Stirred But Not Shaken

A subject always guaranteed to get me riled, this video was on my facebook feed this morning. Bill Nye to join debate over Creationism. I shared the video with the following comment:

He's doing the right thing. Creationism scares me too. It's a downward slope into a very dangerous future in which people blinded by mysticism are subject to the whims of whatever charlatan leader tells them. Kudos to the likes of Mr. Nye and Neill deGrasse Tyson who champion science and the real magic of sceptical wonder.

Then a comment on my own comment following a couple of Likes:

Seriously, it's getting close to the U.S. raising an entire nation of children that believes in talking snakes, magic apples and a 12,000 year old Earth history. If people can believe brain rotting nonsense like that, it won't be long before we're back in the Dark Ages building Wicker Men and burning people as witches. Too late to worry about giving Creationism credibility; it already has way too much credibility. It must be stamped out. Serious stuff.

When I got to work, what was the first book I drew from a child's library bag of books for returning? You guessed it; this book by Bill Nye.

Now, the book below it. A few years ago I accidently bought this Creationist book of dinosaurs for the library. My immediate inclination was to chuck it in the bin. Then I thought, "No. Science is not in the business of censoring ideas. Every idea, every hypothesis, no matter how absurd, should be received welcomingly and subjected to rigorous scrutiny." So this book, Dinosaurs Unleashed, remains on the shelves but, whenever a child borrows it, I always insist that they borrow a scientifically accurate dinosaur book and tell them to decide which one they believe. So far, no one has said they believe the Creationist book. There is hope for the future.

Go large and you might be able to read the pages. It's good for a laugh/facepalm.