Let science discussions on origins range freely

SCMP Education Mailbag June 19, 2009

For a region keen on democracy, there sure is an exceptional push to shut down science discussions on origins. While Darwin's theory in the Origin of the Species makes some excellent points, most of his devotees do not advocate discussing flaws or limitations to his theory. Why not?

In the late '90s in the newspaper back home, I regularly debated with an ardent Darwin-enthusiast university professor. Yet never once did he answer my often-asked question of how a bird with a sharp beak arose at the same time as an egg with a hard shell.

Curiously, most opponents of Intelligent Design cannot knowledgeably define it and give examples. An extreme number of coincidences make life on Earth possible.

Some people want to study this further and propose origins for the universe, while others say not to go there. Yet science legitimately consists of the increasing body of knowledge of our world. We should encourage students to explore, make and defend their own positions, rather than dictating to them what they must believe.

Meanwhile, attributing motives to people, limiting the discussion, and failing to listen to the observations or questions of others yields neither democracy nor good science.

GORDON TRUSCOTT, Tin Shui Wai