Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Objection on January 1, 2010 at 5:18am

When I was taking high school genetics and marine biology, we weren't asked. In genetics, it was mentioned, and nobody reacted in opposition.
I live in Seattle, a city known for having above-average education rates compared to the rest of America.

Now that I think about it, it should have been mentioned more, as evolution is a key cornerstone of biology and genetics, not to mention lots of other scientific fields. No wonder the average American's scientific literacy and proficiency is so low compared to those of all other industrialized nations...
...However, I think evolution may have been on the low-key because at the time, there were evolution/creationism court trials happening. The most prominent example is the Dover Trial in Dover, Pennsylvania in 2006.
Perhaps they didn't want to make a fuss out of the controversy going on. Nevertheless, the curriculum should have incorporated more of evolution in it. The trial had ended, after all. As one scientist have said (it's repeated quite a few times): biology only makes sense in the light of evolution.

Permalink Reply by Darren Wong on January 3, 2010 at 7:35am

That's very true. It is definitely true that "Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution", which was the title on an 1973 essay by evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky, who was a Russian Orthodox Christian (Take that, creationists!).

Actually, I think the USA is better in Biology education than Malaysia. We are taught about variation (aka microevolution), but never speciation. Not to mention the textbook chapters usually ends teaching us to be grateful for "god" for his finely-tuned universe. Bullshit.

So that's exactly why we should spread understanding of evolution to the public. Teach them on what's true and what's not. However, my experience tells me that doing this dogmatically achieves nothing, and is in contrast to what a true atheist should do.

Permalink Reply by Paul Lin on January 3, 2010 at 9:02am

Are you attending a public school? If so, I wonder if Malaysia's education is influenced by the Islam...

Permalink Reply by Darren Wong on January 3, 2010 at 9:13am

Yes, I am. While there are both secular and religious schools, education in Malaysia isn't neutral at all. First of all, evolution is definitely not teached, as it is in conflict with the quran. God is used instead as an explanation.

We have both Islam Education (Pendidikan Islam) for Muslims and Moral Education (Pendidikan Moral) for non-Muslims. This is already bias from the start, but Malaysia's an officially Islamic nation, anyway. And guess what do have as the first moral value of the so-called secular Moral Education? Belief in God (Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan). The god in this case is obviously Judeo/Christian/Islamic, as he is potrayed as all-knowing, loving, omnipotent. Not to mention that God is used as a singular noun. Hey, if you don't write God with the capital 'G' in your test, you get 0 marks for the question!

Lastly, the Malay Literature (Komponen Sastera) is full of stories that are Islamic in nature. Devout Muslim mother, the acceptance of Islam by a wealthy guy... yeah those stories. So long for the "secular" education of Malaysia.

Permalink Reply by Paul Lin on January 3, 2010 at 9:49am

How about banned books? Do Malaysia's government ban books on evolution, atheism, and agnosticism?

Permalink Reply by Darren Wong on January 4, 2010 at 1:09am

Thankfully, no. We still have books like "The God Delusion", "Letter to a Christian Nation", "In God We Doubt", "The Greatest Show on Earth", and "Why Evolution is True". Maybe that's because atheism/agnosticism and evolution is not well-known concept in Malaysia. Or perhaps there are no political gains from doing so.

Permalink Reply by Paul Lin on January 4, 2010 at 5:09am

That's a good news.