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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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I know I'm past the "official due date" for science centers'
statements regarding evolution, but I decided it was worth offering
my suggestion, regardless. It's longer than I'd like (373 words), but
I'm having trouble finding a place to shorten it -- unless it was to
cut one or both of the last two (very short) paragraphs. I think that
opinions might differ as to whether to keep them, so I'm offering the
whole thing, here. I'd love to hear suggestions on ways to better it
and hope people find it useful. (I admit to wondering whether
visitors might be willing to read a longer piece of text if it were
regarding a topic of concern to them -- and I think we'd all agree
that evolution is a topic of concern to many of our visitors).
Kodi Jeffery, Ph.D
Informal Science Educator
Currently seeking employment
Science is about testing ideas. In fact, if there's no way to test an
idea's validity, that idea can't be considered science. Some ideas
can be tested directly, such as whether a certain medicine can
destroy cancer cells. Others can't be controlled the same way, but as
long as there are ways to apply discriminating testing, the ideas can
still be scientific. Copernicus' idea of a sun-centered solar system
was heresy among people who considered Earth the center of the
universe. But despite being unable to control the planets for tests,
scientists could still make predictions based on this idea. They
could predict eclipses and explain phases of the moon and intricate
planetary motions. And the more people could explain and predict, the
stronger this idea became. Eventually, it became a theory, in the
proper sense of the word: the very highest "achievement" of any idea
in science.
A valid theory explains huge amounts of data; it is then used to make
further predictions and design new tests. The more we study and
learn, the better we can refine and validate the theory. Evolutionary
theory has been used to synthesize data from geology to microbiology.
It has synthesized huge amounts of widely disparate data, and
scientists use it to make seemingly endless predictions and plans.
For example, evolution helps us understand why antibiotics stop
working after a period of time and helps us plan new strategies for
future medications. If this theory had failed in a prediction or
explanation, even once, scientists would have had to revise or even
discard the theory. But the idea has held strong, despite decades of
rigorous testing, so much so that it has become the unifying theory
of biology. Without it, nothing makes sense.
Contrary to popular conceptions, science takes no stand on religion.
People once believed a sun-centered solar system conflicted with
their religious beliefs, but they eventually realized that science
was merely explaining the natural processes that make our world work.
As a science center, we respect the most basic tenets of science,
namely that we must keep an open mind while we test our world, then
let those tests teach us what they will. Evolutionary theory
continues to teach us new things every day.
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