08.29.08

GOP Veep and ID

Posted in Evolution, politics at 2:01 pm by nemo

Palin’s dangerous views on science education
By Ed Brayton 8/29/08 12:57 PM
One of the first things that stands out to me about the choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be McCain’s running mate is the fact that Palin is an advocate of teaching Intelligent Design Creationism (IDC) in public school science classrooms alongside evolution.

My ScienceBlogs colleague Afarensis reported two years ago:

Palin was answering a question from the moderator near the conclusion of Wednesday night’s televised debate on KAKM Channel 7 when she said, “Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both.”

This is standard rhetoric for IDC advocates because it taps in to a very basic notion of fairness held by most Americans. If you’re going to teach one theory, it’s only right to teach both theories, right? Well, wrong. The premise here is false, but it’s false in a way that feeds into the ignorance of science that is so pervasive in our society.

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