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I have written on the idea of science as "belief" before, and been derided by "believers" in science.
But the idea of faith in science brings up a very crucial issue in educating people about evolution.
How well do we even educate them about science? The "jimmy-neutronification" of science along
with the complexities and subleties of different aspects of science (we still fight amongst ourselves
about things like niche construction) seem to push it further from the grasp of "lay" people rather
than bringing it closer to them. I suggest we need to take stock in science education and science
belief and try better to connect the two, than just rely on the "our belief is better than yours"
argument.
>From: Eric Siegel <[log in to unmask]>
>Date: Fri Aug 05 15:39:07 CDT 2005
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Randomness and evolution (was Re: President Bush and Intelligent Design)
>ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
>*****************************************************************************
>
>Do we know what percentage of people who "believe" in natural
>selection actually understand it? I am assuming that some extremely
>small percentage of people...even those who say that they believe
>that natural selection most accurately explains the process of
>biological evolution --could describe even the most basic and
>essential aspects of the mechanism of natural selection.
>
>Could one therefore say that those who ignorantly profess belief in
>natural selection simply have faith that science is a better
>explanation than religion? If that were a fair statement, then it
>would be difficult to describe an objective hierarchy, from ignorant
>to enlightened, between ID believers and science believers.
>
>Please keep in mind that I am among the ignorant science believers,
>so be kind...
>
>Eric Siegel
>Executive VP
> Programs and Planning
>NY Hall of Science
>47-01 111th Street
>Queens, NY 11368
>www.nyscience.org
>
>On Aug 5, 2005, at 12:22 PM, martin weiss wrote:
>
>
>
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
>> Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>> institutions.
>> **********************************************************************
>> *******
>>
>> Hope this helpful.
>>
>> Random only means not directed. Genetic mutations are random:
>> we can calculate, like with coin flips, the probability of
>> different mutations occurring.
>>
>> An analogy to what biologists mean when they say evolution is
>> random is a trial of coin flips. The result of a coin flip is
>> random NOT because we have no idea how it will result but because
>> we cannot say for certain how it will result. We have some idea
>> what will happen - half of time we'll flip heads, and half of the
>> time we'll flip tails. The coin flip is said to be random because
>> we cannot say for certain what will happen, but we can determine
>> the probability of each result. Random is another way of saying
>> "not directed" (i.e., there is nothing determining absolutely the
>> result of a particular trial or run).
>>
>> It's important to understand that when biologists say the
>> mutational process is random, we mean that it is not directed.
>> There is nothing determining definitively that a mutation will
>> occur at a particular nucleotide. Mutations provide the raw
>> material on which natural selection acts. Natural selection (and
>> other evolution forces) is a deterministic process; a beneficial
>> mutation will always reach fixation in an ideal population (i.e.,
>> natural selection will cause it to replace all the other alleles),
>> and a deleterious mutation will always be lost. We have no way of
>> saying for sure whether or not a particular nucleotide will mutate
>> because mutation is a random process - we can only assign a
>> probability that it will mutate.
>>
>> Martin
>
>
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