Hey, I was taught the back-of-the-tortoise theory in high school. It wasn't completely convincing, but then again it didn't turn any of us into members of the Seneca Nation either.
theory (n) 1: the analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another 2: abstract thought : SPECULATION [...] [...] 5: a plausible of scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena
I learned the Plum Pudding model in high school in the early 80's even though it had been utterly debunked about 75 years before and to the best of my knowledge my teachers were not renegade hold-outs. So there is time in the modern curriculum to teach things that no one believes for the purpose of showing how the scientific method prefers models that are verifiable and predictive. I don't particularly see the harm in showing that the same forces are at work in the development of cosmology and the origin of species; the alternative is Ignore the Controversy.
When you're discussing science, only the "A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena" definition is useful. Anything else is a *hypothesis*.
The plum pudding model is a past theory, and it is no longer a useful one. So it's not quite the same.
I don't particularly see the harm in showing that the same forces are at work in the development of cosmology and the origin of species; the alternative is Ignore the Controversy.
And, absolutely, schools can and should show past theories, and why they've been rejected - like the idea that meat spawns flies, for example.
The catch is that "Teach The Controversy" is a dishonest statement, because there *is* no controversy and the people who want it "taught" actually have no interest in either science or education.
See, I read it as "Obligatory: 'The Earth was formed 6000 years ago' is not a theory" - for whatever value of irony&salt one chose to consume with said phrase.
What? I read other people's friends lists and create browser bookmarks to the ones that interest me. I've never been a fan of LJ's confluence of "people that I want to easily read" and "people that I want to see my private entries", nor do I think much of the public drama that ensues when someone trims their flist. It hadn't really struck me before now that someone would take the opportunity to criticize my profile; I will have to reflect on whether I could care less about whether you know who I like to read.
#1: Actually, your Friends list can't see your private entries. Private entries are private. Friends can only see entries that are locked to a Friends group that they're part of.
#2: If you want to open entries only to some people, you can do that: Create a group of Friends that has the people you want to show it to, and make a post that's only unlocked to those people.
But yeah. No big deal - I just find the Friends page to be a really convenient way of handling a single location of all my feeds, personally.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2008-10-14 02:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2008-10-14 02:28 pm (UTC)(I know, I know.)
Anyway, commenting just to use the icon.
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Date: 2008-10-14 02:38 pm (UTC)I learned the Plum Pudding model in high school in the early 80's even though it had been utterly debunked about 75 years before and to the best of my knowledge my teachers were not renegade hold-outs. So there is time in the modern curriculum to teach things that no one believes for the purpose of showing how the scientific method prefers models that are verifiable and predictive. I don't particularly see the harm in showing that the same forces are at work in the development of cosmology and the origin of species; the alternative is Ignore the Controversy.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-14 02:52 pm (UTC)The plum pudding model is a past theory, and it is no longer a useful one. So it's not quite the same.
I don't particularly see the harm in showing that the same forces are at work in the development of cosmology and the origin of species; the alternative is Ignore the Controversy.
And, absolutely, schools can and should show past theories, and why they've been rejected - like the idea that meat spawns flies, for example.
The catch is that "Teach The Controversy" is a dishonest statement, because there *is* no controversy and the people who want it "taught" actually have no interest in either science or education.
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Date: 2008-10-14 03:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2008-10-14 05:36 pm (UTC)#2: If you want to open entries only to some people, you can do that: Create a group of Friends that has the people you want to show it to, and make a post that's only unlocked to those people.
But yeah. No big deal - I just find the Friends page to be a really convenient way of handling a single location of all my feeds, personally.
*laugh*
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