Hell in a hand basket
Warning - this post has nothing to do with music, and in fact it's a rant. But, it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to (cry if I want to... cry if I want to...).
I really, really, really do not get how rational human beings can confuse two definitions of one word - Theory - into the basis of quasi-religious debate about the origin of species on this planet.
It's not new news that a good percentage of the Republican party presidential candidates say that they do not believe in evolution. What's less known is that a fair percentage of Democrats don't either. That is because both parties have smart politicians that are merely reflecting the views of their constituencies. You see, for some time now, the same percentage of Americans haven't believed in evolution either.
I've recently read an interesting article that posits that the difference between the scientific definition of "theory" and the commonly used definition of the same word is partly to blame, since theory is more-or-less equivalent to fact in the scientific world, once enough evidence has been built up to support it.
And evolution pretty much has never been proven wrong. But, because, like quantum mechanics (which also has one of the most successful and extensive bodies of evidence in support of its theories), evolution goes against some aspects of "common sense" - in this case, the beliefs and to some extent the normal, day-to-day experiences of our lives - a scary percentage of people find it easy to dismiss.
For example - you don't see monkeys and insects evolving into Armani-wearing business executives, just as you have never witnessed the same light photon being in two different places at the same time. The problem is one of scale - time in the case of evolution, and size in the case of quantum physics. But ignoring the bodies of evidence behind both theories is like driving a car your entire life without ever once opening the hood or the owners manual - you might get by but you won't really understand how the thing works.
I don't blame religion here - I blame ignorance. Because it's really not that hard to think about religious beliefs and mold them based on scientific progress - I know from my own experience because I've actually taken the time to do it. Any religion or spiritual belief worth keeping will be able to incorporate perceived challenges and... progress... and evolve...!
I really, really, really do not get how rational human beings can confuse two definitions of one word - Theory - into the basis of quasi-religious debate about the origin of species on this planet.
It's not new news that a good percentage of the Republican party presidential candidates say that they do not believe in evolution. What's less known is that a fair percentage of Democrats don't either. That is because both parties have smart politicians that are merely reflecting the views of their constituencies. You see, for some time now, the same percentage of Americans haven't believed in evolution either.
I've recently read an interesting article that posits that the difference between the scientific definition of "theory" and the commonly used definition of the same word is partly to blame, since theory is more-or-less equivalent to fact in the scientific world, once enough evidence has been built up to support it.
And evolution pretty much has never been proven wrong. But, because, like quantum mechanics (which also has one of the most successful and extensive bodies of evidence in support of its theories), evolution goes against some aspects of "common sense" - in this case, the beliefs and to some extent the normal, day-to-day experiences of our lives - a scary percentage of people find it easy to dismiss.
For example - you don't see monkeys and insects evolving into Armani-wearing business executives, just as you have never witnessed the same light photon being in two different places at the same time. The problem is one of scale - time in the case of evolution, and size in the case of quantum physics. But ignoring the bodies of evidence behind both theories is like driving a car your entire life without ever once opening the hood or the owners manual - you might get by but you won't really understand how the thing works.
I don't blame religion here - I blame ignorance. Because it's really not that hard to think about religious beliefs and mold them based on scientific progress - I know from my own experience because I've actually taken the time to do it. Any religion or spiritual belief worth keeping will be able to incorporate perceived challenges and... progress... and evolve...!
posted by Joe Roberts, CSW at 19:05
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