Friday, February 22, 2008
In approving new science standards, the state education board in Florida
has for the first time ever used the word "evolution." That's a huge step
forward. At the last minute, Southern Baptists on the board insisted
that "evolution" be changed to "the scientific theory of evolution."
That's even better. Evolution is, after all, "only a theory," as is all
of science. Florida teachers can now cite state standards as
justification for teaching that science, unlike religion, is open to
change as better information becomes available.
What do you do when a newly-emergent space power shows off its new anti-
satellite capability, as China did last year? Well, you have to show that
you too can shoot down a satellite. It's relatively easy - satellites
aren't evasive and they keep doing the same thing over and over. To avoid
violating treaties, you could sell it as a mission to save innocent lives
from a rampaging tank of hydrazine. "If you inhale a lot of it, it could
be deadly," said the general in charge. The same is probably true of
acetone, absinthe and toilet bowl cleaner to name a few. Anyway, the Navy
did its part well. Unfortunately, as other countries flex their muscles
in space it could be open season on dead school buses (there's a lot of
them).
Last week WN called for control of guns. Between 8 and 9 PM that evening
I got one e-mail after another, perhaps organized, explaining that the
solution is to arm all the students and teachers so no one would dare
start something. They weren't joking. I note only that the shooters all
ended up shooting themselves. You can't frighten suicide bombers.
In today's Science, Jeff Mervis describes a House Science Committee
hearing held on Valentines Day. The purpose was to compare the 2009
budget request with the goals laid out in the America COMPETES Act, passed
overwhelmingly by Congress last summer and signed by the President. The
2008 science budget, however, turned out to be a disaster for science
(WN 28 Dec 07) . It bears no trace of
America COMPETES, and 2009 seems no different. The White House appears
to attach little importance to the science authorization process, since it
picked Jack Marburger, the invisible science advisor, to make the
administration case for science.
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