Creation science

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Revision as of 02:11, 16 February 2009

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Pseudoscience Alert
This topic is a pseudoscience, and is not accepted by the scientific community as a valid discipline.
Although it may use scientific terminology, it does not use scientific methodology.
Remember: just because it sounds right doesn't mean it's actually right.
Style over substance

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Creation science is an attempt to pretend that it is possible to give a scientific description for the Genesis creation myth, in the mistaken idea that faith in these concepts is somehow not enough for a believer. The major problem faced by those who promote the idea of creation science is that creation, relying as it does on super-naturalism, is completely non-scientific. Science, whilst having many definitions and nuances, is fundamentally the application of the scientific method to arrive at a theory that explains what we observe.

Contents

Falsifiability

One of the pillars of the scientific method and hence of scientific theories, is that they be falsifiable, i.e. there has to be some potential observation that would show the theory to be wrong.

Creation science falls at this hurdle, as there is no known way to falsify a creation event. For example, on the evolution side of the argument, a cat giving birth to a dog is an event that would falsify evolution and render our current understanding of it almost worthless. (Funnily enough, this is the very type of event that a number of creationists claim would get them to believe in evolution, which is just a further sign of how little they understand the subject of evolution and falsifiability).

There exists, however, no corresponding idea for creation science - unless they impose limits on their chosen creator, which they are naturally rather loath to do. For a creator can choose to create whatever they will, in whatever manner they will, so any possible scenario could be "explained" by a creation event. In being able to answer every question, creation science in effect answers none of them. Floating axe heads, burning bushes, talking snakes, etc. are all capable of being explained by a supernatural creator, so what is left to falsify the idea? Nothing, and so the science has to be removed from the creation science title.

So in the falsifiability arena, the question that the supporters of creation science need to answer - and have comprehensively failed to answer - is what possible event would falsify their position?

Baraminology

According to Young Earth Creationism the earth and all animals were created during Creation Week. The animals were created in non-evolving kinds the study of which is called Baraminology. In an effort to further their cause, YECs have built a Creation Museum.

Geology, and other things that aren't in the Bible

As the global flood of Genesis is also believed to be true, a separate element of creation "science" deals with flood geology.

Creation science acknowledges some decidedly non-Biblical aspects of prehistory which have been proven during the modern period by geological, archaeological and paleontological evidence, such as ice ages and the existence of dinosaurs. In creationist chronologies, these are fitted incongruously around the events described in Genesis

Alternatives

As it has proved impossible for them to get creationism taught in public schools in the US, the Discovery Institute came up with another pseudoscience - Intelligent Design.

See also

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