As challenges to evolution mount, museums train guides to respond

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) -- Educated as a geologist in her native Hungary, Eniko Farkas knows, understands and firmly believes in the science behind evolution. Still, she was caught off guard last year when a visitor to the Museum of the Earth where she volunteers angrily confronted her, denouncing evolution and insisting the museum teach creationism instead.

"I had a difficult time getting out of the situation," said Farkas, a retired Cornell University librarian and volunteer at the museum for the past seven years. "It got personal and very negative, and I got so flustered and frustrated that I know I didn't make much sense trying to explain myself."

With challenges to the theory of evolution becoming more widespread - and sometimes hostile - museum director Warren Allmon developed a special workshop and a 13-page guide book to help volunteers and staff answer questions about evolution, creationism and intelligent design.

"This is not a defensive reaction, or an attempt to change anyone's mind," said Allmon. "It's just that we find most people are uninformed about evolution, or have been given misinformation."



http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NY_EVOLUTION_TRAINING_NYOL-?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-12-23-16-16-35

Instead of using a guidebook to deal with these idiots, just tell them that evolution is real but that it just happened to miss them.

I really wonder what the rest of the civilized world must thing about this kind of thing.

I do hope that these new educational approaches in museums will at least help to educate some people as to how science actually works. Many of these people are simply closed to anything that doesn't already fit their preconcieved notions though.

with all the joys of leviticus on display. Of course it would require special admission and of course would never be open on the sabbath.

Or maybe radical christian clerics should be angrily confronted and told that they have to teach evolution in their tax exempt Sunday School Classes. Such action would require stooping to their level, or evolving backward.

And they can put their damn fool children in their own damn fool schools and idiotize them as they see fit. I know you were joking, but my tolerance for pandering, even in jest, to the religious idiots is reaching absolute zero.

I think they already have in Glen Rose, Texas.

John Paul accepted evolution, and that's the dead pope! This is beyond dumb at this point.

a hot-button issue for me ever since I could reason maturely for myself--and I know that therein lies the problem, you cannot reason with blind faith. HOWEVER, when religious belief is confronted with scientific evidence there is just no room for discussion. Scientific statements are based on tests, the tests add to a body of evidence, and the evidence stands for itself. If controverting evidence is found to challenge scientific ideas, old or new, adjustments are "appropriately" made (Science does have it's own ego wars occasionally--my reason for the enclosed quotations). Science has no sides, and to imply that it does is puerilism.

'"John Calvert, a managing director of the Intelligent
Design Network, said any improved dialogue is welcome
because "the problem with museum exhibits is what they
don't say....only one side of the science is presented.
No other possibilities are allowed to compete."'

So WHAT other possibilities are these people talking about? It is not Science, so enough with the "I believe...." and "I feel...." excuses. Science is not a threat to religious belief or spirituality--it IS a threat to religious bigotry, zealousness, and dogma.

NoFederales

on edit: sp