The author writes that public schools should teach both evolution and creationism. He states that students can then prove the truth. Neither theory, however, can possibly be verified in a classroom.
To begin with, schools never possess the latest technology and rarely store enough proof to verify scientific theories. Schools also emphasize what scientists think rather than how to think like a scientist. Thus, few if any students can check for themselves the power of the theory of evolution.
Next, divide infinity in half and what you get is just as infinite as before. Science is solely rooted in what we can show repeatedly and reliably. There is no way to set aside an infinite being to show that one lives. Thus, the idea that an infinite intelligence directs evolution is not a scientific theory and students cannot test it.
Teaching creationism as science is fraud. In an open, honest society based on the principles of the Enlightenment, the government owes the public intellectual honesty, even if the public does not wish to hear it. Trying to undercut evolution as just a scientific “theory” shows little regard for the raw power of modern science. Cherry-picking its ideas uproot our country’s competitiveness and position. The mix that keeps the debate brewing is cultural fondness for religion along with poor communication from scientists, fermented by the human drive for narratives.
– Dan Ohrenstein
Senior