Food for Thought #9 - Theoretically Speaking

As always, the original from Lee is here

Appetizer: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Omelet, hash browns and coffee. More than usual but we met friends for breakfast.

Soup: Phish or Monkees?

Monkees. Even the mention makes me start singing a weird montage in my head. "hey hey we're the Monkee's. People say we monkey around... Cheer up Sleep Jean... Oh what can it mean to a daydream believer... Catch the last train to Clarksville and I'll meet you at the station..."

Salad: What is your first reaction when you hear the phrase, “I don’t believe in evolution”?

Thankfully, I've never heard anyone say this. I guess everyone can have their opinions and beliefs, that's what makes the world diverse but there is so much evidence of evolution around us that I have trouble understanding how anyone could not believe in it.

Entré: What do you think about attempts to legislate science or even just how science is taught?

On the one hand, I think it is a good idea to have goals of what students should learn at various grade levels. But I think that trying to dictate how it is taught will limit what is actually learned. By having all different teachers with varying styles it's more likely that someone will be the one that makes it start to click, the one that suddenly make science interesting.

Dessert: Has the word “theory” been stripped of its scientific meaning or become loaded with excess emotional baggage?

Well, at work we use it when someone says how something software-related should work, we call it the theory until we can prove it one way or the other with some real test cases. It isn't meant as a good or bad, it just means that something is possible but not yet proven. I'm not sure that answers the question....