Draft: "Why We Should Teach About Creationism in Science Classes"

"Chris Devol" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Cygnus X-1" wrote in message
t...
Still trying to track down some references (and pointers from those in
the group would be appreciated). References are linked on the web site
version (see bottom of the main page).

=======
Why We Should Teach About Creationism in Science Classes
W.T. Bridgman, Ph.D.

"Dealing with Creationism in Astronomy",
http://homepage.mac.com/cygnusx1/

Draft

In recent years, the proponents of teaching "Intelligent Design" and
it's precursor "Scientific Creationism" have redoubled their efforts to
impose their pseudo-science in the classrooms of our public schools.

Pretty much knee-jerk reactionary sloganeering.

1. Scientific Creationism (i.e. the Henry Morris cult) is not a
"precursor" to Intelligent Design. The major players of ID did not come
out of the Morris camp.

2. Consequently, there is no "they". Bridgman is simply witch-hunting.

snip more of the same vague, broad assertions and snobbery, without any
real analysis of science

There aren't going to be any Intelligent Design researchers shaking in
their shoes at Bridgman's approach.

Of course not. There are no "Intelligent Design researchers".

Cygnus X-1,
I think this would be a good way to approach the problem of the
religious corrupting young people's minds with their hypocritical
"compassionate conservatives" oxymoron with which they are having,
apparently, great success, as evidenced by the multitudes of adult
believers who are gratefully handing over more and more political power
to those who in the past have plunged mankind into centuries of misery
and horror.
TomGee

Make sure your grammar is good, otherwise you look stupid. There are
a couple of instances of "it's" (it is) when there should be "its";
it's only a minor thing, but its annoyance level can be high. I've
also been a bit pedantic and picked up a couple of other things at the
bottom.

ITS vs IT'S

"its" is the possessive form of it
"it's" is the contraction of a noun-verb couple; "it is" or "it has"

see http://www.stormloader.com/garyes/its/

Thus;

In recent years, the proponents of teaching "Intelligent Design" and
it's precursor "Scientific Creationism" have redoubled their efforts to
impose their pseudo-science in the classrooms of our public schools.

WRONG: this is a possessive, so should be "its" I'd also treat
pseudoscience as one word not hyphenated, but that's style.

Advocates of "Creation Science" and "Intelligent Design" fear such an
approach. While it's not received much attention, some have publicly

RIGHT: this one is okay as it is a contraction of "it has"), though in
formal writing you'd write "it has" out properly.

and decades before it's effects were incorporated into the Global
Positioning System (GPS). Quantum theory was explaining atomic

WRONG this is a possessive, so should be "its"

The scientific community holds all the cards in this debate, it's time
we play them.

Right; this time a contraction of "it is".

Data:

It's good that you realised that the word "data" is a plural (well
done)

Newton's theory of gravity was explaining how planets and
stars move in empty space nearly three centuries before machines and
humans could travel in space to test it.

You shouldn't end a sentence in a proposition in formal writing, but
as this isn't formal, then I'm just being pedantic... should be:

Newton's theory of gravity was explaining how planets and
stars move in empty space nearly three centuries before machines and
humans could test it by travelling in space.

M dash:

cosmological constraints. Cosmology isn't just something that happens
'out there' - it has often provided guidance on physical phenomena

This should be an m dash, not an n dash.

In talk.origins Duncan Harris wrote:
ITS vs IT'S

"its" is the possessive form of it
"it's" is the contraction of a noun-verb couple; "it is" or "it has"

see http://www.stormloader.com/garyes/its/

See also Bob the Angry Flower's "Quick Guide to Its and It's,
You Idiots":

http://www.angryflower.com/itsits.gif

and I might as well recommend once more "Bob's Quick Guide to the
Apostrophe, You Idiots":

http://www.angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif

--
Andrew Arensburger, Systems guy University of Maryland
Office of Information Technology
******Tagline Has Been Cleared To Prevent Burn-In******

"On 10 Mar 2005 05:10:23 -0800, in article
, Duncan Harris stated..."
[...snip...]
(The reference to the earlier poster was lost somewhere)
Newton's theory of gravity was explaining how planets and
stars move in empty space nearly three centuries before machines and
humans could travel in space to test it.

You shouldn't end a sentence in a proposition in formal writing, but
as this isn't formal, then I'm just being pedantic... should be:

Newton's theory of gravity was explaining how planets and
stars move in empty space nearly three centuries before machines and
humans could test it by travelling in space.
[...snip...]

The word "it" is not a preposition, it is a pronoun.

Whether or not one agrees with the "don't end a sentence with
a preposition" sentiment, I've never heard of "don't end a
sentence with a pronoun".


--
---Tom S. http://talkreason.org/articles/chickegg.cfm
"It being as impossible that the Organized Body of a Chicken should by the Power
of any Mechanical Motions be formed out of the unorganized Matter of an Egg; as
that the Sun, Moon and Stars, should by mere Mechanism arise out of a Chaos."
Samuel Clarke (1675-1729) Second Defense...Immortality of the Soul

Duncan Harris wrote:

In recent years, the proponents of teaching "Intelligent Design" and
it's precursor "Scientific Creationism" have redoubled their efforts to
impose their pseudo-science in the classrooms of our public schools.

WRONG: this is a possessive, so should be "its" I'd also treat
pseudoscience as one word not hyphenated, but that's style.

In fact I would avoid pejorative terms like pseudoscience altogether.

