[www.amazon.com]

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Using McLeroy's (really?) special brand of magic monkey science, I've fixed all of the problems like this - I no longer believe in his existence, and the more evidence that is presented to me, the more I will disbelieve in him. Someone has to stand up to these nonexistents.

Now I'm off to keep planning tomorrow's Global Warming lesson for my 6th grade science classes.

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So, for certain definitions of the universe, under certain unproven theories, wouldn't the answer actually be many times more than 14 billion?

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If children are taught science correctly...as a PROCESS...and not just a bunch of facts, the children themselves will be able to see whats nonsense and whats not.

I mean think of it this way;

Conversation 1;

"a) How old is the universe

b) well, using light redshift, combined with various other measures we can see its accelerating at this speed. Now, assuming the gravitational constant say the same we can extrapolate back and say its roughly this old.

a) What if the constant doesn't stay the sam...."

Conversation 2:

"a) How old is the universe

b) This book told me its 6500 years old.

a) Umm...but tree rings alone can show the world is earlier then that.

b) The tree rings lie.

a) Who made them lie

b) err..."

It doesn't actually mater so much if a child believes the first explanation or not. If they can pick holes in the methods used to deduce the age thats FANTASTIC.

We -shouldn't- be teaching these things as hard facts for them to accept.

The important thing is they are educated so they can see themselves second explanation is nonsense.

Teach them the tools to seperate science from fiction. (...and science fiction from urban fantasy :p)

If they understand the scientific process, their doughts don't become holes for people to plug with nonsense.

In science, the goal may be certainty, but admitting the lack of it is its greatest strength.

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Texas hasn't changed, adapted, grown, or evolved, in at least 14 Billion Years.

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