I didn’t demand ID teachings in schools

THE EDITOR: Contrary to the bold assertion by Marion O’Callaghan in her interesting article “Intelligent Design Has Arrived” (Newsday 23/1/06), I am not a proponent of “Creation Science.” I am passionately involved in the scientific enterprise, the systematic search for the truth about nature and its processes, and adhere strictly to the scientific method. Nothing in my writings could remotely suggest otherwise as I am able to rationally and scientifically defend all my criticisms of orthodox science. Further, I did not demand that Intelligent Design be taught in our schools as she carelessly claimed that I did, but instead strongly advocated exposing our students to Intelligent Design and other contemporary scientific ideas.

Such exposure can be realised by the simple process of classroom debate or by inviting suitable speakers for more formal presentations as often occurs in schools today. I have been invited on several occasions to talk with sixth form students in Trinidad and Tobago on scientific issues and the experience has always been stimulating. Young people have a refreshing openness and vitality that allows them to consider and challenge new ideas with reason and good sense instead of taking the unthinking position that unorthodox views must be wrong because orthodox science is right.

Just last year the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Robin Warren and Barry Marshall for what the Nobel committee described as “the remarkable and unexpected discovery” that ulceration of the stomach is caused by bacteria and not stress and lifestyle as was the conventional wisdom. I listened to a revealing interview on BBC World with these scientists as they described the strong resistance by the scientific establishment to their findings, as a result of which one of them took the extraordinary step of ingesting the bacteria in order to prove the case. We appear to have learnt very little from the numerous instances in which conventional thinking was wrong.

PROFESSOR STEPHAN GIFT
Faculty of Engineering UWI