Support the Blog — Buy This Book!
For Kindle and with free ePub version. Only $9.49 Great reading.
Here is what Gary Shapiro CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said: Dvorak's writing sings with insight and clarity. Whether or not you agree with John's views, he will get you thinking and is never boring. These essays are worth the read!
Put this ad on your blog!
Syndicate
Subscribe to Main Blog feed here:
Subscribe to Comments too (below):
Junk Email Filter
That this would even be debated is a particularly ridiculous undermining of science, and does a disservice to all students who take the course.
A bad day indeed for the students– “Barbara Cargill decided that the age of the Universe was up for vote.”
The current age of the universe is about 13.65 billion years, give or take a few tenths, given the accuracy of several probes including the Hubble, WMAP and COBE.
We’re anxiously awaiting the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, due to be launched in 2013.
I gots mah edumacation from Texas and I am reely smart! I can teech Sundey Skool grate!
lets see…
THOUGHT about religious doctrine and dinosaurs..
How do you explain THESE BIG BONES..?
They are dinosaurs..
And how OLD are they?
A couple 1000 years.
HOW do you know that?
BECAUSE they ARE HERE, and the world isnt older then a couple 1000 years.
What happened to the dino’s??
I dont know.
It would have been COOL, if this could be SOME SORT OF FACT.
I think it would have been wonderful, to have them around.
But I cant find ANYTHING that shows that MAN kind had any interaction WITH the dino’s.
If they were around with ADAM, God probably got pissed off when they stepped ALL OVER the tomatoes..and wiped them out.
Aging the planet is somewhat simple..
try to find the LIGHT from the farthest star, and RANGE it. it took LIGHT, that long to get here. and is PART of the fun, as MORE stars are being found, every year.
This is child abuse.
The big bang theory explained-
God said it and BANG! it happened
#3 Those aren’t really bones- sometimes mud dries into shapes and then hardens into objects that appear to be bones.
I have been told that Texas has their own power grid set up so if they ever decided to secede from the USA they wouldn’t have any power issues. Is that true? If so, PLEASE SECEDE YOU STUPID FUCKS!
They can think that as long as they admit the big bang was Joseph banging Mary.
its confusing ENOUGH as a child.
Esp, when they KEEP CHANGING THE FACTS..
the 3 R’s
reading..we can do.
writing, the words never change, thats easy.
Arithmetic..numbers, FINE
the ONLY thing that changes is HISTORY, and small bits of science.
When many of us were YOUNGER, there were LESS THEN 10 pages on vietnam and Korea.. I learned MORE on the history channel and PBS then I did in school about that time.
PLEASE understand something..
THE OLD TESTAMENT is from the HEBREW/JEWISH FAITH. WHICh goes back about 4000-6000 years BC.
WHY NOT ASK THEM?? insted of letting CHRISTIANS decide the history. THEY WERENT THERE.
“Swiiich…” that’s the sound of both China and India flying by the the USA in sciences. I wonder how long before the US starts going backwards…
dear god,
this is going to be a BIG one..
Wow. So when they leave texas, they will join the rest of society. Man don’t you love it when people who have no idea what they are talking about try to govern what they don’t know? Daemn save humanity, burn texas. Give it back to mexico or something.
#4: “This is child abuse.”
Agreed
Of course its not settled, that’s the point. The answer to the really hard questions is “I dont know – further research needed.”
“God did it” doesn’t settle the matter either.
And of course time isn’t a constant.
If you have not seen Mike Judge’s film, Idiocracy, it’s worth the view. We’re headed there.
They should just declare Pi = 3. Makes the math much easier.
If the “Big Bang” is the beginning point for the universe, isn’t that just in this iteration? I thought I’ve read that a theory is that the universe is continually expanding and collapsing on itself. So it is actually be infinitely old.
This group in the video is what, a state school board? Seems likely that a few of them are from fields unrelated to science and don’t know any better than to vote their religion rather than with established scientific evidence.
Just out of curiosity … Alfred, does God talk to you? There is got to be some reason you believe the Bible over your own eyes and ability to reason.
#14
It is also true that a real eduction does not involve voting on scientific discovery. Faith is the height of *uncertainty* as it is wholly based on individual interpretation. There is not one reputable scientist that believes the universe is younger than a million years and the current scientific evidence shows that the universe is indeed expanding. Science is ever changing and it might be tomorrow that we find evidence that the universe is not expanding. It is not up to a board to decide which scientific discoveries they like and dislike. We should be teaching children CURRENT prevailing scientific information and instilling a desire to learn.
