Marco
Rubio was asked about the age of the earth. Rubio said he wasn’t a scientist and offered this explanation, “it may have been created in seven days or seven actual eras” and “it is one of the great mysteries”. Rubio received push back from this view because (1) we do know the age of the earth and (2) his answer undergirds the anti-science bent of Christian conservatives, Rubio’s fan base.
Rushing to Rubio’s rescue, the virulently anti-gay and morally feral Bryan Fischer (pictured) of the American Family Association weighed in with an article entitled, “Help for Marco Rubio: scientific evidence for a young earth.” Fischer bragged that “A full 46% of the American people, according to Gallup, believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years.”
Scientific literacy is not a strong point for the average American. According to the national survey commissioned by the California Academy of Sciences:
Only 53% of adults know how long it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun. Only 59% of adults know that the earliest humans and dinosaurs did not live at the same time. Only 47% of adults can roughly approximate the percent of the Earth’s surface that is covered with water.*Only 21% of adults answered all three questions correctly.
Most Americans do not understand the difference between a ‘theory’ as a hunch, supposition, or speculation and the scientific definition of a theory which is “a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment. Scientists create scientific theories from hypotheses that have been corroborated through the scientific method, then gather evidence to test their accuracy.
Scientific theories are the most reliable, rigorous, and comprehensive form of scientific knowledge. This is significantly different from the word “theory” in common usage, which implies that something is unproven or speculative.”
Bryan Fischer proves he is clueless about scientific theory when he states: “ And these theories about the age of the earth and man are just that, by the way, theories, since nobody was there to watch it happen.” Wrong. The rocks of the earth are a witness to our geologic history. We know how old the earth is by measuring isotopes, because ‘there are clocks in the rocks’. There is a time machine at UCLA called the CAMECA ims 1270 high resolution ion microprobe that has measured the age of rocks (through isotopes) and we definitely know that the earth is 4.5 to 4.6 billion years old. Fishers reliance on “ Answers in Genesis” cannot refute the answers in isotopes.
Fisher cannot save Rubio because real science is too important for the future of America. We cannot afford to let scientifically illiterate politicians or panderers to the scientifically challenged continue to fake their way into positions of legislative power. We suffer greatly as a nation when our politicians are not grounded in time and space. (See Republican members of the House Science Committee)
I once asked famed astrophysicist Carl Sagan about what can we do to prevent unscientific, and science hostile politicians from hurting and attacking fields of scientific research and inquiry.
Sagan answered in two words: “Vote intelligently”.
There is a vast difference between faith and fact. The latter requires objective proof in order to thrive, whilst the former wilts in the face of it.
You might want to correct that last section, it’s 4.5 to 4.6 billion years.
And that only 21% can answer all three questions – that’s scary!
It’s 4.54 billion years with an error of only +- 50 million years
Also, you left out “billion” between “4.6″ and “years”.
4.5 to 4.6 years old – I think you got a little typo bud :D
These people don’t care about science, or fact, or commonsense, people like Fischer are so far up their own bottom that they’re blinded by their own s**t. They can’t be swayed or reason with, nor is it our job to try.
Yet they aren’t stupid, that’s the scary part, Fischer isn’t illiterate or uneducated, he is willfully ignorant of anything he disagrees with, choosing to ignore science unless its something useful.
They’ve chosen to earn a living on hate, and it’s a lucrative business, nothing else matters. If Jesus himself came down and told them to stop hating gays, they’d call him a fag and write a book about how they’re smarter than Jesus.
Facts? Who cares about facts? Christians sure don’t. The Church in Rome sure doesn’t. Half of this country that watches Fox News doesn’t care about facts…..so why should Brian Fisher and Marc Rubio. Facts? Those are things that only appeal to smart people and Democrats.
No wonder the rest of the world looks at the US and just shakes their heads in disbelief.There is a reason why we are not the most educated people on the planet. Not with stupid crap like this coming out of mouths of people who should know better.
Only 21% are able to answer those questions correctly? Wow, now that is just plain scary. I could answer them when I still considered myself a Christian. Of course, I had parents that felt that a solid science education with a grasp of basic concepts was a “must”. No wonder we rate as far down on the scientific literacy scale as we do.
When I was a child my parents bought me the complete set of Singing Science Records by Hy Zaret and Lou Singer, produced in 1959 and 1960 by Motivation Records. There are six albums in the set, and they go under the name of Ballads for the Age of Science. My soft spot is for “Space Songs,” sung by Tom Glazer and Dottie Evans. I am often amazed that much of the basic science I know about astronomy, physics, and weather can be traced to these records. I recommend them to all Americans who deny reality and science, and believe in fairy tales. The records impart factual knowledge through childlike, easy-to-grasp lyrics and catchy tunes.
The entire collection can be found here:
http://www.blankpub.com/science/