I was speaking ironically, but there are people who, apparently, do believe that.rainbow wrote:Mike Pence seems to agree with you on that.Forty Two wrote:Science, as a product of western colonialism, is hate speech.
I think whether there is growing or lessening skepticism is irrelevant. The science should be taught at the appropriate science level in school, including Earth Science, climate science, etc. I would tell Pence that we don't worry about what the media says about other areas of science. We teach the science which is prevailing in the peer reviewed scientific journals, packaged and worded at a level appropriate for the students at issue.rainbow wrote:The full transcript of this interview is actually available online, right here. Some key quotes from Pence from the interview, with my notes in parentheses:
On climate change: “I think the science is very mixed on the subject of global warming, Chris.” (It isn’t.) “In the mainstream media, Chris, there is a denial of the growing skepticism in the scientific community about global warming.” (There wasn’t, and isn’t, growing skepticism.)
I seen nothing wrong, though, in teachers exploring the issues raised against global warming or climate change, provided the teachers both raise the issue and explain how the issues that have been raised have been addressed. I.e. - some people oppose the theory of human driven climate change, and here's a couple of reasons they've advanced -- and here is how the climate change theorists have addressed that.
That's no different than teaching big bang theory and exploring how recently some physicists have begun questioning the Big Bang theory and exploring those issues, as well as accurately describing them and accurately describing how big bang theorists have addressed those issues.
These are high level scientific concepts, and I really don't see them being talked about much in science class until well into high school. I mean, I think it was 8th grade and we were learning about "plate tectonics" in Earth science, and cutting open frogs in biology class. At that level, they're learning the basics -- even in first year physics in high school, kids are dropping stuff off the roof of the school to prove the theory that bowling balls and baseballs fall at the same rate.
That's why much of this climate change stuff is really a bit overblown. It's really more appropriate for a college course.
This is nonsense. But, I've said it before, it would be easy to "teach" Creationism, rather than "preach" it. If all we were really talking about was teaching the principles of creationism, we would spend about 5 minutes of class time: Some people, mostly religious people, believe that the earth was created by a deity or deities. Some of those ideas suggest a really old or infinite world, and others a fairly young world, and each religion tends to have a different methodology by which the deities created the world. For example, the Norse believed that the Allfather created the world from a giant cow and such, and the Christians, Jews and Muslims think that the deity created the world out of a firmament of waters over the course of 7 days. None of this has been backed up by scientific proofs, and we don't have time to cover each and every creation story.\
On teaching creationism in schools: “I think in our schools we should teach all of the facts about all of these controversial areas, and let our students, let our children and our children’s children decide based upon the facts and the science.” (This would appear to be a “teach the controversy” position, supported by creationism and intelligent design supporters.)
The problem with Pence is that he's assuming that we're ONLY talking about Jewish/Christian creationism. And, he doesn't just want it taught as a theory of physical events. He most likely wants moralistic preaching about the loving god and all that.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/ene ... ae97de8973[/quote]
When asked whether he believes in evolution (for a second time): “I believe with all my heart that God created the heavens and the earth, the seas and all that is in them …. How he did that, I’ll ask him about some day.” (Many religious believers have no problem saying that God acted through the process of evolution, a view that is not considered to be science-denying creationism, and that reconciles, successfully, science and religion. But note here that Pence does not specifically accept that stance.)
Pence says "how he did that, I'll ask him about some day." However, if I were interviewing him, I would ask him if it tells us in the Bible how god did it, and whether that method described in the bible is literally true.
But, he would evade and fail to answer. They all do that.
Basically, there is no getting to a logical answer. They just say what they say and ignore logical contradictions. It's what little kids do when they both believe in Santa Claus and also know he doesn't exist. That few years from like age 8 to 10, when kids become "scoffers" at the idea of Santa Claus. Like in the movie "A Christmas Story" the main character says "Most of us were scoffers....but, so close to zero hour [Christmas] it didn't pay to take any chances." So, he dutifully visits Santa to tell him he wants his Red Rider BB gun, and such. He knows, but he believes.
