Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Science under attack

My friend Prachi just pointed me towards this article, which is an excellent portrayal of the problems of Intelligent Design. I think that it is vitally important for all scientists to watch this political controversy unfold and to lend critical judgment against Intelligent Design. Obviously, evolutionary biology is at stake right now, but it would be woefully inept of us to think that religious fundamentalists will stop if they win the battle against evolution. They will then start to attack the foundations of geology, and its ancient origins. They will fight against nuclear chemistry and its carbon dating methodology. They will try to bring down astronomy and our understanding of the vast magnitude of space and age of the universe. In short, the battle of Intelligent Design against evolutionary biology is the first battle in the war of science versus ideology. Critical thinking cannot afford to lose that war.

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