PowerPoint Presentation State Board of Education Standards Committee Meeting Panel Discussion March

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Science is a particular way of knowing about the
world. In science, explanations are limited to
those based on observations and experiments that
can be substantiated by other scientists.
Explanations that cannot be based on empirical
evidence are not a part of science
Science and Creationism The National Academy of
Sciences
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State Board of Education Standards Committee
Meeting Panel Discussion

• Should Intelligent Design be included in Ohios
  Draft Science Academic Content standards?

NO!
Lawrence M. Krauss March 11, 2002
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INTELLIGENT DESIGN IS AN ASSAULT ONSCIENCE!
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THE KEY ISSUES

• THERE IS NO DISAGREEMENT IN THE SCIENTIFIC
  COMMUNITY ABOUT THE FACT OF EVOLUTION. IT MAKES
  PREDICTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED OVER AND OVER
  AGAIN FOR OVER 100 YEARS. IT FORMS THE BASIS OF
  MOST OF MODERN BIOLOGY.
• INTELLIGENT DESIGN IS AN IDEA THAT DOES NOT
  APPEAR IN THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE, HAS NOT BEEN
  SUBJECTED TO TESTS OR PEER REVIEW, MAKES NO
  PREDICTIONS THAT AGREE WITH OBSERVATIONS, AND IS
  PROMOTED BY SPECIAL INTEREST FRINGE GROUPS.
• ID IS NOT SCIENCE BY ANY MODERN DEFINITION OF
  THE TERM, AND THEREFORE SHOULD NOT BE TAUGHT IN
  HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASSES

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FAIRNESS?
A FAIR DEBATE?
NO!!!
IF THIS WERE REPRESENTATIVE, THERE WOULD BE
10,000 SCIENTISTS ON ONE SIDE, AND 1
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DISCOVERY INSTITUTE ON THE
OTHER.
GROUPS THAT OPPOSE TEACHING INTELLIGENT DESIGN
IN SCIENCE CLASS INCLUDE The National Academy
of Sciences The American Society for Cell
Biology Ohio Academy of Science ..
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1.An Attack on Science
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A Scientific Approach?
Wells criticisms of evolution were published in
Icons of Evolution. At firstglance they seem
compelling.
1) Primitive earth experiments2) Darwins tree
of life3) Homology in vertebrate limbs4)
Haeckels embryos5) Archaeopteryx - missing
link6) Peppered moths7) Darwins finches8)
Four-winged fruit flies9) Fossils horses
directed evolution10) Ape to Human
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A Scientific Approach?
Wells criticisms of evolution were published in
Icons of Evolution. At firstglance they are
compelling.
1 Even if all of these critiques are taken at
face value, none amount to evidence for design.
In fact, Dr. Wells writings and comments do not
even describe what design theory might be.
2 Dr. Wells has consistently misrepresented the
scientific facts in each of these cases.
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A Scientific Approach?
Darwinism Why I Went for a Second Ph.D. by
Jonathan Wells, Ph.D.-Berkeley, CA At the end of
the Washington Monument rally in September, 1976,
I was admitted to the second entering class at
Unification Theological Seminary asked God what
He wanted me to do with my life, and the answer
came not only through my prayers, but also
through Father's many talks to us, and through my
studiesHe also spoke out against the evils in
the world among them, he frequently criticized
Darwin's theory that living things originated
without God's purposeful, creative activity
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A Scientific Approach?
Darwinism Why I Went for a Second Ph.D. by
Jonathan Wells, Ph.D.-Berkeley, CA . Father's
words, my studies, and my prayers convinced me
that I should devote my life to destroying
Darwinism, just as many of my fellow
Unificationists had already devoted their lives
to destroying Marxism. When Father chose me
(along with about a dozen other seminary
graduates) to enter a Ph.D. program in 1978, I
welcomed the opportunity to prepare myself for
battle.
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A Scientific Approach?
Icons is a work of stealth creationism, and
strives to debunk Darwinism using the familiar
rhetoric of biblical creationists, including
scientific quotations out of context, incomplete
summaries of research, and muddled arguments.
JA Coyne (2001) Creationism by Stealth.
Nature 410 745
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Fine-Tuning the Case for Fine-Tuning a Cosmic
Breakthrough by Hugh Ross
Lawrence Krauss, at Case Western Reserve
University in Ohio, unabashedly acknowledged in
the Astrophysical Journal (July 10, 1998) a
forward leap in the case for a "designed" rather
than accidental cosmos. His efforts to refine our
understanding of the universe's expansion have
significantly advanced modern cosmology and, at
the same time, have contributed substantially to
the Christian's argument for the biblical
Creator.
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An Attack on Science
The WEDGE
The movement we now call the Wedge made its
public debut at a conference of scientists and
philosophers held at Southern Methodist
University in March 1992, following the
publication of my book Darwin on Trial I wrote
in my introduction to the first edition of the
papers from that conference, What the
anti-Darwinists called metaphysical naturalism
the Darwinists called science,.
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ScienceAtheism?
THE WEDGE STRATEGY (1998) CENTER FOR THE
RENEWAL OF SCIENCE CULTURE The proposition
that human beings are created in the image of God
is one of the bedrock principles on which Western
civilization was built. . this cardinal idea
came under wholesale attack drawing on the
discoveries of modern science Discovery
Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and
Culture seeks nothing less than the overthrow of
materialism and its cultural legacies.
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ScienceAtheism?
THE WEDGE STRATEGY (1998) CENTER FOR THE
RENEWAL OF SCIENCE CULTURE Governing Goals
To defeat scientific materialism and its
destructive moral, cultural and political
legacies. To replace materialistic
explanations with the theistic understanding that
nature and hurnan beings are created by
God. Five Year Goals To see intelligent
design theory as an accepted alternative in the
sciences and scientific research being done from
the perspective of design theory. .
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Lobbying Against Science
Science standards use a little known Rule to
censor the evidence of design. The Rule, which is
usually unstated, is often referred to as
methodological naturalism.
Scientific Method!
Source Science Excellence for all
Ohioanshttp//www.sciohio.org/start.htm
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Getting Rid of Evolution
Current draft indicator. Grade 10, Earth and
Space Sciences 3, page 60. Know how the
evolution of life on earth has changed the oxygen
composition of the earths atmosphere. Modified
indicator. Know how the presence of life on earth
has changed the oxygen composition of the earths
atmosphere. --------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
---------- Current draft indicator. Grade10,
Life Sciences 2, page 63. Organisms are
classified into a hierarchy of groups and
subgroups based on similarities which reflect
their evolutionary relationships. Modified
indicator. Know that organisms are classified
into a hierarchy of groups and subgroups based on
similarities in form and/or function.
Source Science Excellence for all
Ohioanshttp//www.sciohio.org/start.htm
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An attack on Science

