USA lags rest of world in understanding of genetics and acceptance of evolution: (rejecting, Earth)

[Sunstone]

Americans might be spoiled. They shop for everything, so perhaps they think they can shop for truth too. Pick out whatever "truth" suits them.

[egroen]

You'd be surprised. There are actually people out there who still believe the world is flat.

There should be a lot more. Anyone who purports to believing in an inerrant bible should by all means believe in a flat earth.

-Erin

[Mister_T]

Originally Posted by egroen

There should be a lot more. Anyone who purports to believing in an inerrant bible should by all means believe in a flat earth.

-Erin

Why? A flat earth is not biblical.

[!Fluffy!]

Whoa cowboys! Maybe we could put away those 6-guns and head this posse in a different direction....!

If you take religiosity out of the mix, aren't we just ah... generally more backwards here educationwise than we would like to admit? The first thing I thought of when I read the OP was A Nation At Risk:

We report to the American people that while we can take justifiable pride in what our schools and colleges have historically accomplished and contributed to the United States and the well-being of its people, the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people. What was unimaginable a generation ago has begun to occur--others are matching and surpassing our educational attainments.

If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. We have even squandered the gains in student achievement made in the wake of the Sputnik challenge. Moreover, we have dismantled essential support systems which helped make those gains possible. We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament.

Our society and its educational institutions seem to have lost sight of the basic purposes of schooling, and of the high expectations and disciplined effort needed to attain them. This report, the result of 18 months of study, seeks to generate reform of our educational system in fundamental ways and to renew the Nation's commitment to schools and colleges of high quality throughout the length and breadth of our land.

You would have thought these words would have awakened more outrage:

"If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves."

But really if you do even a little research it becomes apparent that not much has changed since A Nation At Risk first came out.

I would humbly submit that if America refuses to educate her children properly, teaching them the basics of logic and HOW to learn rather than just babysitting them or using them for the latest social engineering experiment, we end up with rampant ignorance. Which is what we have today.

[/imho]

[Sunstone]

It's pleasant to reflect that the US is headed backwards in both genetics and evolution precisely at a time in history when biotechnology is poised to develop into a trillion dollar industry. This is the sort of forward thinking wisdom the Fundamentalists cherish.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Mister_T

Fear of change. Changing one's ideals takes them out of the comfort zone. Is this mostly a conservative issue?

Evolution denial is pretty common in the African-American community, just as it's common for people to just not get how anyone could not believe in a God. It seems to be more a cultural subgroup thing than an education thing, though, because I find it still among the highly educated also. But then, it's not a very *scientific* education that people have sought out.

I tend to find evolution denial more where there is black/white thinking going on. Now, black/white thinking does have its uses, but in scientific inquiry...usually not.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Americans might be spoiled. They shop for everything, so perhaps they think they can shop for truth too. Pick out whatever "truth" suits them.

Uh, that's exactly what a lot of Americans appear to do.

I have had the odd conversation with friends that I don't get to pick my Baha'i community based on what I'm "comfortable with." My community is based on geography, and if there are people unlike me -- I'll just have to grow a bit and deal with it.

I don't think there's any advantage, and actually serious disadvantage, in splitting apart into groups so we only hang with those most like us. How do you learn to appreciate the other approaches to life if you've isolated yourself from them?

[Willamena]

I'm a bit appalled that the website referred to ID as "Creation Myth". That really confuses things, since the Creation myth means something entirely different and has a specific application in terms of a story. A bad move on the part of the authors.

If ID is indeed, "the Judeo-Christian belief that the logical sequences found in nature are not random happenings or surprising mutations, but deftly managed events created by a greater omniscient and omnipresent intelligence with a specific plan," then it cannot honestly be said that that is the Abrahamic Creation myth. The myth does have set parameters, which are obviously ignored here to place "Creation Myth" into a new context.

Oh, don't mind me. It just pains me to see such abuse of terminology when it happens.