NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2015/09/04
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2015-09-04 15:02.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, Sad news of the death of William B. Provine. Polling data on trust in scientists in the Granite State. And congratulations to a member of NCSE's board of directors.
WILLIAM B. PROVINE DIES The historian of science William B. Provine died on September 1, 2015, at the age of 73, according to a Facebook post from his wife. A specialist in the history of population genetics, his books included The Origins of Theoretical Population Genetics (1971), Sewall Wright and Evolutionary Biology (1986), and a collection of Sewall Wright's papers (1986) with his explanatory introductions. In a memoir published in Isis in 1999, he explained that in his view, a student working on the history of biology "should be as familiar with the science as any doctoral student"; for his own part, he added, "I am very happy to move between history and science." Provine was a vocal and persistent opponent of creationism. He wrote thoughtfully on evolution and creationism, e.g. in his essay on "Evolution, Religion, and Science" in The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science (2006), but he was perhaps most famous for his views on the connection between evolution and atheism. He once asserted, "As the creationists claim, belief in modern evolution makes atheists of people" -- a consequence that he welcomed. His views were formed in graduate school, where, he related in his memoir, "[a]fter reading [Theodosius] Dobzhansky several times and listening to [Lynn] Throckmorton, my belief in purposive nature disappeared for good." He was eager to share his views. Starting in 1986, he taught a class at Cornell University where students were exposed to creationism along with evolution, and he was often willing to debate creationists, including his regular opponent the "intelligent design" proponent Phillip Johnson. As a result of his prominence, he was often cited by creationists eager to portray his views on the connection between evolution and atheism, or a caricature thereof, as representative of scientists in general. He was among the scholars interviewed, under false pretenses, for the creationist propaganda film Expelled (2008). Provine was born on February 19, 1942, in Nashville, Tennessee. He attended the University of Chicago, where he received his B.S. in mathematics in 1962, his M.A. in the history of science in 1965, and his Ph.D. in the history of science in 1970. His academic career was mainly spent at Cornell University, where he became a professor of history and of biology. His honors included fellowship in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1985, and the inaugural David L. Hull Prize from the International Society for History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology in 2011. For Provine's Facebook page (including the post from his wife), visit: https://www.facebook.com/will.provine POLLING TRUST IN SCIENTISTS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE Researchers asked residents of New Hampshire about their trust of scientists as a source of information about five topics: vaccines, climate change, nuclear power safety, evolution, and genetically modified organisms. The results, according to the report, "offer modest encouragement regarding public trust in scientists." Asked "Would you say that you trust, don't trust, or are unsure about scientists as a source of information about climate change," 62% of respondents said that they trust scientists, 23% that they were unsure, and 15% that they do not trust scientists. Asked "Would you say that you trust, don't trust, or are unsure about scientists as a source of information about evolution," 63% of respondents said that they trust scientists, 21% said that they were unsure, and 16% that they do not trust scientists. For both climate change and evolution, respondents with higher education levels, respondents who identified themselves with the Democratic Party, and respondents who identified themselves as ideologically liberal were more likely to trust scientists. The data was from the Granite State Poll, run by the Survey Center at the University of New Hampshire, which conducted cell and landline telephone interviews with random samples of state residents from 2013 to 2015. There were 3037 respondents to the climate change question and 1409 respondents to the evolution question. For the poll report (PDF), visit: http://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1251&context=carsey For NCSE's collection of polls and surveys, visit: http://ncse.com/creationism/polls-surveys And for NCSE's collection of polls and surveys on climate, visit: http://ncse.com/polls/polls-climate-change CONGRATULATIONS TO RICHARD B. KATSKEE NCSE is delighted to congratulate Richard B. Katskee, a member of NCSE's board of directors, on his appointment as the legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. A graduate of Yale Law School, Katskee began his legal career at the law firm Mayer Brown, after which he joined Americans United. As the organization's assistant legal director, Katskee was instrumental in litigating Kitzmiller v. Dover, the 2005 case establishing the unconstitutionality of teaching "intelligent design" creationism in the public schools. Leaving Americans United, he served as deputy director of the Program Legal Group in the federal Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and then returned to Mayer Brown, in its Supreme Court and Appellate practice. Katskee joined NCSE's board of directors in 2013. For information about NCSE's board of directors, visit: http://ncse.com/about/board For information about Americans United, visit; https://au.org/ WHAT'S NEW FROM THE SCIENCE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Have you been visiting NCSE's blog, The Science League of America, recently? If not, then you've missed: * Emily Schoerning reporting on NCSE's informal survey of science teachers: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/09/what-do-teachers-want-0016623 * NCSE intern Nikita Daryanani describing a classroom activity on ocean acidification: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/08/classroom-oceans-got-chemistry-0016617 * Steven Newton lamenting the paucity of geology in high school science: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/08/where-does-climate-change-education-fit-0016615 And much more besides! For The Science League of America, visit: http://ncse.com/blog Thanks for reading. And don't forget to visit NCSE's website -- http://ncse.com -- where you can always find the latest news on evolution and climate education and threats to them. -- Sincerely, Glenn Branch Deputy Director National Center for Science Education, Inc. 420 40th Street, Suite 2 Oakland, CA 94609-2509 510-601-7203 x303 fax: 510-601-7204 800-290-6006 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Check out NCSE's new blog, Science League of America: http://ncse.com/blog Read Reports of the NCSE on-line: http://reports.ncse.com Subscribe to NCSE's free weekly e-newsletter: http://groups.google.com/group/ncse-news NCSE is on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd http://twitter.com/ncse NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today! http://ncse.com/join
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