Evolution is fact, get over it
By: Ryan Jackson
Issue date: 2/3/09 Section: Opinion
I have to admit that sometimes Eastern disappoints me, the food isn't that great, the town smells, and the athletic teams seem to be allergic to winning.
The biggest disappointment, however, has to be the many intelligent students at this school who seem to have a bone to pick with science, and the theory of evolution in particular.
When I left my extremely conservative hometown, I thought that the blind and blissfully ignorant would run to small, private, Christian colleges where they could hide from terrifying apparitions like mountains of evidence and more than a century of experimentation.
You can imagine my surprise when a student, explained to me that the Earth was only 8,000 years old, and that he could see sin physically manifesting itself in this world and corrupting it, thus speeding up time, he then tried to justify his theory with Einstein's theory of relativity.
First, if you are seeing things that nobody else can, you might want to go talk to a psychologist. Second, if nobody but you can see your only evidence to disprove the fundamental tenant of biology, most rational people are not going to take it seriously. Third, if you can't understand the theory of evolution, I really doubt that you can comprehend the theory of relativity.
Luckily, I have been spared another of those strange and surreal conversations thus far in the semester. However, through many other talks with many other students, I think I have determined what some of the main misconceptions are. Primarily I think the scientific jargon might be confusing people, especially the use of the word 'theory.'
The word 'theory' has a different meaning to scientists than the general public, in science a theory is an explanation for a natural phenomenon that has been tested numerous times and based on the gathered evidence is accepted as true. This does not mean that it is then placed on a pedestal and left alone.
To the contrary, it is tested even more from every angle, alterations are made if necessary, and if a theory is proved false, it is discarded for a more accurate understanding of the phenomena.
The biggest disappointment, however, has to be the many intelligent students at this school who seem to have a bone to pick with science, and the theory of evolution in particular.
When I left my extremely conservative hometown, I thought that the blind and blissfully ignorant would run to small, private, Christian colleges where they could hide from terrifying apparitions like mountains of evidence and more than a century of experimentation.
You can imagine my surprise when a student, explained to me that the Earth was only 8,000 years old, and that he could see sin physically manifesting itself in this world and corrupting it, thus speeding up time, he then tried to justify his theory with Einstein's theory of relativity.
First, if you are seeing things that nobody else can, you might want to go talk to a psychologist. Second, if nobody but you can see your only evidence to disprove the fundamental tenant of biology, most rational people are not going to take it seriously. Third, if you can't understand the theory of evolution, I really doubt that you can comprehend the theory of relativity.
Luckily, I have been spared another of those strange and surreal conversations thus far in the semester. However, through many other talks with many other students, I think I have determined what some of the main misconceptions are. Primarily I think the scientific jargon might be confusing people, especially the use of the word 'theory.'
The word 'theory' has a different meaning to scientists than the general public, in science a theory is an explanation for a natural phenomenon that has been tested numerous times and based on the gathered evidence is accepted as true. This does not mean that it is then placed on a pedestal and left alone.
To the contrary, it is tested even more from every angle, alterations are made if necessary, and if a theory is proved false, it is discarded for a more accurate understanding of the phenomena.