V. "just the facts, ma'am"
--
email: lastname at cs utk edu
homepage: www cs utk edu tilde lastname

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 08:10:23 -0500, Duncan Harris wrote
(in article ):

Make sure your grammar is good, otherwise you look stupid. There are
a couple of instances of "it's" (it is) when there should be "its";
it's only a minor thing, but its annoyance level can be high. I've
also been a bit pedantic and picked up a couple of other things at the
bottom.

ITS vs IT'S

"its" is the possessive form of it
"it's" is the contraction of a noun-verb couple; "it is" or "it has"

see http://www.stormloader.com/garyes/its/

Thus;

In recent years, the proponents of teaching "Intelligent Design" and
it's precursor "Scientific Creationism" have redoubled their efforts to
impose their pseudo-science in the classrooms of our public schools.

WRONG: this is a possessive, so should be "its" I'd also treat
pseudoscience as one word not hyphenated, but that's style.

Advocates of "Creation Science" and "Intelligent Design" fear such an
approach. While it's not received much attention, some have publicly

RIGHT: this one is okay as it is a contraction of "it has"), though in
formal writing you'd write "it has" out properly.

and decades before it's effects were incorporated into the Global
Positioning System (GPS). Quantum theory was explaining atomic

WRONG this is a possessive, so should be "its"

The scientific community holds all the cards in this debate, it's time
we play them.

Right; this time a contraction of "it is".

Data:

It's good that you realised that the word "data" is a plural (well
done)

Newton's theory of gravity was explaining how planets and
stars move in empty space nearly three centuries before machines and
humans could travel in space to test it.

You shouldn't end a sentence in a proposition in formal writing, but
as this isn't formal, then I'm just being pedantic... should be:

Newton's theory of gravity was explaining how planets and
stars move in empty space nearly three centuries before machines and
humans could test it by travelling in space.

M dash:

cosmological constraints. Cosmology isn't just something that happens
'out there' - it has often provided guidance on physical phenomena

This should be an m dash, not an n dash.


Thanks. The it's vs. its thing always gets me. Or is that get's? :^)
I guess I could blame my 'red state education'. I'll have a talk with
my proofreader - wait, she has a 'blue state education'! DOOH!

Tom
--
Dealing with Creationism in Astronomy
http://homepage.mac.com/cygnusx1

"They're trained to believe, not to know. Belief can be manipulated.
Only knowledge is dangerous." --Frank Herbert, "Dune Messiah"

On 10 Mar 2005 05:10:23 -0800, (Duncan Harris) wrote:

Make sure your grammar is good, otherwise you look stupid. There are
a couple of instances of "it's" (it is) when there should be "its";
it's only a minor thing, but its annoyance level can be high. I've
also been a bit pedantic and picked up a couple of other things at the
bottom.

ITS vs IT'S

"its" is the possessive form of it
"it's" is the contraction of a noun-verb couple; "it is" or "it has"

see http://www.stormloader.com/garyes/its/

Rules of English usage.

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary;
it is highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
17. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
18. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
19. The passive voice is to be ignored.
20. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary.
21. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
22. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
23. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth
earth-shaking ideas.
24. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
quotations. Tell me what you know."
25. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist
hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
26. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
27. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
28. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
29. Who needs rhetorical questions?
30. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
31. Avoid putting apostrophe's in plural's.

And the last one...

32. Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.

In article , JPG writes:
On 10 Mar 2005 05:10:23 -0800, (Duncan Harris) wrote:

Make sure your grammar is good, otherwise you look stupid. There are
a couple of instances of "it's" (it is) when there should be "its";
it's only a minor thing, but its annoyance level can be high. I've
also been a bit pedantic and picked up a couple of other things at the
bottom.

ITS vs IT'S

"its" is the possessive form of it
"it's" is the contraction of a noun-verb couple; "it is" or "it has"

see http://www.stormloader.com/garyes/its/

Rules of English usage.

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary;
it is highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
17. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
18. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
19. The passive voice is to be ignored.
20. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary.
21. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
22. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
23. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth
earth-shaking ideas.
24. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
quotations. Tell me what you know."
25. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist
hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
26. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
27. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
28. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
29. Who needs rhetorical questions?
30. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
31. Avoid putting apostrophe's in plural's.

And the last one...

32. Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.

:-)))))

Mati Meron | "When you argue with a fool,
| chances are he is doing just the same"

Duncan Harris wrote:
Make sure your grammar is good, otherwise you look stupid.

An unwritten rule about grammar flames -- even those clearly done as
sympathetic constructive criticism -- is that the author should expect
to be thoroughly mocked when he flames incorrectly.

Newton's theory of gravity was explaining how planets and
stars move in empty space nearly three centuries before machines and

humans could travel in space to test it.

You shouldn't end a sentence in a proposition in formal writing, but
as this isn't formal, then I'm just being pedantic...

1. "as this is isn't formal, then I'm just being pedantic" contains a
superfluous 'then'.

2. "it" is a pronoun, not a preposition. There is no rule in English
against ending a sentence with a pronoun.

3. The correct spelling is "preposition", not "proposition". If Cygnus
X-1 had ended the sentence with a proposition, it would have read:
"...before machines and humans could travel in space to test it,

hey what are you doing tonight?"

4. To call this pedantic is an insult to feet. A preposition is a
perfectly fine thing to end a sentence with.*


eyelessgame, Do-er Of Gooder Englishing
("what did you bring that book I didn't want to be read to out of
about out back down under up for?")
("It is nonsense, up with which I will not put.")

* correction: for #4, read "A preposition is a perfectly fine thing to
end a sentence with, you twit".