funded science institutions are getting ravaged by the Bush admin. The real joke's on them.
     
  3. Mori

    Mori Member

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    First I laughed because it was witty and amusing. Then I cried because of the underlying terrible, horrifying truth.
     
  4. No Worries

    No Worries Member

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    April 01, 2005

    Okay, We Give Up
    We feel so ashamed
    By The Editors


    :)
     
  5. basso

    basso Member
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    i was right there with them until the last paragraph. comparing belief in creationism w/ missile defense is pretty silly.
     
  6. gifford1967

    gifford1967 Member
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    Those science editors, they're soooo silly.
     
  7. FranchiseBlade

    Supporting Member

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    I kind of agree that they aren't the same. Creationism has distorted the bible into being something is not. The proposed plan of the starwars missle defense is just flawed technology with no real chance of success.

    But they are both silly and the point of the article is that they wouldn't point out the reality of situations anymore since people seem to prefer a fantasy world. So it still fits in nicely with the article.
     
  8. rhester

    rhester Member

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    Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw on a car-

    NATIONAL ATHEIST DAY
    April 1st



    No really it was pretty funny... Devote evolutionists pretending to be sincere.

    What makes it effective is that whenever they use the word science or scientist the editors conceal the phrase- ' just those scientists that believe as we do and present evidence we approve of..'

    Only problem I see in the joke is that this statement is stark reality-

     
  9. rhester

    rhester Member

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    Devote or devout- you know what I mean...
     
  10. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    I agree, there is far more "scientific" evidence that suggests creationism will work than there is that suggests theater based missile defense is a good idea or even feasible.
     
  11. Sishir Chang

    Sishir Chang Member

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    I had to admit this line had me laughing.

     

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