• Opposed to the Scientific Method.
• Why introduce ID in science class?
• The limitations of science and its relation to
  faith can be introduced into the curriculum in
  such subjects as religion, philosophy, or history.

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WHAT IS INTELLIGENT DESIGN?

• The notion that life was designed?
• The notion that existing cellular structures are
  too complex to be explained without design?
• Predictions?
• Tests?
• Anything you want it to be!

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WHAT IS INTELLIGENT DESIGN?
INTELLIGENT DESIGN HAS NEVER BEEN SUBJECTED TO
THE MOULDING AND DEVELOPMENT THAT OCCURS WHEN
SCIENTIFIC IDEAS ARE SUBJECTED TO YEARS OF
EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT AND PEER REVEW!
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Simple Fairness

• The following is argued All we are asking for
  is an equal playing field for our ideas, fair
  play, and equal time.
• THIS ALREADY EXISTS IT IS CALLED THE PROCESS OF
  SCIENCE
• SCIENTISTS SUBMIT THEIR IDEAS TO SCIENTIFIC
  SCRUTINY BY THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS!

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Fairness
J. Wells
1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAVol. 94, pp.
1224-1229, February 1997 Microtubule-mediated
transport of organelles and localization of
-catenin to the future dorsal side of
Xenopus eggs Brian A. Rowning, Jonathan Wells,
Mike Wu, John C. Gerhart, Randall T. Moon, and
Carolyn A. Larabell 2. Development, Vol 122,
Issue 4 1281-1289, 1996 Confocal microscopy
analysis of living Xenopus eggs and the mechanism
of cortical rotation CA Larabell, BA Rowning, J
Wells,, M Wu and JC Gerhart Lawrence Berkeley
Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley,
94720, USA.
NEITHER INVOLVE INTELLIGENT DESIGN!
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Fairness
Science, Nature JAN 2001-MAR 2002
OVER 200 ARTICLES ON BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION!
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Fairness
Science, Nature JAN 2001-MAR 2002
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Fairness
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Fairness
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Fairness
Science, Nature JAN 2001-MAR 2002
NOT A SINGLE ARTICLE ON INTELLIGENTDESIGN
THEORY!!!!
HOW CAN THIS BE CALLED SCIENCE?
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Fairness
He is currently working on a book formulating a
scientific theory of biological design, which
looks specifically at the evidence for design in
the encoded information in DNA.
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Fairness?

• The Attempt To BYPASS the traditional
  mechanisms of Science and go directly to the high
  school classroom, or failing that, to the
  legislature!!!
• IT IS UNFAIR to our children to spend precious
  time in science classes on ideas that have not
  been subjected to the rigors of scientific
  testing!!!!
• FAIRNESS AND THE COURTS Science is what
  scientists do!

