Nexus - 0903 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Oxford University. He is a classic "Brain "Do you believe in the theory of evolu- Police" stormtrooper, patrolling the neuro- _ tion?" Piel asked. logical front lines. The Western scientific Mims replied, "No, and neither does establishment and mass media pride them- Stephen Jay Gould." ; ; ; selves on being open public forums devoid —_ His response did not affect Piel's deci- of prejudice or censorship. However, no _ Sion to bump Mims off the popular column television program examining the flaws after just three articles. and weaknesses of Darwinism has ever This has the unpleasant odour of a witch- hunt. The writer never publicly broadcast his private views or beliefs, so it would appear that the "stormtroopers" now believe they have orders to make sure "unapproved" thoughts are never publicly disclosed. been aired in Darwin's home country or in America. A scientist who opposes the the- ory cannot get a paper published. The Mysterious Origins of Man was not a frontal attack on Darwinism; it merely presented evidence that is considered anomalous by the precepts of his theory of evolution. Returning to our bastions of intellectual integrity, Forest Mims was a solid and skilled science journalist. He had never TABOO OR NOT TABOO? So, the monitors of "good thinking" are not just the elite of the scientific communi- ty, as we have seen in several cases; they are television producers and magazine edi- been the centre of any controversy and SO tors as well. It seems clear that they are all he was invited to write the most-read col- driven by the singular imperative of fur- umn in the prestigious Scientific American, — thering "public science education", as the "The Amateur Scientist", a task he gladly _ president of the Cambrian Institute so aptly accepted. According to Mims, the maga- phrased it. zine's editor Jonathan Piel then learned that However, there is a second item on the he also wrote articles for a number of agenda, and that is to protect the public Christian magazines. The editor called from "unscientific" thoughts and ideas that Mims into his office and confronted him. might infect the mass mind. We outlined "Do you believe in the theory of evolu- tion?" Piel asked. Mims replied, "No, and neither does Stephen Jay Gould." His response did not affect Piel's deci- sion to bump Mims off the popular column after just three articles. This has the unpleasant odour of a witch- hunt. The writer never publicly broadcast his private views or beliefs, so it would appear that the "stormtroopers" now believe they have orders to make sure "unapproved" thoughts are never publicly disclosed. of appeal to Stevens. In the end, she caved in to Dawkins and scratched the piece. Imagine what would happen if a politician or bureaucrat used such pressure tactics to kill a story in the mass media. It would ignite a huge scandal. Not so with scientists, who seem to be regarded as "sacred cows” and beyond reproach. There are many disturbing facts related to these cases. Darwin's theory of evolution is the only theory routinely taught in our public school system that has never been subjected to rigorous scrutiny; nor have any of the criticisms been allowed into the curriculum. This is an interesting fact, because a recent poll showed that the American pub- lic wants the theory of evolution taught to their children; however, "71 per cent of the respondents say biology teachers should teach both Darwinism and scientific evi- dence against Darwinian theory". Nevertheless, there are no plans to imple- ment this balanced approach. It is ironic that Richard Dawkins has been appointed to the position of Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at 84 = NEXUS APRIL — MAY 2002 Archaeological Cover-ups: A Plot to Control History? Continued from page 64 www.nexusmagazine.com