Turkish high school students will no longer be taught "controversial" evolutionary theory

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2017/09/18/gollum-erdogan.html

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Those poor fragile young minds can’t handle such a complicated subject like evolution.

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Religion is an opiate that costs too damn much.

Why can’t they just stick with meth or whatever like the other crazies?

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The traditional method of teaching students, in tiny increments, slowly building on previous information, is just an unproven theory.

Surely the best way is to just have them learn everything all in an instant, as if some creator conjured it into their brains?

Knowledge Conjurer has a nice ring to it, I should copyright that… checks Google… too late :frowning:

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From my point of view the idea that evolution isn’t true is the “controversial theory.”

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Now there’s a country on track to be a world leader in scientific and technological innovation. The talent and funds will be flowing into Turkey any day now.

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If evolution is true, why do we have both Erdogan and pond scum?

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Rabbis long ago were not allowed to study the Book of Ezekiel until they were 40 years old, because one of its verses is a direct contradiction of a verse in Deuteronomy. It was believed by the age o0f 40 they would have the maturity to handle the shock, or perhaps they would have more to lose and wouldn’t cause a stink.

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Evolution is one of 170 topics that have been purged

Once you go FACT, you never go back.

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This will give aspiring politicians a national divide to exploit.

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The education reforms also include redefining jihad as “loving a nation”.

Edit: source

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So they can learn multiple languages with differing structural foundations (Russian, German, their own Turkic, whatever the curriculum), but they can’t handle science?

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The Fuck? Turkey used to be significantly more progressive than this. The people still are.

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citation required

I often think of James Morrow’s book of short stories, “Bible Stories for Adults.” There’s a delightful yarn in there where a schoolteacher must address a classroom full of robots who believe that they evolved. It’s his duty to teach them the truth, that they were the result of a “special creation.” James Morrow ensues.

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Will BBC News suffice?

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I don’t think you call call creationism a “theory,” even a controversial one, since it doesn’t have any scientific evidence whatsoever to back it up.

As Pauli said, “It’s not even wrong.”

ETA: Everything that’s going on in Turkey is SO sad, and where the US is heading if we’re not careful.

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Sigh. There is nothing in religious texts that preclude the acceptance of Evolution. Unless one wants to have a very rigid interpretation of Genesis, which is from prophetic visions passed down orally before finally written down. But there is zero reason to do that. Even the formally rigid Catholics are ok with it.

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Turkey — Kansas of the Middle East.

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