Dear Texas Board of Education,
Our colleague Phil reports that one Ms. Barbara Cargill proposed an amendment to the Texas science standards so that teachers must tell students there are different estimates on the age of the Universe. After passing 11 – 3, it goes to final vote tomorrow.
The problem with this is that there is just no way the Universe could possibly be 6000 years old. I’m certain. You see, I used to study horseshoe crabs–neat little critters–and they’ve been poking around the planet for hundreds of millions of years. So you realize the inherent problem… Even if there’s fuzzy math going on, it’s simply not a possibility.
Now I drove across Texas earlier this year and it’s a pretty nice place with terrific BBQ and a great big open blue sky. I even met some good folks in Austin working hard to get a planetarium going at HAM’s night. Thing is, we’ve been discussing science literacy today here at The Intersection and especially when it matters. Clearly now is one of those instances.
Please vote wisely.
Sincerely,
Sheril Rose Kirshenbaum
p.s. This outstanding resource may help with the decision.
March 26th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
So now would you say that someone who thinks the universe was created after humans domesticated the dog is…from Mars?
However, I protest, but not for the usual reasons. There is as much evidence to support the Judeo-Christian creation fact as there is to support the African Boobjub creation fact and the Hindu serpent-Lord Vishnu creation fact. Being a democratic country Ms. Cargill must protect the interests of minorities and include these facts too.
On another note, I am sure Ms. Cargill will now be eager to include different estimates of the number of Jews who died in the Holocaust, including an estimate of zero?
March 26th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Nice! Now how do we get this distributed?
March 26th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
But there *are* multiple estimates for the age of the universe:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_universe
Different methods given slightly different mean and error values, all in the approximate range of 13.7 billion years.
March 26th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Of course. I meant specifically the 6000 years old nonsense and should probably have quoted more from Phil’s post to be clearer:
See her website and you’ll understand why we’re concerned.
March 26th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Let me be so bold now as to say that Ms. Barbara Cargill is…ignorant.
“For example, when evidence for universal common ancestry in the fossil record is taught (i.e. scientific strength), then the contradictory evidence showing the huge gaps of missing transitional fossils in the record must also be presented (i.e. scientific weakness)”
Ah, the old God of the Gaps argument. How endearing. Does the lady not understand that the “weakness” of science is precisely its strength? That was a rhetorical question obviously.
March 26th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Seriously? Not even a nod to the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
March 26th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Sheril,
I try to avoid being traumatized while sick, so I’ll avoid following the link. But it was rather clear that the proposal wasn’t talking about that level of variation.
A former labmate grew up in Texas. From what she said, the state of education was already rather scary when she was still in the public school system there, and she started grad school in 2006.
March 27th, 2009 at 7:01 am
[...] Mocha Momma placed an observative post today on Open Letter To The Texas Board Of EducationHere’s a quick excerptPlease vote wisely. [...]
March 27th, 2009 at 10:54 am
We will see in the coming days if not hours if the Texas science book standards will indeed be highjacked by these religious zealots.
I for one am trying not to get too upset over this. If the worst comes to pass, it will be most interesting to see how quickly the first lawsuit appears, and watch with joy as the next major legal smack-down occurs (Dover was just too fun). Also, if biology text books (or other science text books) are revised to include such bunk, and those text books find a wide usage outside Texas, it will be interesting to see the reaction from other more reality-based school boards across the nation. I expect actions will be taken to correct the wrongs in one way or another. News of that will also be delicious.
I think in the end reasons will prevail.
March 27th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Please- go crash this poll in favor of ‘evolution only’… it is being hosted by the home town television station of Dr. Don McElroy- the Chair of the Texas State Board of Education, and creationist radical. It would be awesome to tip it in favor of ‘evolution only’ . Since this morning it has tipped far in that direction, but a little more would be better!
http://www.ktbx.com
Poll is on the left side of the page….