Sanity versus "biblical truth"

[matgb]

Quickie, aimed specifically at two people^[1] but of general interest to all who value decent science education, nannyo excellent post about her encounter with the people that run the Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm. I am very scared that that place exisits within the UK. On a similar vein, those that haven't seen it should probably read Scalzi's report of his visit to the Creation Museum. Does anyone have any brain bleach?

Heh: I do like this from the comments at Scalzi's report though:

Galatians 4:24
These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants.

So, um, the bible, if literally true, is literally a metaphor according to St Paul?

ETA: innerbrat has put on her day job hat and got into contact with them, removing the bit that she studies evolutionary morphology from her NHM email sigline. Go Debi!

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[1] innerbrat and davegodfrey based on their regular postings on such topics.

Comments

[davegodfrey.livejournal.com]

Wot innerbrat said

Darwin himself was adamant that natural selection was never meant to be the only mechanism of evolution, although this has pretty much become evolutionist dogma.

No it hasn't. Darwin came up with Sexual Selection, which has become an active area of research since the New Synthesis in the 1930s. Mootoo Kimura's Neutral theory of genetic evolution is very important in DNA classification studies. Then there's non-adaptationism, beloved of Stephen Jay Gould, and evo-devo.

But at the root of all this is the idea that organisms vary, and these variations have different fitnesses which affect their reproductive success.

Evolution is a fact and a theory. Fossils show that living organisms change through time. Natural Selection (in addition to the things I mentioned) is the model that explains how this happenned.

[thapunkprincess.livejournal.com]

Aye, at the base level of the idea that organisms vary through time, evolution is fact (according to some). The neo-Darwinian takes on this are theories. Theories are open to question and refinement, but I'm not sure how a fact is also a theory unless the terms of debate altogether are inadequate.

Mrs. Darwin

Went to the Zoo.
I said to Him-
Something about that Chimpanzee over there
reminds me of you.

[davegodfrey.livejournal.com]

I'm referring to "Evolution" and "The Theory of Evolution". One is the observation that X happens. The other is the explanation for why X happens.