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Ken;

The film interestingly is about the rarity of Earth and goes over a 
lot of information (none of it new) that suggests that the conditions 
for life on Earth are rare in the Universe . But the implication, 
because of this rarity, is that the Universe was designed for complex 
life. The idea that  the
intelligent designers have been promoting is that more evolved forms 
of life are just too complex to have arisen by Darwinian evolution on 
Earth and therefore must have been designed. Well, it seems from 
viewing the promotional video (very bottom of page 
http://www.illustramedia.com/pp_prop/ ) for the film and reading some 
reviews (http://www.illustramedia.com/pp_prop/) they are extending 
this argument to the Universe. Earth is too rare for it to have 
occurred randomly so the Universe must be designed as well.

I think the issue of the precedence the Smithsonian is setting is a 
complicated one that each institution needs to explore. It is part of 
a larger issue of the need for earned income and how far each of us 
is willing to go. There are continued discussions of the increasing 
commercialization of museums and this maybe one of them.

Martin
>
>ISEN,
>
>Speaking from a small science center perspective, I am frankly 
>shocked and most anxious about the precedent that the Smithsonian 
>has set here.  What happens when I have to explain this set of 
>notions (ID and the non-sequitors being touted as 'evidence'?) to my 
>audiences?  And what happens when I have to stand firm based on what 
>is 'the best information we have', versus what has been implicitly 
>inferred  endorsement by one of the most respected science 
>institutions on the planet?  What chance have I got?
>
>Ken Brandt
>
>Director of the Robeson Planetarium and Science Center
>JPL/NASA Solar System Ambassador
>
>"If you are resting on your laurels, you are probably wearing them 
>upside down"
>
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-- 
Martin Weiss, Ph.D
Vice President, Science
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111 th Street
Corona, New York 11368
718 699 0005 x 356

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More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]