I’m not opposed to homeschooling on general principle. I think it’s possible for reasonably intelligent parents to provide their children a decent education at home. Unfortunately, in the United States the word “homeschooler” has an incredibly strong correlation with “evangelical brainwasher.” This recent news article reveals that the vast majority of American homeschoolers do so, not because they think they are better at teaching math at home, but rather for religious reasons. Indeed, as the article discusses, there’s a frightening number of publishers who put out textbooks that are really just delivery systems for fundamentalist propaganda–especially when it comes to evolution. Alas.
Archive for the ‘evolution’ Category
Homeschooled = Evangelical?
Sunday, March 7th, 2010
Eugenie Scott v Ray Comfort Pt. 2
Thursday, November 5th, 2009As I reported a few days ago, evangelist and armchair evolution critic Ray Comfort has engaged in debate with Dr. Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education. Their exchange has been posted at US News and World Report. Here’s the second and final round. First, Ray Comfort trots out more of the same old nonsensical blither-blather, then Scott finishes him off in her closing statement.
Look for Comfort’s minions soon at a major university near you–they’re giving away copies of Darwin’s Origin of Species with a 50-page “introduction” by Comfort. Aren’t you lucky?
Eugenie Scott v Ray Comfort
Monday, November 2nd, 2009In this corner…Ray “The Atheist’s Nightmare” Comfort, evangelical nutjob and world renowned banana theorist, defending his publication of a heavily abridged edition of On the Origin of Species–with a special introduction that smears Charles Darwin as a racist, misogynist and proto-Nazi.
And in this corner…Dr. Eugenie C. Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, taking Comfort to task for his disingenuous and factually challenged claims.
You know who’s gonna win this one.
The Tangled Bank
Saturday, October 24th, 2009
Review by John C. Snider © 2009
I haven’t had a biology class since I was in high school in the late 1970s. Despite two college degrees filled with math, engineering and chemistry, I never took any more biology; as a result, most of what I know about biology in general, and evolution in particular, I’ve picked up from magazine articles, internet resources and the occasional TV documentary. So I was very excited when I heard that Richard Dawkins’ new book (The Greatest Show on Earth) would be devoted to the evidence for evolution by natural selection. I was equally excited to discover that the latest book by science journalist Carl Zimmer is a textbook titled The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution (pub. by Roberts & Company, Oct 2009, 385 pp hdcvr, $59.95)
The Greatest Show on Earth, Chapter 13
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Chapter-by-chapter thoughts on Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by John C. Snider © 2009
Chapter 13: There is grandeur in this view of life
Well, here we are: the big finish. Dawkins chooses to close his book by taking the last half of the last paragraph of Charles Darwin’s magnum opus On the Origin of Species and offering his own ruminations one each phrase. It’s a little awkward, to be honest; in the end, it comes across like the overly-detailed commentaries offered by fundamentalist evangelicals, where they provide whole essays on the meaning and context of each word in a Bible verse.
The Greatest Show on Earth, Chapter 12
Monday, October 19th, 2009Chapter-by-chapter thoughts on Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by John C. Snider © 2009
Chapter 12: Arms races and ‘evolutionary theodicy’
More bad news for the Creationists. Not only is the Creator apparently whimsical and inept–He is also heartless and cruel!
The Greatest Show on Earth, Chapter 11
Monday, October 19th, 2009Chapter-by-chapter thoughts on Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by John C. Snider © 2009
Chapter 11: History written all over us
Creationists will find it increasingly difficult to explain away the evidence presented in the later chapters of this book. In Chapter 11, Dawkins shows how our bodies–and those of our animal “cousins”–show not only common ancestry, but the wondrous and inefficient ways in which we have evolved.
The Greatest Show on Earth, Chapter 10
Monday, October 19th, 2009Chapter-by-chapter thoughts on Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by John C. Snider © 2009
Chapter 10: The tree of cousinship
Homology. The fact that, say, mammals all share the same basic body plan, and that each species is more or less a variation on a theme, could either be evidence of shared ancestry, or evidence or a shared Creator. Dawkins points out that bats and humans (for example) share the same skeletal structure, nearly bone for bone; the differences in the relative proportions.
The Greatest Show on Earth, Chapter 9
Sunday, October 18th, 2009Chapter-by-chapter thoughts on Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by John C. Snider © 2009
Chapter 9: The ark of the continents
Dawkins points out that geography has a profound impact on evolution: the landscape can either allow species to interact, or it can prevent them from interacting. In the latter case–what Dawkins calls “islands” (be they actual islands or metaphorical ones)–it can lead to new species branching off from existing species.
Podcast #82 – Creation
Friday, February 26th, 2010Thanks to the many fellow science fans who joined us for the Creation screening at Atlanta’s Landmark Midtown Art Cinema. And thanks to Royal Orchid Thai Cuisine for accommodating our unexpected horde.
Tags: annie's box, charles darwin, creation, david mcallister, evolution, jason bourque, jennifer connelly, paul bettany
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