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Avoiding the Word "Evolution"

Posted by kdawson on from the can't-say-that-wait-two-years dept.

jakosc tips us to a disturbing article in PloS Biology on the avoidance of the word "Evolution" in scientific papers and grants. From the paper: "In spite of the importance of antimicrobial resistance, we show that the actual word 'evolution' is rarely used in the papers describing this research. Instead, antimicrobial resistance is said to 'emerge,' 'arise,' or 'spread' rather than 'evolve.' Moreover, we show that the failure to use the word 'evolution' by the scientific community may have a direct impact on the public perception of the importance of evolutionary biology in our everyday lives... It has been repeatedly rumored (and reiterated by one of the reviewers of this article) that both the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation have in the past actively discouraged the use of the word 'evolution' in titles or abstracts of proposals so as to avoid controversy."

8 of 895 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What do you expect? by Joebert · · Score: 4, Funny

    In God we trust, all others pay cash.

    --
    Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
  2. Nobody told you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    God is an acronym: Guns, oil, and drugs.

  3. Re:Eh it goes both ways? by Patrik_AKA_RedX · · Score: 4, Funny

    god says it aint good to gamble.
    Damn, I was trying to make Russian Roulette popular among the religious.
  4. Re:yes by niconorsk · · Score: 5, Funny

    You fool. Why did you tell him the Spanish Inquisition is coming. Now he's going to expect it.

    --
    Nothing is impossible. We just haven't quite worked out how to do it yet.
  5. Storks! by Jugalator · · Score: 5, Funny

    "If we are going to teach creation science as an alternative to evolution, then we should also teach the stork theory as an alternative to biological reproduction." -- Judith Hayese

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  6. Re:Read your own history, mate by Phroggy · · Score: 3, Funny

    but hey, that is not my country so fuck it up as much as you wish, as long as you keep a sane foreign policy of "hand off".... Um, yeah, we'll uhh, get right on that.
    --
    $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
    $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  7. Re:Evolution, with numbers. by VultureMN · · Score: 5, Funny

    How dare you challenge "Argument by Incredulity" with reasoned, logical, and sane mathematical models?

    You're going to hell, mister!

  8. Re:What do you expect? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    how about "in the flying spaghetti monster we trust"?