Please join me on Thursday night as I welcome Scott Thurman, director of the documentary “The Revisionaries” to The John Smart Show. The show starts at 6pm Pacific. Click here Thursday at 6 to listen live or anytime after for the archive edition.
You’re homework is to watch The Revisionaries on PBS.org by clicking here.
From the documentary’s distributor Kino Lorber:
The Revisionaries showcases how public education has become the latest battleground in a new wave of cultural, religious and ideological clashes, with local Texas education board members advancing agendas of Creationism and other religious issues in public schools. This documentary highlights how their tactics have had the effect of rewriting key tenets of U.S. democracy and are affecting educational policies at the national level – for generations to come. — (C) Kino Lorber
Join Scott and I for a lively discussion about evolution, film making, politcs, and the culture wars.
hey, that was fast!
watched it at the PBS link. Loved it. add facebook message on their page and a very nice man in Scott Thurman..and BOOM we gots a show.
Similarly, the process of “revising” American history started almost as soon as it began to be written. It all came down to black hats and white hats, and simple, noble, explanations for every bit of unpleasantness that we “had” to get involved in. Most of what we think we know about our country’s history is just not true. A great overview is Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.
I used to get my panties in a twist about creationists and their desire to re-write history until I realized the lengths to which scientists will go to make reality conform to their theories. How many scientific “certainties” have been debunked in recent years?
“until I realized the lengths to which scientists will go to make reality conform to their theories.”
Sorry, Kim, you’re completely wrong on this one. Observations lead to Hypotheses, which are refined by further observations & experiments into Theories, which are further refined. Natural Selection is a perfect example. People observed the diversity of life and sought an explanation. The bible offered one, but it’s laughable. Lamarck offered a plausible one, but it was disproved by observation. Darwin offered one, and it’s proven correct. It took nearly a century to identify the mechanism behind Evolution (DNA), but that only strengthened Darwin’s original premise.
I challenge you to give an example of scientists ‘making reality conform to their theories.’ Before you do, I like to know your definition of a scientific Theory.
“How many scientific “certainties” have been debunked in recent years?”
As “certainty” is not a scientific term (“a Law” is), explain what you mean by it. But the answer is probably “None”. Again, provide examples to support this claim.
This will take your breath away:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/hC3VTgIPoGU?rel=0
Yes. It did. It was utterly horrifying and spellbinding all at once. I could not stop watching.
mentioned in the show:
http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/don-mcleroy-leaves-creationist-comment-evolution-cant-explain-biochemical-complexity/
Has anyone in the textbook industry considered just flipping TX the bird? TX bullies the publishers, but from what other source could TX get their books? Surely the publishers can survive a temporary financial hit to win this game of chicken.
If we really were designed by a Supreme Being, wouldn’t She have done a better job ?
We’re pretty fragile creatures when you get down to it.
I recently saw someone describe “the stuff between our legs … about as well-designed as if a city planner had combined an entertainment complex with a sewage treatment plant.”
ROFLLL
Was it Neil DeGrasse Tyson, TL? “Death by Black Hole” I heard on audiobook a year or so ago. Checked it out from the library. The funniest parts about pseudo-scientific errors (surely ones you know well) perpetuated in pop culture and films were all scratched, to my commuting fury. Still, recommended for all on this blog.
I don’t remember, but DeGrasse Tyson has some of the wittiest zingers around.
Luv it..and it’s true..
The newer studies of epigenetics will blow creationism to hell, where it has belonged all along..This is fascinating stuff, not conclusive, yet, but promising:
..http://www.newrepublic.com/book/review/ultimate-mystery-inheritance-epigenetics-richard-francis