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Wednesday, February 5, 2014

You don't have to believe in evolution to be a good scientist or engineer

Bill Nye has recently argued that in order for the US to maintain its lead in science, it must have good science education. To have good science education, evolution must be taught.

I accept evolution, but I disagree with Nye. You did not need to understand or even be aware of evolution in order to design a circuit or perform open heart surgery or prove a mathematical theorem. In fact you could even argue that mandating evolution in classrooms discourages talented creationists from pursuing careers in science, engineering, and medicine.

You can't be a good geneticist, paleontologist, or biologist without understanding evolution, but that's about it.

Saying that children must be taught this or scientist must believe this goes against the entire spirit of free thought that makes scientific progress possible.

I would much prefer if schools spent more time teaching logic and critical thinking than teaching any body of facts. 

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