Myers Explains it All

Girding his loins, hitching up his pants, taking the bit between his teeth, and otherwise preparing himself for an unsavory task, the famous PZ Myers (AKA Pharyngula) spent one of his introductory biology classes (that’s Biology 1101 at U. Minnesota, Morris) on creationism. He has gallantly linked to the PowerPoint presentation that he used. As you might expect from his long history battling this particular demon, it is a fine summary of the more egregious recent claims and their rebuttals.

I am happy to say that I helped (if indirectly) in putting it together. Some months ago, I created a slide show about “irreducible complexity” as part of a presentation to a Northern Virginia group interested in maintaining scientific integrity in local schools. I adapted some of Myers’ commentary, and sent a copy to him to check over. To my immense pleasure, I see that he has incorporated a modified version of my slides into his lecture.

Much of what is being sought in the ‘teach the controversy’ movement would be better characterized as ‘lying to the students’. As the fight against claptrap moves to more school systems, it is important to have resources like this lecture generally available. Kudos to PZ Myers for generously contributing his labor to this cause.