Free video lectures by Richard Dawkins
A common misconception is that science is a body of knowledge. Science is more accurately described as a process. This misconception is undoubtedly the result of bad textbooks that list known facts like an encyclopedia and tell little about how we come to then and what kind of evidences would be required to challenge them. Most textbooks teach much on what to recall but little on how to think.
I really like Richard Dawkins's prose so I was extremely pleased when he announced that five video lectures were now free to download from his website. I'm impressed by his talent as a lecturer: he leads his argument methodically without getting lost into details, he uses a wide variety of props and samples to illustrate his points, and he interacts efficiently with the audience to keep them alert. Those are the best videos I've ever watched on a computer, be sure to have a look at them.
Comments
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I disagree. It is more likely an extension of the Genesis statement that the universe was created out of chaos and the result is perfection. Fundamentalists believe that the Universe was created by a supreme being just like a car is created by a corporation. You take a lump of clay and make a pot out of it. It's not surprising then that they see science as being"a body of nothing".
Scientists (and evolutionists) believe that creation is the act of one thing mutating into another. Scientific method is a continuum of updates, each one hopefully closer to the truth, but far from perfection. This kind of ambiguity is frightening to religious people, so they reject the process for the comfort of the result. Since science can never offer a perfect result, science and religion can never agree.
The identifiable result is always a thing, an object like a body. This is why the Ten Commandments warns the ancient Hebrews against the worshipping of graven images. So you see the dichotomy between description and object goes back a long way. The Zen Buddhist religion incorporates that contrast in their teachings, so they skipped the whole anxiety trip that made western society what it is.
So even the "bad textbooks" you blame were written by people who used religious language to interpret science. And that language is more chauvinistic than we can know. Even today we are enslaved by language invented millenia ago, and communicating about enlightened topics is very difficult.
You have very good points; it's true that our vocabulary is heavily influenced by abrahamic religions. This is yet another reason why I like those lectures by Dawkins: he acknowledges it. He goes, "time and again, I have to bit by thong and stop myself saying, for example, 'look at this swift, it's designed for rapid and highly maneuverable flight.' In fact, even if we are biologists, none of bother to bite our thong; we just use the word 'designed'."
Someone told me, "bah, Dawkins, he is sorts of a troll." It's true that God Delusion is rather inflammatory but the video lectures are nothing like that. He goes on to show observations, proposes various explanations and shows how some of then are better at explaining the evidences. Those lectures are mostly for kids but it strikes me how Dawkins teaches how to think instead of what to recall. How I wish I've had a teacher like Dawkins.
You seem to say that since it's our culture that is melting our minds, I should not be mad at textbook authors and bad teachers for only listing fact and not telling much about the process. I concede that not all the blame should rest on them but if Dawkins can do such a great job, why can't they? This of course begs another question: why isn't Dawkins writing textbooks?