Pseudo-Science

Tuesday night, my amateur astronomer husband dragged me to what I thought was going to be a dull university lecture on astronomy or advanced cosmic theory and such.

As it turned out, the talk was given by an Astrophysicist, but the Astrophysicist in question is the incredibly entertaining Neil deGrasse Tyson (who you may know from Nova’s Science NOW, various Discovery Channel programs). And the topic wasn’t Astronomy, or even Astrophysics… it was something far more dear to my own heart: Scientific Literacy.

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With apologies to international readers, this post is admittedly pretty U.S. specific.  Just carry on, please…   I’ll be back to more widely applicable brain stuff soon.   For those of you just tuning in, check out part 1 and part 2.

When I first mentioned this series to a group of acquaintances, one of them scoffed. “A war on science? In AMERICA? Pshaw. There’s always a fringe contingent against anything, and  Churches have been fighting science for centuries! You really think it matters NOW?”

Yes, yes I do.   And I think it should matter to you, too. (’cause I’m a busy body that way) 

I grew up in the heyday of the Apollo space program.  In 1969 I was four years old, and too young to understand the significance of that first moon walk, but I stayed up late to watch it on our flickering black and white TV anyway. My parent’s excitement and tension was infectious:  this was something very, very cool, and a little scary.  

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This post isn’t intended as open debate of Creation vs Evolution , and it isn’t about what I believe, or what I think you should believe.  Rather, it’s about the anti-science aspects of the Creation/Evolution arguments, and how they are contributing to a confused and negative perception of science in the US.  For more info, please see part 1 in this series. 

The problem appears straight-forward and simple on the surface; The Theory of Evolution flat out conflicts with the  literal interpretations of the Bible’s account of Creation.    Many Christians don’t see the conflict as relevant to their lives, and they move quietly beyond it, whatever they actually believe.

But for Fundamentalists, the conflict is clearly relevant.  For them, there is no doubting that life arose as described in Genesis, created by God along with the rest of the Universe in less than 7 days.  In their view, the Theory of Evolution is not only inaccurate, but it is an evil  and atheistic argument against mankind’s unique relationship with God.

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A few weeks ago on Creative Think, creative-thinking expert Roger von  Orech posed an interesting question: “What do you think will be demonized in the next two years?” 

My answer actually scared me:  Science.  

It’s hard to imagine at first…   how could a logical method of investigation (and the body of knowledge produced through that  method) be viewed as evil and diabolic? It seems especially odd in the US, where for so many years,  scientific technology  and education has been the driving force of our success. 

The whole concept seems absurd on it’s face - but under the surface, much of the public’s perspective on science is are shifting from positive to negative. Why?

Science IS Scary Stuff, Sometimes.

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I cultivate a few unsavory vices; among them is a curious fascination with all-things pseudo-science.

It’s led to an unhealthy love of bad disaster movies, where teens are chased by killer frosts and “volcano tires” let heroes drive miles across molten, flowing lava.

Bad science is also responsible for my compulsive curiosity about late-night infomercials. (Did you know that 25 lbs of alien plaque can live in your intestines? Or that dangerous toxins can be leeched out through your feet?! Wowser, and only 29.95!)

But where pseudo-science really shines is in the “science” of Intelligent Design. (Come on, who can resist the life from a jar of peanut butter argument?) [click to continue...]