[Dave]

There certainly is much ignorance about the Theory of Evolution, and about scientific Theory in general. Concerning Evolution specifically, I think it has always been that way because it directly challenges the Creation as written in Genesis, and also because Darwin himself believed in Intelligent Design. However, many people make and have made claims about The Origin of Species that are just not in it. I read it at school, but many people who think they know what is in it have never read it. For instance, it concerns the 'origin of species', not the 'origin of [our] species'; a very common misconception. Those that HAVE read it, and use its shortcomings to denounce Evolution, are failing completely to take on board the body of 150 years of scientific evidence that has come since, including a mechanism in DNA. As with all scientific theories, it is there to be reviewed and altered, tweaked where required, discarded if necessary; but while modern research has lead to major changes in the theory, the concept itself has only been strengthened. Out of my own interest, I have read some of these fundamentalist religious website to read what they say on Evolution, and they generally pick on a few parts of Darwin that were wrong and use those as evidence that Evolution as a whole is wrong. I cannot think of any other examples where someone would do that, and I'm quite gob-smacked every time I read them that such utter bilge can be believed in the heartland of the largest industrial country in the world. I would have thought that in 80 years they might have moved on a little from the Scopes "monkey-trial" era.

But the real problem is the lack of scientific education as a whole, and the continued falling standards. We live in a scientific world, we need science education more than ever. You ate breakfast this morning and your food had a label with daily allowances, energy, fat and carbohydrate content. You maybe watched TV adverts that told you 8 out 10 people preferred this product, but gave no sample size; and several advertised their products as 30% cheaper than another. The weather forecaster said there was 50% chance of rain, but the satellite picture had no clouds on it. You recycled some plastic bottles in your carbon-neutral car, then you threw away several electrical goods. You took a white medicine your Doctor prescribed, but didn't tell you why. Then you sprayed something on your Roses that came in a red bottle. Your house was flooded last year for the first time, but then it's only been there 20 years, and 100 years ago the river flooded right up to the railway, and just maybe that new building development has something to do with it. And your laptop isn't working and you think you broke it.

People seem happy to sleepwalk without asking why, or they understand so little that they can't ask why, so they just believe what they are told to believe by someone else who doesn't know or ask why either. We need to teach scientific theory, risk assessment, statistical analyisis, and basic Chemistry and Physics. In the UK, most schools now don't teach separate sciences but General Science. Some of the teachers only have limited science knowledge themselves. We have a whole raft of 16-18 year olds learning Media Studies and Travel & Tourism, while Universities close Science Departments.