[video] A trip to the science museum-Creationism Style!

[fingersmith]

I couldn't find any mention of this elsewhere, I despair for the education of these home-schooled children if this is the sort of thing their parents feel is appropriate [link] (http://www.glumbert.com/media/ruinmuseum)!

Basically a couple of guys calling themselves B.C. Tours (http://bctours.org/) taking some kids around the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, but giving their own Biblical take on things. Eek!

[Wauthan]

At first I thought that the video was a pretty good parody, and expected applause and laughter. But as the video went on the applause never came and it wasn't funny anymore.

I know this must be old news for most of you guys but I'm at a loss of words. Atleast I have a better understanding now about the reason behind JREF, and why some of the posters here are so passionate in the defence of rationality.

But the guys in the video represent a very small minority right?

[fuelair]

The museum is cool! Spent an hour with my three cousins(or thereabouts) last summer just in the shop playing with the stuff there (they are 13, 9 and 9 (twins) and I'm 61).
We also saw the rest of the museum and it was fun too!! When in Denver, visit/support/buy stuff!!

[bokonon]

I can't endorse B.C. Tours, but the reporter is no scientific heavyweight himself. He "does the math" for 7 generations of people who are claimed to have lived 800 years, and implies that his 5600 years shows the tourguides' 1000 year estimate to be nonsense. If each of those 7 generations starts having children when they're 30, 1000 years isn't so ridiculous, and 2000 years would be a reasonable upper bound.

He also implies that "radiometric dating" completely refutes the creationist's charge that fossils being dated by layer, and layers being dated by fossils, is circular reasoning. Maybe that's the best you can expect in a 10-minute news feature, but the facts are a little more complicated. I would rather see someone address this argument by showing that the method is more like a feedback loop that reinforces the conclusions than circular reasoning.

I agree with the newscaster's conclusions, but I think some of the reasoning he uses to reach those conclusions is weaker than it needs to be.

[vexed]

But the guys in the video represent a very small minority right?
We can hope.

[fingersmith]

I can't endorse B.C. Tours, but the reporter is no scientific heavyweight himself. He "does the math" for 7 generations of people who are claimed to have lived 800 years, and implies that his 5600 years shows the tourguides' 1000 year estimate to be nonsense. If each of those 7 generations starts having children when they're 30, 1000 years isn't so ridiculous, and 2000 years would be a reasonable upper bound.

He also implies that "radiometric dating" completely refutes the creationist's charge that fossils being dated by layer, and layers being dated by fossils, is circular reasoning. Maybe that's the best you can expect in a 10-minute news feature, but the facts are a little more complicated. I would rather see someone address this argument by showing that the method is more like a feedback loop that reinforces the conclusions than circular reasoning.

I agree with the newscaster's conclusions, but I think some of the reasoning he uses to reach those conclusions is weaker than it needs to be.

I agree bokonon, you can't expect a full breakdown in this sort of news item but 800years x 7 generations=5,600years was definitely a palm-meets-forehead moment.

[m_huber]

But the guys in the video represent a very small minority right?

Estimates of Americans who do not believe in evolution usually hit around 50%.

If you go to any small town in the Southeast or Midwest, you will find predominantly Creationists.




As for the math of Adam to Noah, the numbers are easy to calculate; the child-bearing ages of each generation are listed. Using Genesis 5, I get 1556 years from Adam to Noah's kids, and then another 100 years for the flood to come. A curiosity here is that every generation before Noah had children before reaching 200, but Noah allegedly had kids at age 500.

[Moochie]

Whatever the shortcomings of the reporter, this is a good example of the brainwashing of young minds. "Repeat after me..." or something to that effect is the oft-heard refrain. In other words, the children are being encouraged to take what these adults tell them as "gospel" and to disregard the empirical evidence that refutes that gospel. Shameful behavior on the part of these adults, IMO.

M.

[thaiboxerken]

Estimates of Americans who do not believe in evolution usually hit around 50%.

Which is a scary fact.

[bokonon]

There are still plenty of people in other countries to do the genetic engineering research that Americans who find themselves in a creationist cul-de-sac will be unqualified to perform.

[Wauthan]

Estimates of Americans who do not believe in evolution usually hit around 50%.

Perhaps I have a depressingly optimistic view on the world but that doesn't sound so bad, all things considered. :boggled:

As a comparison the swedish surveys on the same topic, that I'm aware of, give an estimate ranging from 30% to 15%. As usual the devil is in the details, as surveys are notoriously unreliable, but I don't think it's unplausible that a third of my fellow swedes have doubts about (human) evolution.

The main difference might be the hardline pro-evolution stance of the government, much to the annoyance of the ID lobbyists here, and the lack of an strong alternative "theory".