MSNBC has up an article discussing the results of a Newsweek poll on faith and religion among members of the US populace. Given the straightforward question, 'Is evolution well-supported by evidence and widely accepted within the scientific community?', some 48% of Americans said 'No'. Furthermore, 34% of college graduates said they accept the Biblical story of creation as fact. An alarmingly high number of individuals responded that they believe the earth is only 10,000 years old, and that a deity created our species in its present form at the start of that period.
I looked and try to find the sampling method, but couldn't find it. Such high numbers blow my mind, so I am tempted to think that the sampling (size,demography mainly) wasn't really "neutral", if you see what I mean. Guees we won't know, unless you know where to get the information.
If it turns out to be representative of the population...damn.
I'm not believing any poll that says "X% of Americans do this rather than that" until I vote on something that says "Would you rather do this than that", It's that simple.
What the article should say:
"48% of the ___ Americans we polled that don't really constitute as a real demographic Reject Evolution."
Of course if they did ask every American about it, the numbers would probably still be pretty high, with the South and all. Freakin' hicks.
That made me laugh. I'm from good old Kansas and even we believe in evolution. It's kind of hard not to believe in evolution when it's so logical and it just makes sense. I guess my teachers were right about the general public, saying that they just don't know any better, and it should be the educated people's duty to make them understand.
LordMune wrote:48% of Americans are distressingly retarded.
I would not necessarily put it in these terms.
Rather I would stress the social context in which these 48% of Americans that have participated in the poll grew up and have been raised.
For them, at least I assume so, the history of our world is different than that presented by evolution. Certainly there lie dangers in such a paradigm, but I find it a bit too heinous to call them retarded. Just my opinion though.
No, most people really are retarded. Try working retail sometime.
"We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then
blames them for his own mistakes." - Gene Roddenberry
I don't think half the toilet seats in the world are as clean as I should like; and only half of those are half as clean as they deserve. - tsubaimomo, July 26, 2010 3:00 am
ZoddsNo1Fan wrote:No its just amazing to think of how a single process in repairing muscle tissue can be soo complex!
And here, you thought God just kiss the boo boos goodbye!
The more you know!
I don't think half the toilet seats in the world are as clean as I should like; and only half of those are half as clean as they deserve. - tsubaimomo, July 26, 2010 3:00 am
Albator wrote:Of course, it happened in less than a sec, you ignorant.
Irreducible Complexity! Irreducible Complexity!
If I type it enough times, it will become true.
We therefore find that Professor Behe's claim for irreducible complexity has been refuted in peer-reviewed research papers and has been rejected by the scientific community at large.
I don't think half the toilet seats in the world are as clean as I should like; and only half of those are half as clean as they deserve. - tsubaimomo, July 26, 2010 3:00 am
just because you guys may think it's inane to believe that people were created following the idea of intelligent design doesn't mean you should make light of someone else's beliefs. it may seem dumb to you but you should show enough decency to respect their beliefs. I'm just offended when people mock religion, because in turn I feel that my values are being mocked as well even though I believe in evolution. Feel free to mock(that's just how i'm interpretting it all) it all you want because you have the right, but a little respect would be appreciated .
and Zodd's post is relevant because I believe that the complexity is one of the reasons why he believes in ID (last i checked he did) and why others do as well. but there is also the theory of the Panda thumb or w/e. A tool that is effective for the Panda, but if was intelligently designed would have never been designed the way it was because it is such a flawed design (or something like that).
MrFelony wrote:just because you guys may think it's inane to believe that people were created following the idea of intelligent design doesn't mean you should make light of someone else's beliefs. it may seem dumb to you but you should show enough decency to respect their beliefs. I'm just offended when people mock religion, because in turn I feel that my values are being mocked as well even though I believe in evolution. Feel free to mock(that's just how i'm interpretting it all) it all you want because you have the right, but a little respect would be appreciated .
I agree, but supposedly this isn't an offensive thread. *shrugs* Meh, it's no big deal though, people can believe and say whatever they want. I'm not gonna get bent out of shape about it.
Felony, do you believe in God AND evolution, or just evolution? I ask because you say you feel your values are being mocked when people make fun of religion. That seems to imply you believe in God, because I know what you mean when you say that. Afterall, I pretty much fall within the afore mentioned 48%. Does that make me a retard? I don't think so, and that's all that really matters to me.
MrFelony wrote:just because you guys may think it's inane to believe that people were created following the idea of intelligent design doesn't mean you should make light of someone else's beliefs. it may seem dumb to you but you should show enough decency to respect their beliefs. I'm just offended when people mock religion, because in turn I feel that my values are being mocked as well even though I believe in evolution. Feel free to mock(that's just how i'm interpretting it all) it all you want because you have the right, but a little respect would be appreciated :?.
and Zodd's post is relevant because I believe that the complexity is one of the reasons why he believes in ID (last i checked he did) and why others do as well. but there is also the theory of the Panda thumb or w/e. A tool that is effective for the Panda, but if was intelligently designed would have never been designed the way it was because it is such a flawed design (or something like that).
Granted, but this is ID. It was, alas, not intelligently designed but rather evolved from creationism into its current flawed formed. Hence, ridicule.
Starnum wrote:Afterall, I pretty much fall within the afore mentioned 48%. Does that make me a retard?
Yes. Before you reply, note that I'm pointing out that your lack of "belief" in evolution is stupid. Believing that that universe is created, whatever; ignoring heaps of proof about a fact: dumb.
Last I checked, evolution wasn't a fact, just a theory. I've heard lots of convincing arguments against it, that have nothing to do with religious belief. *shrugs*