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Fairness ?
I need it spelled out that I dont have to
address a string of silly alternative theories.
With 175 classroom days, I dont have time for
that
Bruce Miller, high school biology teacher in New
Mexico, speaking on Board of Ed. decision to
limit science curriculum to theories based on
science.
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One of Intelligent Designs Leading Advocates Has
Warned Against Its Use in Schools
Bruce Gordon (Director, Baylor Science Religion
Project, former Director, Michael Polanyi Center)
". . . . design-theoretic research has been
hijacked as part of a larger cultural and
political movement. In particular, the theory has
been prematurely drawn into discussions of public
science education, where it has no business
making an appearance without broad recognition
from the scientific community that it is making a
worthwhile contribution to our understanding of
the natural world. Research News and
Opportunities in Science and Theology. Volume
1.5 January 2001
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Fairness THE Nature of Science
47-56 of US Adults do not believe in evolution.
Hence, shouldnt we teach alternatives in school?
or
Its Just a Theory! Shouldnt we also teach
other theories?
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Some Facts and Figures

• The fraction of school children believing in
  astrology rose from 40 percent to 59 percent
  between 1978 and 1984.
• 63 percent of American adults are unaware that
  the last dinosaur died before the first human
  arose.
• About 50 of American adults do not know that
  the earth orbits the sun, and takes a year to do
  it.
• 44 of adults surveyed by a 1996 NSF study on
  Science and Engineering agreed with the
  statement Human beings, as we know them today,
  developed from earlier species of animals.
• In 1993, the supreme religious authority of
  Saudi Arabia, Sheik Abdel-Aziz Ibn Baaz, issued
  an edict, or fatwa, declaring that the world is
  flat..

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Science Education
SHOULD WE SPEND TIME IN PHYSICS CLASS TEACHING
THAT THE SUN GOES AROUND THE EARTH?
NO!
WE MUST DO A BETTER JOB OF TEACHING PHYSICS!
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Science Education
SHOULD WE SPEND TIME IN HISTORY CLASS POINTING ON
THE NOTION THAT THE HOLOCAUST NEVER HAPPENED?
NO!
WE MUST APPLY BASIC STANDARDS OF THE FIELD TO THE
IDEAS INTRODUCED!
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Science Education
SHOULD WE SPEND TIME IN BIOLOGY CLASS CONSIDERING
SOME GROUPS UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS ABOUT
INTELLIGENT DESIGN ?
NO!
WE MUST APPLY BASIC STANDARDS OF THE FIELD AND DO
A BETTER JOB TEACHING EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY!
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Science is NOT FAIR!
NOT ALL IDEAS TREATED EQUALLY!
THE GREATEST LEGACY OF SCIENCE.
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Science is a particular way of knowing about the
world. In science, explanations are limited to
those based on observations and experiments that
can be substantiated by other scientists.
Explanations that cannot be based on empirical
evidence are not a part of science
Science and Creationism The National Academy of
Sciences
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Just a Theory?

• Newtons Law of Gravity
• Copernicus
• Darwinian Evolution
• A flat Earth
• A 10,000 year old earth
• Intelligent Design
• Astrology
• The Holocaust Never Happened..

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Just a Theory? Surviving Science

• Newtons Law of Gravity
• Copernicus
• Darwinian Evolution

Survive the test of experiment, and make useful
predictions
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Historical Science?
This misses the point about how science tests
hypotheses. We dont see the Earth going around
the sun or the atoms that make up matter. We
see their consequences. Scientists infer that
atoms exist and the Earth revolves because they
have tested predictions derived from these
concepts by extensive observation and
experimentation.
Science and Creationism The National Academy of
Sciences
All Science is Historical Science!
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Historical Science?
All Science is subject to prediction and testing
We cannot see atoms We cannot see inside the
sun But we can see their effects and make
predictions..
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Historical Science?
Historical Science PREDICTS The future.
THE RESULTS OF EXPERIMENT AND FUTURE OBSERVATIONS!
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DILUTING SCIENCE

• We as a nation are falling behind in science
  competence
• To compete in the modern technological world, our
  children must be scientifically literate
• The ideas of science are among the greatest
  intellectual achievements of humankind
• We owe it to our children to expose them to the
  ideas of science

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OHIO BEHIND THE CURVE?

• The Lessons of Kansas
• 1.6 Billion for Biotech
• no workforce to match?
• Fordham Foundation An F for Ohio
• Do we really want to get worse?

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Legislators Beware

• Education should not be a political football!
• FAIRNESS dictates submitting curricula to peer
  review and analysis
• Legislating our childrens curriculum instead
  of drawing on the expertise of educators is the
  first step on a slippery slope to disaster

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SCIENCE AND RELIGION
The Scriptures are absolutely true. However, if
the Scriptures appear to disagree with the
results of scientific investigation, one should
re-examine ones interpretation of the
Scriptures Moses Maimonides A Guide for
the Perplexed
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SCIENCE AND RELIGION

• Science can neither prove, nor disprove the
  existence of God
• Science is based on falsifiable tests
• Religion is based on faith
• It demeans Religion to attempt to supplant
  science on matters of the natural world
• It demeans Science to attempt to supplant
  religion on matters of faith
• It demeans our children to confuse them about both

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END