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I think Martin hit the nail on the head when he makes the distinction
between 'acceptance' and 'understanding.'
On Mar 4, 2011, at 11:31 AM, Chuck Howarth wrote:
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Kodi, that was exactly my point. If one of our visitors explains
> evolution as "survival of the fittest", would you conclude that they
> do not understand the theory? But if you take that position, you
> would also have to agree that NO ONE completely understands the
> mechanisms of evolution, including evolutionary biologists. If they
> did, there would be no need for further research in the field. The
> visitor who describes the mechanism as survival of the fittest does
> have some understanding, just not very sophisticated or up to date.
>
> So it seems to me the question of whether the public "understands"
> is too simplistic. It is not an either/or — I understand it or I
> don't — but rather a continuum. When we look at studies that say
> the public "doesn't understand the mechanism of evolution", it seems
> a fair question to ask what definition of understanding the authors
> used?
>
> On Mar 4, 2011, at 8:02 AM, Kodi Jeffery wrote:
>
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
>> Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>> institutions.
>> *****************************************************************************
>>
>>
>>
>> I have to apologize for getting nit-picky here, but we really need
>> to avoid
>> using the term "survival of the fittest". It is a tautology (after
>> all, the
>> way to determine "fitness" is based on who survives, so we have
>> "survival
>> of the survivors). Numerous people hear this and say "of course --
>> that's
>> why evolution is bunk!". The correct term is "Natural Selection",
>> and I
>> think it can be useful to let people know that WE know that. But if
>> we can
>> get people to understand natural selection as a mechanism, I think
>> we've
>> gone a long way toward evolution education.
>>
>> Kodi R. Jeffery, Ph.D
>> Informal Science Educator
>> 801-368-6284
>> [log in to unmask]
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Informal Science Education Network
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Chuck Howarth
>> Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 8:00 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Creationists as proponents of academic freedom
>>
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
>> Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>> institutions.
>> ****************************************************************************
>> *
>>
>> I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that read, "Honk if you understand
>> punctuated equilibrium"! Which raises the question of what it
>> means to say
>> that the public "understands" the mechanism of evolution.
>> Understand at
>> what level? Does "survival of the fittest" qualify, or would that
>> indicate
>> misunderstanding?
>>
>> On Mar 4, 2011, at 5:10 AM, Martin Weiss wrote:
>>
>>> In a study of museum visitors to an exhibition, Explore Evolution,
>>> Evans
>> shows
>>> that most museum visitors (to a natural history museum!) (72%)
>>> accept
>>> evolution -even for the human, but that the majority misunderstand
>>> the
>>> mechanisms. As for the general public, it is not clear that
>>> anyone has
>>> tested it in that way.
>>
>>
>> Chuck Howarth, Vice President
>> ____________________________________
>>
>> G Y R O S C O P E I N C
>> 283 Fourth Street, Suite 201
>> Oakland, CA 94607
>>
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>> blog: http://museums-now.blogspot.com
>> ____________________________________
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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> Chuck Howarth, Vice President
> ____________________________________
>
> G Y R O S C O P E I N C
> 283 Fourth Street, Suite 201
> Oakland, CA 94607
>
> tele: 510.986.0111
> web: www.gyroscopeinc.com
> blog: http://museums-now.blogspot.com
> ____________________________________
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ***********************************************************************
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org
> .
>
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