Sunday, January 06, 2008

They Should Have Named It 'Jurassic Park: Spunky Black Girl Adventure'

Well, the National Academy of Sciences has released a booklet illustrating, over a relatively brief 88 pages, the concept of evolution and why creationists are doofy liars. They go a bit farther in extending the olive branch than I suspect I would have gone, by having men of the cloth explain why Evolution and religious faith are not opposed.

While I certainly commend their efforts, I wonder how much good it's going to do. Those that don't "believe" in evolution never will. They're twits who you could safely shoot because the thickness of their skull renders their head bulletproof. I'm sorry to devolve into name-calling here, but it's the best that can be done. Reason doesn't work. Hell, theology doesn't even work. They know what they know and no one will ever change their mind.

Fine. Be that way. I can't stop you. It's you're right. It's also my right to mock you, deride you, and look forward to the day when you slough off this mortal coil, stand in heaven beside your precious God, and leave the rest of us the fuck alone.

I assume they hope to get this book into the hands of those who are on the fence, as it were. Again, commendable goal. But who the hell is on the fence? It's like being on the fence about the Iraq War. If you don't have an opinion yet, I don't want you to have an opinion. An opinion in someone as apathetic as you could be dangerous. Now go home and watch Trading Spaces.

I guess the best place to send this booklet would be schools. Millions of them. Get one into the hands of every public school student in the country. And start young. Hit them in 6th grade. Hit them before they even know most of the words. By them time they hit college, they're either smart or stupid and there's likely not much that can be done to change that.

I think there, in schools, the book stands a decent chance of doing something. And it needs to be free. Schools can't afford another book. Otherwise, it will just end up being yet another geeky publication out there that no one aside from scientists read.

P.S. I know it's free to download. I meant free to get a fully bound and printed copy.

Evolution: Read All About It! (Via Science Magazine)

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