EonBlue

because they will be playing this:

Hundreds of groups across the United States and the globe will celebrate the date as “Darwin Day” in honor of the discoveries and life of the man who famously described biological evolution via natural selection.

“Darwin Day promotes understanding of evolution and the scientific method,” said Matt Cherry, executive director of the Institute for Humanist Studies which runs The Darwin Day Celebration. “This celebration expresses gratitude for the enormous benefit that scientific knowledge has contributed to the advancement of humanity.”

Next year will mark both the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the 1859 publication of Darwin’s “The Origin of Species”, which presented the scientific theory that populations evolve over generations through natural selection.

The theory of evolution was controversial in Darwin’s time and remains controversial in the United States today.

Recent Gallup polls show that 43 percent of Americans reject the theory of evolution and instead believe that “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.” And at least four 2008 presidential candidates have said they do not believe the theory of evolution.

The Darwin Day Celebration started with one event in 1995. Last year there were more than 850 Darwin Day events world-wide. Darwin Day festivities can include debates, lectures, essay contests, film festivals, museum exhibits, art shows and even an “Evolution Banquet” with “Primordial Soup” followed by a “Darwin Fish Fry.”

For information, visit: www.DarwinDay.org

I would like to introduce Dr. Judy Stout. She is the school board member representing District 2 here in Mobile, Alabama (the district I live in).

Here is a school board member with a firm grip on what should be taught as science. In a recent email conversation with her, I expressed my concerns with the rise of anti-science religious fundamentalism in school boards across the country in the wake of the Dover trial. She assured me that she is strong opposed to teaching psuedo-science like the so-called “intelligent design” catechism and outright religious dogma like abrahamic creationism in our public schools. She is also a proponent of teaching critical thinking skills.

She is an Associate Professor of Marine Science at the University of South Alabama. More info here.

I’m glad to find, in my own backyard, that there remain some school board representatives that know what a scientific theory is, what evidence-based research is, and are in the forefront in the fight to properly educate our children.