tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128085831047923286.post6109255052083810436..comments2024-01-02T06:15:13.748-05:00Comments on Pseudoplocephalus: Thoughts on Tarbosaurus, Part 1.Victoriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09773365014990396396noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128085831047923286.post-87536056059564639122012-06-04T08:35:09.971-04:002012-06-04T08:35:09.971-04:00Not all brawls with creationists are unpleasant. I...Not all brawls with creationists are unpleasant. I remember how I got one to throw in the towel:<br />"I surrender. You're right; the evidence for evolution is so overwhelming only a fool would doubt it...I am throwing out all my books by creationists and will never read another one."<br />As for "the word of god" it seems times are changing. Erhman's bestsellers show just how phony the "word of god" is. At last, the public is becoming aware of what scholars have known for a century.starmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09884942748644499035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128085831047923286.post-78772309362288140722012-05-25T11:06:03.708-04:002012-05-25T11:06:03.708-04:00Jerrold- No worries you're speaking to someone...Jerrold- No worries you're speaking to someone with many first hand dealings with creationists. I worked at the Tyrrell museum for 4 years, and we had our fair share of big C's come through. More recently I had a year long tour of duty working with an otherwise lovely family who were Creationist. On any other topic they'd be total fine rational people, but the instant the kids asked me a question about animals/plants/germs/fungus/etc my answer would almost always trigger some sort of imaginary fight on their part. Even if I avoided certain wordings. The fact they knew I didn't share their beliefs was enough for them to fight me. On a side tangent, for the supposed "true way" they are very very insecure about it. They're only good with their beliefs if you agree too..<br /><br />No the distrust I speak of is with more normal elements of society. Even people who don't identify with religious views of the world distrust and dismiss science these days.<br /><br />When I was training as a teacher, it was almost sickening how all my fellow soon to be teachers mocked and ignored our science cirriculum lectures and principals. There was a point late in our program where everyone would make fun of me because I could somewhat explain things using my science background (and I'm no expert... but in comparison to them I was Einstien! Some of them didn't even understand how the basic states of water worked!?!)traumadorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00387315561167115253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128085831047923286.post-45384007620907203252012-05-23T18:44:28.615-04:002012-05-23T18:44:28.615-04:00Craig,
It is more than just distrust. I have rece...Craig,<br /><br />It is more than just distrust. I have recently been debating evolution online with three creationists. One rejects all statements by all scientists because they are men and not "the infallible Word of God." A second rejects anything that scientists say because they sometimes use the words "possibly" and "probably" and therefore know nothing at all. The third compares teaching science in public school to Hitler indoctrinating children. And that's the mild stuff.Jerroldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18051720908030062194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128085831047923286.post-65452831247631318222012-05-23T11:20:55.241-04:002012-05-23T11:20:55.241-04:00Thanks. I think part of what we need to do as a pr...Thanks. I think part of what we need to do as a profession is be really honest about what we are actually doing with museum collections and why we collect certain things in certain ways. Maybe there needs to be more media attention on some of the 'smaller' stories, rather than stories just about new species. The 'smaller' stories tend to actually be the larger-scale projects looking at hundreds of specimens, larger geographic areas, or longer stretches of time! Perhaps then people would appreciate better why large collections are necessary.Victoriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773365014990396396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128085831047923286.post-41661386080134780522012-05-23T06:00:04.453-04:002012-05-23T06:00:04.453-04:00Nice post. Just goes to prove that we have to cont...Nice post. Just goes to prove that we have to continually engage the public in as many ways as possible, as often as possible, to promote our science and help dispel the stereotypical image of scientists, volunteers and other workers and the museums/institutions they work in.Mark Wildmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17644970562043088893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128085831047923286.post-28830206234848424612012-05-23T01:38:50.924-04:002012-05-23T01:38:50.924-04:00Well said.
It really is sad how much people dist...Well said. <br /><br />It really is sad how much people distrust science.traumadorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00387315561167115253noreply@blogger.com