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Teaching Darwinism by using a story of FAKE animals

Denyse O'Leary
June 13, 2014
Natural selection
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Young Children Can Be Taught Basic Natural Selection Using a Picture-Storybook Intervention, Psychological Science April 2014 25: 893-902, first published on February 6, 2014

From Scientific American:

Pilosas were made up by researchers who were exploring whether kids could grasp the concept of natural selection. They found that parables like the plight of the pilosa enabled even kindergartners to get evolution.

The fact that “Pilosas” don’t exist saves any amount of trouble.

There is no chance that evidence will show the story of a non-existent animal to be more complex. Which is usual today.

Science in a time of decline can just be fiction, and that’s okay. You even have to pay $35 to hear the story. Hope you have better uses for the money. Uncommon Descent now has a tax number, so you could send it here instead.

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Comments
Well, they did dream up the Flying Spaghetti Monster, but I think that was only to keep their own Flying Nothing Monster, company. But that monster of theirs 'won't fly' - even in the slang sense... I wish I could draw a Zero with wings ... in flight. But whoever heard of such a thing! Axel
Blue_Savannah, That is very funny, are evolutionists so caught up in their fantasies, that they really can't tell reality from fiction? All of life is said to have been formed by natural selection, every creature on the planet, and yet it was much more convenient to use a fake one. "So, we need a story for young kids about a group of animals, with varying sizes of features, and one survives better, and the other dies off because of change in the environment and a size disadvantage. Let's see, let's use use...em, em, well, there is..no, no that doesn't work...I can't think of any. Darn Ok, ok nevermind, just make one up." phoodoo
As many have said, WHY the need for deception and fraud? WHY not just use a real life example? What's that I hear? Thought so... It is high time we remove these lunatics from positions of influence before science is set back another 150+ years. humbled
Mung @ 6: "Pokemon DO exist in the Multiverse you know." Awesome, so somewhere I actually own and train a Charizard! ppolish: "Evolution is an critical part of the Pokemon World. Pikachu evolves into Raichu for example." Pikachu only evolves into Raichu with the use of a Thunder Stone. Charmander/Charmeleon/Charizard is more of a natural evolutionary process. Why yes, I do have kids, why do you ask? Barb
Pilosas do exist. Its evolution that doesn't. I will show a pilosas in the hand before evolution proves itself or i will give the prover my money. Robert Byers
I think you might be interested to look into the core curriculum that is now being put forth into schools. I think it goes a little past just using fake animals. http://www.corestandards.org/ is the main site here's another thought on it. http://www.christianpost.com/news/common-core-cirriculum-a-look-behind-the-curtain-of-hidden-language-92070/ MrCollins
Gee, one must wonder why they don't use an actual example from their alleged 'mountain of evidence'??? Blue_Savannah
Come on News. It's not as if the authors equated Wolves and Thylacines or claimed that protein structures and Han characters are analogous. BM40
Maybe hold off on the "Slenderman does Survival of the Fittest" lesson until Jr. High? Might be too intense for kindergarten. ppolish
Pokemon DO exist in the Multiverse you know. So do Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles who are brigands! Mung
A couple months ago Nick Matzke was on UD and was giving us lesson in phylogenetics. He said that horses and rhinos separated from a common ancestor several million years ago. I jokingly said that maybe there really was a unicorn. He took my comment seriously and said a rhino horn and a unicorn horn were in different places on the head. So maybe there room for fanciful animals in their playbook. Let's see if flying pigs can make it into the evolution story. I can imagine all sorts of scenarios where flying could save a pig's bacon. jerry
Evolution is an critical part of the Pokemon World. Pikachu evolves into Raichu for example. And just how do Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles get their skils? Evolution! Teaching young ones fake Science early on can only make it easier down the road. Pokemon DO exist in the Multiverse you know. ppolish
Acartia_bogart, how about we ban fake animals from science lessons? The rest is really no one's business in particular News
By all means, let's ban the use of all parables, analogies in teaching. Oh, wait, would that be a violation of the freedom of religion? After all, isn't if largely based on the use of fictitious characters in the teaching of moral lessons Acartia_bogart
What basis do you have for saying that science is in a 'time of decline?' Heck, with all of the advancements in the OOL, like those demonstrated in the following: http://www.reasons.org/articles/how-did-god-create-the-first-life-on-earth http://www.reasons.org/articles/hypernaturalism-and-the-origin-of-life couldn't it be said that we're getting far closer to the truth? That in order to build life, even in its minimal form, intent is required? VunderGuy

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