Texas Board Splits the Baby Down the Middle

CNN reported today that the Texas Board of Education approved the following language to appear in Texas textbooks for the next ten years: "In all fields of science, analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations by using empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and experimental observation and testing, including examining all sides of scientific evidence of those explanations so as to encourage critical thinking by the students."

The supporters of creationism/intelligent design obviously feel this isn't critical enough of evolution. They wanted the book require teachers to "analyze, review, and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information," and require high school students to analyze the "sufficiency or insufficiency" of the major principles of evolution.

Supporters of evolution think this leaves too much room for creationists to sneak intelligent design in through the back door, but in my opinion the language couldn't be much better. The problem with a free society is that you can't force everyone to agree with what you believe to be right. At the foundation of the right to free speech is the idea that diversity of ideas is necessarily a good thing, regardless of the veracity of those statements. Would I prefer that the book said, "The certainty of evolution should promoted at every turn?" Yes, but the TRUTH is that to this day there are still discoveries to be made with respect to evolution, still differences of opinion, and those will not be sorted out unless the theory is analyzed, reviewed and critiqued. In the end, the statement asserts that the only way to critique a scientific theory is with "scientific evidence and information" which is all that science asks, and the fact that even in Texas they are remaining faithful to the scientific method, seems encourageing to me.

To the point that there are still discoveries to be made and differences of opinion on evolution, I'd like to briefly discuss "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins (author of the God Delusion) which he wrote in 1976. I should make it clear that I don't think there's any diversity of opinion on whether evolution is, only on how it works. That being said, despite the fact that Dawkins' book was written over 30 years ago, the theory of evolution is still being taught largely incorrectly. I took Evolution at the University of Michigan in 2003-ish, as well as Biology and Anthropolgy, and yet reading The Selfish Gene has simply blown my mind. Dawkins uses simple arguments and logic to completely change the way the reader understands evolution, at least, if you're a science nerd. If not, you'd probably find that Dawkins' conclusion doesn't really change how one looks at evolution at all. Dawkins explains that while many people still believe and teach that evolution works either on the level of the species (very wrong) or the individual (slightly less wrong) it actually works on the level of the gene. In other words, people generally think of evolution as the differential success of individuals; e.g. I exist because I am stronger, faster, more virile, etc. But the truth is that evolution is the differential success of genes; e.g. this gene exists because it confers onto its possessor a benefit, or it doesn't harm its otherwise fit possessor.

I can't hope to be as convincing in one paragraph as Dawkins is in two chapters, but the take away message is that our genes don't work for us, we are the "survival machines" the genes built around themselves to protect them and promote their reproduction. That is NOT what I was taught.

For the CNN article, follow the bumb.