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Darwin’s icons morph into zombies! Only intelligence kills really nasty zombies

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From Salvo online: Zombie Killer: The “Icons of Evolution” Have Joined the Ranks of the Undead:

You cannot kill all zombies simply by destroying their brains. Only intelligence will kill the really nasty ones.

About fifteen years ago, I read Jonathan Wells’s Icons of Evolution (2000). The sheer brazenness of the outdated information that continued to be paraded in decades of textbooks dealing with evolution was striking—even to a longtime textbook editor (now retired) like me. For example, Ernst Haeckel’s doctored vertebrate embryo illustrations from more than a century ago (intended to cement the idea of common descent) were the best modern evolutionary science could offer.1 Which says something about modern evolutionary science.

The textbook publishing industry depends on a simple set of facts:

• Parents are required by law to present their children to the local public school system unless they can afford other legally acceptable arrangements.

• Homeowners and businesses are required to fund the public system.

• The system needs textbooks.

• Textbook authors, usually successful teachers, are well rewarded.

Thus, the opportunities for soft corruption (stale, dated content that lingers year after year) are vast and inevitable. Some such stuff is doubtless defended by pressure groups, anxious to retain a discredited icon that supports their cause. More.

But now let’s look at evolution in the daylight, including an interview with Jonathan Wells.

More on Jonathan Wells’s book, Zombie Science

Comments
I'm picturing Jesus doing fist bumps with the disciples.Mung
September 9, 2017
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vmahuna,
So why do Math teachers keep writing “new” Calculus text books?
It's certainly true that textbook prices are outrageous these days, but that doesn't mean there isn't a need to write new ones. I like old books as much as the next person, but they aren't always a very effective tool for modern students. It's similar to how new English translations of the bible will continue to be produced---people want the most accurate, thoroughly researched text possible, written in "modern" English (which changes over time).daveS
September 9, 2017
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I am reading a book now that still appeals to colored moths.Mung
September 9, 2017
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Rice U OpenStax math: https://openstax.org/subjects/mathkairosfocus
September 9, 2017
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VM, I suppose, since the rise of non-standard analysis in the 60's, Calculus is much the same up to (lower division) Undergrad level (beyond, it is Analysis), though the rise of computers and of math software makes a difference. Problem is, people are not as they were decades ago, and IIRC, I hated my first calculus books. Oddly, the first such book that earned my affection was an ancient one, Granville, Smith and Longley, Elements of the Differential and Integral Calculus, 1924 Edition. The original I think is 1860's, and latest I saw was 1940's. On balance the issue with textbooks is to match people where they are today, and I think the rise of e-books and not for profit foundations and some good texts from these. KFkairosfocus
September 9, 2017
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"Which says something about modern evolutionary science." Yes it does. The most amazing thing happened when I read Icons many years ago. It was like a revelation that hit me all at once. The claims of evolution are not at all warranted by the evidence. In almost all cases, the evidence has been either faked, tampered with to achieve a result or completely exaggerated. Almost every example of evolutionary evidence falls into one of these categories. It is an amazing phenomenon to see so many suspend critical thinking when it comes to something they claim is based in objective science.Florabama
September 8, 2017
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"Thus, the opportunities for soft corruption (stale, dated content that lingers year after year) are vast and inevitable." So why do Math teachers keep writing "new" Calculus text books? The whole text book industry is a racket. That's why there has been so much resistance to Common Core.vmahuna
September 8, 2017
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