InsideHigherEd says that Intelligent Design has been widely discredited.
And I say, what?!
When did that happen?
InsideHigherEd needs to keep reading, listening.
It's the theory (best guess, and not a very good one at that) of evolution that doesn't have a leg to stand on.
Unless, you think your great ancestor was a pencil.
An Iowa State University professor lost support for a tenured position because he supported intelligent design.
E-mails were sent to and fro - "I think Gonzalez should know that some of the
faculty in his department are not going to count his ID work as a plus for tenure," said one physics and astronomy professor.
It's time to get the other knuckleheads out of the colleges if you ask me.
Intelligent design is NOT a theory. It is a logical way of looking at the origin of anything.
Evolution theory is, gosh, a theory.
What do you think of intelligent design?
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Not widely discredited? Did you read the results of the Dover Trial? Judge Jones, a conservative judge appointed by the Bush Administration said (1) Intelligent Design is not science, (2) Intelligent Design is Creationism is disguise, (3) Intelligent Design cannot legally be taught in science class. Sounds pretty well discredited to me.
As for Evolution 'only being a theory', you need to look at the definition of the word. It is a Scientific Theory that has withstood 150 years of debate and challenge. It has support across wide reaching scientific disciplines including Paleontology, Physics, Chemistry, Geology, Astronomy, and Climatology. Look in any scientific discipline that touches on the human condition and you will see support for evolution within it. Don't forget as you read this that Light is merely a theory, as is Gravity.
As for Professor Gonzales, I bet he's wishing he worked a lot harder making the grade for tenure than he did supporting Intelligent Design. I do give him kudos for taking his stance before achieving tenure. I believe him to be more honest than say Professor Marcus R. Ross who was featured in a report on creationism. An admitted Young Earth Creationist who "believes that the Bible is a literally true account of the creation of the universe, and that the earth is at most 10,000 years old," but he earned his Ph.D. in geosciences from University of Rhode Island with a dissertation about "the abundance and spread of mosasaurs, marine reptiles that, as he wrote, vanished at the end of the Cretaceous era about 65 million years ago."
Since I work in education, I know the requirements for tenure and they generally include published research in scientific publications, graduate student adviser, and a source of research funding from external organizations -- all of which Professor Gonzales failed at. No significant research, 1 grad student completing a dissertation in seven years, and 1/50 the amount of external funding of his tenure seeking contemporaries there at ISU. He didn't deserve tenure! He should have taken care of business.
Ted H in Ohio
Posted by: Tedhohio | December 11, 2007 1:32 PM | Permalink to Comment