Evolution Endorsed by Steves

Genrou writes "National Center for Science Education (NCSE) has started an interesting and unusual project. Project Steve gathered about 220 scientists - almost all holding PhDs in all areas of science, and inlcuding two Nobel prize winners, eight members of the National Academy of Sciences, and several well-known authors of popular science books - signed a statement on the importance of teaching evolution and against intelligent design. The unusual part is that all of them are named Steve. Eugenie C. Scott, the executive director of NCSE, explained: "Creationists are fond of amassing lists of PhDs who deny evolution to try to give the false impression that evolution is somehow on the verge of being rejected by the scientific community. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Hundreds of scientists endorsed the NCSE statement. And we asked only scientists named Steve -- who represent approximately 1% of scientists.""

Comments

Re:In other news

[foistboinder]

Hundreds of years ago, the vast majority of "scientists" believed that the Earth was flat! Like a pancake!

There are some problems with that statement:

1. The earth was know to be round since the time of the ancient Greeks, possibly earlier.
2. Hundreds of years ago there really weren't any of what we would call scientists or a scientific community

Re:Modern science

[kasparov]

From the FAQ:

Well, is this some kind of joke, then?

Yes and no. Creationists are fond of circulating statements denouncing evolution signed by as many scientists as they can muster, with the intention of conveying the impression that evolution is a theory in crisis. The point of Project Steve is to demonstrate, in a lighthearted manner, that, on the contrary, the status of evolution within the scientific community is secure. But the signatories realize that science is not conducted by voting.

It's a Stephen Jay Gould tribute

[WallyHartshorn]

Read the article. They chose "Steves" as a tribute to Stephen Jay Gould, who recently passed away.

Re: RTFA

[Black Parrot]

> The article isn't saying evolution is right (that's another debate). It's saying that the scientific community is nowhere near about to reject it.

FYI, it's a sort of satire on the play made by the fans of "Intelligent Design" for the Ohio state school board last year, where they sought to descredit evolution by publishing a letter signed by fifty scientists who rejected the theory of evolution, or at least called for giving equal time to the alternatives. It turned out that about half of those "scientists" were professors of mechanical engineering, dental surgery, and the like, who are not normally considered scientists at all - let alone experts on evolution. The other half (26 or 27 of the 50, IIRC) still generously includes mathematicians, chemists, etc., who can in fact be considered scientists, though not exactly heavyweights when it comes to biological theories. I don't remember the count, but there certainly weren't many biologists among the 50.

I am also a Steve with a Ph.D.

[Steve1952]

I am another Steve (not on the original list). I have a Ph.D. in biochemistry I also endorse evolution. I have two other friends, also named Steve. One has a Ph.D. in Physics, and the other has an MD. They both also endorse evolution. Seems to be a trend... 3 out of 3 Steves.