Science Stagnates

[farla]

Today I went to the museum.

I'm in favor of random facts and information, as well as pretty displays, so I thought it'd be fun.

And I know I'm probably picky, but...

Well, we went with my aunt, who's that happy smiley literal kind of religious, making it really surreal. I'm not entirely sure on her stance on extinction, but she doesn't believe in evolution and she was mentioning hearing that there were still dinosaurs alive somewhere in South America, so... It made it more than a bit weird to be going to see dinosaurs and extinct whatevers and talk about how they were adapted to their environments and why they died out.

Then there were all the 'well, duh' exhibits, cataloging what I consider basic knowledge. Some of them are for kids, which is okay until you realize their parents are watching with confused expressions and you suddenly realize that these people vote.

Of the exhibits I knew anything about, I kept picking out errors. Whether it was the simple grammatical mistake on the plaque's title or the fact that the dinosaur models were a solid fifty years out of date, it added up. (The models in question weren't even that big, and it's not like it would have killed anyone to put a little sign saying 'This is how scientists USED to think dinosaurs looked, note X, Y, and Z which we now know are actually...) Some of the modern exhibits were maybe five years out of date, and somewhat incomplete at that. So it wound up being a lesson in scientific orthodoxy and refusal to update.

What's the point, if people don't know, don't believe, and aren't even being taught accurately?

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

"tracking system" "Only the honors kids even could make it to physics"

But that's crazy. (!?!!?) Uh... not that I don't believe you, of course. I just... would never have expected to hear something like that.

Oh well.

By 'wall of vending machines', do you mean an actual wall full of them - more than two or three near each other? And by 'on the way in and out' do you mean you actually have to walk through it to get to class? (I know those must sound like stupid questions, I just... uh, don't know that that's impossible, I guess.) Ki

[farla.livejournal.com]

Most of the kids didn't even make it near physics. If you were in the lower levels, you wouldn't take biology, chemistry or physics at all. Between that, electives, and how minimal the courses themselves are, graduating without learning basic information in a subject was pretty easy. Do you know we teach students that on Thanksgiving, our forefathers gave the Indians new foods...like pumpkins and squash and corn and potatoes, all native to the Americas.

Well, the main vending machine wall was in the cafeteria. The one by the gym was on a wall with huge doors, so while they covered all available space, there was only room for about five or so.

And yes, we walked by to get to class. See, the way to the two different gym areas was through this open room/hallway. We often hung out there for ten minutes while our teacher got there to let us in. And after class had concluded, but before the bell rang.

Did I mention that we graduated several months early, as far as I can tell because it was just cheaper to kick us out? Oh, and the textbooks were garbage, our teachers weren't necessarily accredited, we had not-quite-half-day days, again as far as I can tell because it was cheaper than having whole school days, and they were running the buses as a for-profit part of the school administration? Oh, and school supplies were often purchased by our teachers, as an out-of-pocket expense.

There is a reason America is so very very low on international rankings.