I’m still listening to it, but there appears to be a well-done “American Radioworks production exploring the origins and evolution of the Intelligent Design movement”:http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/inteldesign/index.html. Once thing that bugged me about the program was that it *did not start with the definition of science*. Without that, it’s impossible to later explain why evolution is a scientific theory, while ID is (so far) very far from even being a scientific hypothesis.
More comments to follow…
**comments after the second section of the program**
Ah, the program builds nicely. It did finally get around to pointing out that ID is *not a scientific theory* and that, unlike proponents of the Big Bang hypothesis, its proponents are not using the scientific method to advance their ideas in the community. The Discovery Institute was even cited by the producer as trying to influence the content of this very program, much as it tries to control all media regarding its statements.
Onto part III.
**Final thoughts**
In the last part of the program, we were introduced to a school in San Diego (High Tech High) where the biology and history teachers decided to coincide their teaching of evolution, and a discussion on world creation myths, creation “science”, and ID. The teachers found themselves applauded by the Christian Right, much to their surprise (at least one of the teachers considered himself a progressive).
I thought this was a great idea. Teach the science in the science classroom, while having a parallel discussion in the humanities (where ID currently belongs). This is the kind of complex and subtle approach to the subject that reflects smart education. I hope these teachers’ efforts are not misunderstood by parents, or the scientific community. They did the right thing: put science in the science class, and left philosophy and religion to the humanities and history course. That’s good education.
