Few Biologists but Many Evangelicals Sign Anti-Evolution Petition

[rodeodance]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/science/sciencespecial2/21peti.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

February 21, 2006

Few Biologists but Many Evangelicals Sign Anti-Evolution Petition
By KENNETH CHANG

In the recent skirmishes over evolution, advocates who have pushed to dilute its teaching have regularly pointed to a petition signed by 514 scientists and engineers.

The petition, they say, is proof that scientific doubt over evolution persists. But random interviews with 20 people who signed the petition and a review of the public statements of more than a dozen others suggest that many are evangelical Christians, whose doubts about evolution grew out of their religious beliefs. And even the petition's sponsor, the Discovery Institute in Seattle, says that only a quarter of the signers are biologists, whose field is most directly concerned with evolution. The other signers include 76 chemists, 75 engineers, 63 physicists and 24 professors of medicine.

The petition was started in 2001 by the institute, which champions intelligent design as an alternative theory to evolution and supports a "teach the controversy" approach, like the one scuttled by the state Board of Education in Ohio last week.

Institute officials said that 41 people added their names to the petition after a federal judge ruled in December against the Dover, Pa., school district's attempt to present intelligent design as an alternative to evolution......

[rodeodance]

1. not many biologists whose work include the hisory of life have signed.

.....A Web site with the full list of those who signed the petition was made available yesterday by the institute at dissentfromdarwin.org. The signers all claim doctorates in science or engineering. The list includes a few nationally prominent scientists like James M. Tour, a professor of chemistry at Rice University; Rosalind W. Picard, director of the affective computing research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Philip S. Skell, an emeritus professor of chemistry at Penn State who is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

It also includes many with more modest positions, like Thomas H. Marshall, director of public works in Delaware, Ohio, who has a doctorate in environmental ecology. The Discovery Institute says 128 signers hold degrees in the biological sciences and 26 in biochemistry. That leaves more than 350 nonbiologists, including Dr. Tour, Dr. Picard and Dr. Skell.

Of the 128 biologists who signed, few conduct research that would directly address the question of what shaped the history of life.

Of the signers who are evangelical Christians, most defend their doubts on scientific grounds but also say that evolution runs against their religious beliefs. ....

[xchrom]

3. who says idiots can't have degrees?

:shrug:

[Onlooker]

2. Only 514 names?

In five years, they've managed to collect only 514 names, and most of them aren't meaningful in the area of evolution? Isn't that pathetic? There must be 10s of 1000s of qualified bioligists, yet the high organized, very rich fundie movement can't find more people to sign their petition. LOL.

[Salviati]

5. In response to this,

a four day petition was opened from Sept 28th - Oct 1st 2005. 11,622 Anthropologists, Biologists and other scientists signed the petition, and it can be seen here:

http://shovelbums.org/component/option,com_mospetition/Itemid,506/

This petition is in response to the Discovery Institute's petition "A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism" signed, since 2001, by 400 scientists, as of July 2005. That petition is presented to the public as a scientific endorsement of the religion-based concept of Intelligent Design over Darwinism (read more). Unfortunately, the majority, 83%, of these "scientists" are not schooled in the fields that utilize evolutionary theory in detail, nor even in science, and they are not qualified to present their ideas in a way other than personal opinion. We feel this petition is misleading the public, and we use this petition to show that:



Our Petition


"We, as scientists trained in fields that utilize evolutionary theory, do not consider Intelligent Design to be a fact-based science appropriate for teaching in public schools because it is theistic in nature, not empirical, and therefore does not pass the rigors of scientific hypothesis testing and theory development. As such, we petition that Intelligent Design not be presented in public schools as a viable science within the scientific curriculum."

[Demeter]

4. Science Is Not Conducted By Polling Ignoramuses

It really doesn't matter what the ignorant think; when a natural process starts, it follows its own natural laws. As science consists of describing, measuring, and predicting those natural processes, opinion has precious little to do with it. Those idiots who insist on dictating to the universe are first to be squashed by the consequences of their egomania.

[MaineYooper]

6. the NCSE "Project Steve" count currently stands at 703, so we win.

http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/articles/3541_project_steve_2_16_2003.asp

NCSE's "Project Steve" is a tongue-in-cheek parody of a long-standing creationist tradition of amassing lists of "scientists who doubt evolution" or "scientists who dissent from Darwinism." (For examples of such lists, see the FAQs.)
...
Project Steve mocks this practice with a bit of humor, and because "Steves" are only about 1% of scientists, it incidentally makes the point that tens of thousands of scientists support evolution. And it honors the late Stephen Jay Gould, NCSE supporter and friend.

The statement reads:

Evolution is a vital, well-supported, unifying principle of the biological sciences, and the scientific evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the idea that all living things share a common ancestry. Although there are legitimate debates about the patterns and processes of evolution, there is no serious scientific doubt that evolution occurred or that natural selection is a major mechanism in its occurrence. It is scientifically inappropriate and pedagogically irresponsible for creationist pseudoscience, including but not limited to "intelligent design," to be introduced into the science curricula of our nation's public schools.

Want to join?

To see if you qualify, just answer the following simple questions:

• Are you named Steve, Stephen, Steven, Esteban, Etienne, or Stephanie?


• Do you have a Ph.D. in biology, geology, paleontology, or a related scientific field?


• Do you want the kind of success in life you always thought was reserved for the "other Steves"?

If you answered yes to all three of these questions, then you have what it takes to become an NCSE Steve!