Re: Science Questions

Accepting evolution on blind faith is no less
foolish than accepting creationism on blind faith. Maybe
there's a different explanation - other than evolution
and other than creationism - for why things are the
way they are. By saying that evolution is "it", you
close your eyes and put your hands over your
ears.

Science is based upon making theories, testing them out,
and seeing what parts of the theory work out and
which don't. If you follow Kuhn or Imre Lakatos, no
theory is ever truly disproven. If you follow Karl
Popper, no theory is ever truly proven. Unless you can
present me with incontrovertible proof that evolution is
the way it is, I'll address the issue with an
understanding that this may not be the way things actually are
- I may base certain assumptions in my actions
around it, but I won't consider it a law.

There
is nothing wrong with a question on creation science
that asks questions based on scientific principles. As
has been mentioned, questions exist on competing
theories. As long as one does not degenerate into "bad
science", such questions would appear perfectly acceptable
- unless you've ever run a tournament that forbids
questions on Newtonian mechanics since Einstein appears to
be "righter".

The assumption that things
exist the way they are solely because of an involved
higher power is as perfectly legitimate an original
assumption as the idea that things exist the way they are
because of chance. While I'd feel free to question those
who present poorly-thought out theories or who just
say "because" when asked for a reason, I'd caution
against rejecting the assumption out of
hand.

Finally, Matt - it's just a debate. Quizbowl offers very
little "wiggle room" as to whether an answer is correct
or not. The real world isn't like this. Engage
others in debate rather than cutting it off - if you are
correct, you may get some people to change their minds. If
nothing else, you'll get a workout in making sure that
you understand what you say you believe.

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