#20
> I want them to be able
> to decide things on their
> own…to be critical thinkers
You do realize that if you actually do a good job in teaching your child to be effective critical thinkers, they’ll end up as atheists. Critical thinking ALSO involves learning how to differentiate science from non-science. If it involves voting, the odds are high that it is not science.
#23
> Its because of eyes and reason
> I believe God must exist
Many have said the same about Pink Dragons and alien visitors. It is more likely it is because of childhood conditioning and a mind fearful of the implications of a universe without a deity that you believe one exists.
> And once the proposition God
> exists is plausible…
…which it is not since you cannot even define what you mean by “God”
> Christianity alone is empirical
..which it is also not.
> God revealed Himself in history
Ah, tautologies. They are fun. You left out a few. Fairies, dragons, hobgoblins, the devil(s) and every other fantasy invention. Why, history has been around since it was first transcribed ;->
> …some of the facts of
> which can be confirmed
> by extra-biblical sources.
Except the ones relating to the existence of a supernatural being of course.
This is why we continue the need to issue more and more H1NB Visas for better educated foreigners in the tech/science field while more Americans end up flipping burgers to make a living.
I thought this sort of thing mainly occurred in Kansas.
#26, How doesn’t evolution “fit reality at all”?
It fits it one hell of a lot better than some all powerful beardy guy in the sky making shit up as he goes along.
How could such a loving and caring god decide it would be a good idea to create some of those nasty insects who’s ONLY way to reproduce is to lay their eggs in the eyes of people and other animals, then cause them complete agony while the lava grows and then finally eats its way out of the eye to help perpetuate its species.
Evolution explains that, creationism (especially where a loving god is concerned) doesn’t and cannot.
# 10 Pete said, on May 7th, 2009 at 5:13 am
“Swiiich…” that’s the sound of both China and India flying by the the USA in sciences. I wonder how long before the US starts going backwards…
There are other fields in science besides origin studies. Explain how the theory of how the universe was formed contributed to any profitable scientific invention. Seriously, name one.
If the goal is to keep ahead of China and India, let’s not get sidetracked on the creation/evolution debate and lets put our focus on alternative energy, space travel, ag sciences, and computer engineering.
#26
> it requires omniscience
> to know beyond doubt God doesn’t exist
Which is why no one is making any such claim. Atheists simply state that the claims made by theists have no evidence to support them. It is exactly like someone saying they believe purple leprechauns exist. Ok. But if you don’t have evidence they exist, I will give no credence to your claim.
> Evolution is absurd…it doesn’t
> fit reality at all…
Talk about logical paradox. That species evolve is an observable fact. It is the equivalent of the observing that the sun rises and objects fall to earth.
> but also teach creationism as a possibility…
It is a possibility; just not a scientific one and thus should not be taught as science.
Oh and Alfred1, one another thing, I would be quite prepared to concede that God exists if I am given sufficient and irrefutable proof of that existence.
Would you ever concede that there is no god if sufficient proof of God’s non-existence was presented to you?
If your answer is ‘no’ then any of your arguments are completely without merit. You have clearly shut your eyes to reality and any possibility that you might not be correct.
#28
I must say that I’m disappointed. I expected a better ad hominem from someone that claims to be a critical thinker.
Saying that you do not accept evolution and then calling someone else that does a loon will not convince people that you are sane nor a critical thinker. If this is the type of critical thinking you are teaching your children, it should be noted that you are not teaching them to think critically at all.
Debating evolution is like debating gun control. A waste of time. Let people believe what they wish. That said, it is clear that the world would be a much better place without religions that tell you how to think, like Christianity and Islam.
Drat, Uncle Dave beats me to the punch.
Isn’t it a total coincidence that since the invention of the video camera EVERY single religions deities vanished? I’m not just talking Jesus and Jehovah. But Zeus use to meddle directly on earth, his son ran around here for ages. Thor battled giants here. Isis, Quin Yin, Shiva and Odin have all magically vanished along with the rest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deities)
All of the unicorns, dragons and leprechauns have also gone into hiding from the evil Sony camcorder!
Stop believing in silly supernatural myths. The ACTUAL universe is massive and mysterious beyond imagining! We don’t need to just make up human looking gods that care only about human politics and human motivations. I mean seriously. It makes sense to you that a being that created hundreds of BILLIONS of galaxies, EACH SINGLE ONE with with hundreds of millions or billions of solar systems each, cares if I eat bacon or not? Really. Seriously.
# 36 “Eyes are useless unless thousands of parts perfectly work together therefore eyes cannot be the product of any evolutionary process…no one part by itself can possibly be beneficial to the survival of an organism above its fellows”
Congrats on proving that you’re an idiot.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_the_eye