Museum of Misinformation

[Furrowed Brow]

Lawrence Kraus writes in this weeks New Scientist about the new Creation Museum which has recently opened in Petersburg, Kentucky. The article is titled "Museum of misinformation". Kraus is calling for the museum to be condemned and shunned.

The Creation Museum is designed to suggest that science demonstrates the viability of a literal interpretation of Genesis. It argues that scientific evidence supports a six-day creation of the Earth, a 6000-year old universe, and a world where dinosaurs and humans happily roamed together.

In doing so the museum repeatedly misrepresents the process and results of science, and distorts the scientific record.

What, though, of the thousands of young children who may visit the museum....Are they not intellectually injured when they enter a hightech museum with an air of authority that claims, nonsensically, that according to scientific evidence the Grand Canyon was created by biblical flood?

Krauss' complaint is that the Creation Museum is misrepresenting science. It is a scientific fraud. Also the money behind the museum is "buying reality".

Does the Creation Museum worry you? Is it a harmless expression of religious freedom? Will you be paying it a visit?

[McCulloch]

Does the Creation Museum worry you?

Yes.

Is it a harmless expression of religious freedom?

That depends on who is paying for it and what representations they make regarding evidence.

Will you be paying it a visit?

No. Absolutely not.

[Cathar1950]

I would like to visit just to have a good laugh.
Maybe take a few kids and point out the flaws out loud.
They need to take it to court and show that it is like professional wrestling which is entertainment not sports. In this case entertainment and dogma not science and good religion.

[Metatron]

I would like to visit just to have a good laugh.
Maybe take a few kids and point out the flaws out loud.
They need to take it to court and show that it is like professional wrestling which is entertainment not sports. In this case entertainment and dogma not science and good religion.

While I'd personally find a visit to it pretty amusing, its a shame the number of kids that will be fed this crap and probably come out believing this YEC baloney. Don't think there would be much basis for taking it to court unless it directly misstates the positions of scientists or slanders them in some way.

[mister_lee]

I would like to visit just to have a good laugh.
Maybe take a few kids and point out the flaws out loud.
They need to take it to court and show that it is like professional wrestling which is entertainment not sports. In this case entertainment and dogma not science and good religion.

Good point on taking kids. You can't hide from stuff like this or pretend it doesn't exist. Who said pro wrestling's not real!?!? Liar!!!



Just kidding, but when I was a kid, back in the Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant days, I fought venomously with people who said it wasn't real. Of course, the entertainers themselves were not helping to dispel the belief like they are now. Now they actually kill!! They killed a wrestler and brought him back!!

[arayhay]

I would like to visit just to have a good laugh.
Maybe take a few kids and point out the flaws out loud.
They need to take it to court and show that it is like professional wrestling which is entertainment not sports. In this case entertainment and dogma not science and good religion.

Good point on taking kids. You can't hide from stuff like this or pretend it doesn't exist. Who said pro wrestling's not real!?!? Liar!!!



Just kidding, but when I was a kid, back in the Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant days, I fought venomously with people who said it wasn't real. Of course, the entertainers themselves were not helping to dispel the belief like they are now. Now they actually kill!! They killed a wrestler and brought him back!!

So what if someone learns from a mistake.

The susceptibility to error comes about when I allowing myself to be guided too much by intuition and common sense. evidence can be altered to conform to my beliefs.

more often than not, things that concern the heart and belief are not always what they seem to be, and untutored innate intelligence frequently proves to be an unreliable guide. not to mention how delicate matters that reside there can and should be dealt with. that residence is a unique place, and should be treated accordingly.

science and the Bible fit much better then most people think right now, and the trees can always get in the way of the forest.

i doubt very much that the creation museum projects that the universe is 6000 years old. more likely they say that life on the planet has existed for 6000 years.

the Grand canyon could have been in it's relative state before men and woman were created.


taking the kids there could bring about some interesting dialog.

[Furrowed Brow]

I would like to visit just to have a good laugh.
Maybe take a few kids and point out the flaws out loud.
They need to take it to court and show that it is like professional wrestling which is entertainment not sports. In this case entertainment and dogma not science and good religion.

Good point on taking kids. You can't hide from stuff like this or pretend it doesn't exist. Who said pro wrestling's not real!?!? Liar!!!



Just kidding, but when I was a kid, back in the Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant days, I fought venomously with people who said it wasn't real. Of course, the entertainers themselves were not helping to dispel the belief like they are now. Now they actually kill!! They killed a wrestler and brought him back!!

So what if someone learns from a mistake.

The susceptibility to error comes about when I allowing myself to be guided too much by intuition and common sense. evidence can be altered to conform to my beliefs.

more often than not, things that concern the heart and belief are not always what they seem to be, and untutored innate intelligence frequently proves to be an unreliable guide. not to mention how delicate matters that reside there can and should be dealt with. that residence is a unique place, and should be treated accordingly.

science and the Bible fit much better then most people think right now, and the trees can always get in the way of the forest.

i doubt very much that the creation museum projects that the universe is 6000 years old. more likely they say that life on the planet has existed for 6000 years.

the Grand canyon could have been in it's relative state before men and woman were created.


taking the kids there could bring about some interesting dialog.

I'm of a mind to let the kids go to the Creation Museum. From experience it seems to be kids over the age of around 8 can see through BS. So let them go. Over the long run I think it is going to back fire.

However. I think the kids should be provided with all the information. They should also be taken to a natural history museum, and told how much £(dollar)each museum has spent per square foot on their displays.

[sledheavy]

No way.....a creation museum??? Man I'd be there if it weren't for the trip. That'd be a pretty good laugh.

lol...Imagine if we encountered nuclear war and a new civilization eventually found its remains.

And I'm still forced to watch wrestling, I'll admit. But its interesting how it all works. You can see the writers on the side lines during big events.

[McCulloch]

Someone else said, The Flintstones was a fantasy not a documentary.

[QED]

I think the real harm is done in not challenging such things. Once accustomed to belief in arbitrary things how can important beliefs be engendered? It reminds me of the way the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad describes the Nazi Holocaust of European Jewry as a "myth". Agreed some beliefs are based on the interpretation of subtle evidence and so permit a plurality of views - but this isn't the case with either the Holocaust or the natural history of this planet.

Denial of the Holocaust demonstrates the power of idealism over rationalism. Given the denial in the face of so much contemporary material evidence of the Holocaust it's hardly surprising that the creation museum finds the room to present its take on natural history spanning the age of the planet.