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Korean scientists hit back at creationist textbook campaign

Posted on behalf of Soo Bin Park.

A group of 30 South Korean evolutionary scientists and palaeontologists has released a statement condemning a successful campaign by the creationist group Society for Textbook Reform (STR) to remove some examples of evolution from high-school biology textbooks (see ‘South Korea surrenders to creationist demands’).

The group says that the textbook publishers were wrong to remove examples of the evolution of the horse and the avian ancestor Archaeopteryx, and that, instead, the relevant sections should be updated to include the latest research. They also criticized the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for failing to oversee textbook revisions. In response to a public outcry, the ministry has said that it will set up an expert panel to oversee future revisions (see ‘Expert panel to guide science-textbook revisions in South Korea‘).

According to the scientists, the STR petition contained so much unverified data, intentional distortion and biased quotes that it would not normally be worth their time to engage with, but because it had been successful, they felt they had no choice but to make an official response.

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    Eugene Sittampalam said:

    Whatever the hit back here at creationist campaign is going to bring about, it can be truthfully said, without reserve, that in the end, as always in the scientific process – the truth will out.
    It can only help, never hurt, the scientific community to first consider in their quest for the truth, what the once militant atheist and world-renowned physicist, Sir Fred Hoyle himself, had to say on fundamental physics, the bedrock of science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDBw-0bqzB4
    Textbooks used even by the creationist groups here, should never be taken as sacrosanct or dogma, as scientific textbooks even in this day and age are replete with anomalies, half-truths, and downright untruths, but rigorously defended and guarded, or conveniently ignored, by vested interest groups and their lobbies. Typically, even in fundamental physics, of all the disciplines, such is the disturbing fact today, a glimpse of which may be had in the following, kindly published none other than by the highly conservative, yet most prudent group in science literarure, Nature, here: https://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/04/future_of_the_phd_live_qa.html?WT.ec_id=NEWS-20110419#comment-112396 [Please see Comment no: 8.]
    Thank you all for your time here. Cheers!

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