Myth Two: It's Just a Theory
Myth Two, It's Just a Theory, shows what scientific theories really are, describes their power to explain observations, and explains why calling evolution "just a theory" is a mistake. This chapter also explains in plain language how evolution works. An excerpt is found below:
Have you ever heard someone dismiss evolution by saying that it’s just a theory? This view is so common in the United States that even many who accept evolution think of it as just a theory, as though it lacked scientific support. And some believe that if evolution is just a theory, then other "theories," namely creationism, or its dressed-up twin, intelligent design, should be taught alongside evolution in public schools. In a number of American states, school boards have felt pressure to do just that. Where this has failed, some opponents of evolution have tried to require biology teachers to teach their students that evolution is just a theory (1). In a recent attempt to dismiss evolution as just a theory, Georgia's Cobb County School District moved to put stickers on high school biology textbooks, stating that:
This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.
Who can dispute that all scientific work should be studied carefully and critically considered? And having an open mind is also an asset, but not so open that your brains fall out. Yet this is exactly what seems to have happened in Cobb County (2).
The main problem with the textbook disclaimer has to do with two different meanings of the word theory (3). In popular speech, theory means a guess or a hunch that can be just as good as any other guess or hunch, as when someone theorizes that a light streaking across the night sky must be an alien spacecraft. When scientists use the word theory, however, they’re referring to "a logical, tested, well-supported explanation for a great variety of facts" (4). Scientific theories are not guesses.
Notes to Myth Two: It's Just a Theory
1. M. Matsumura, "Tennessee Upset: ‘Monkey Bill’ Law Defeated," NCSE Reports 15, no. 4 (1995): 6-7; E. Scott, "State of Alabama Distorts Science, Evolution," NCSE Reports 15, no. 4 (1995): 10-11.
2. The attempt to place stickers on biology textbooks led to a lawsuit, Selman v. Cobb County School District. On January 13, 2005, a federal judge found the sticker policy unconstitutional.
3. Another problem with the textbook sticker incident is the ambiguous claim that evolution is a theory about the origin of living things. This could mean the origins of species by way of ancestral species--which is a fair description of what evolution is about--or this could mean the beginning of life on Earth. Although this second meaning is of interest to evolutionary science, it’s hardly accurate to claim that this is what evolution is about.
4. National Center for Science Education, "What’s Wrong with ‘Theory Not Fact’ Resolutions," National Center for Science Education, December 7, 2000, http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/articles/8643_whats_wrong_with_theory_not__12_7_2000.asp (accessed June 12, 2005).
Excerpt from The Top 10 Myths about Evolution by Cameron McPherson Smith and Charles Sullivan, pp. 25-26, (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books). Copyright (C) 2007 by Cameron M. Smith and Charles Sullivan. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
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