Rep. Rick Brattin of Missouri has submitted a new anti-evolution bill in the Missouri legislature. Ed Brayton has the details, and commentary on it over at Dispatches from the Culture Wars, and I urge you to go have a read. I really have nothing to add, I just wanted to point out these two definitions Brattin included in the bill. If I would have given either of these as an answer in my 9th grade biology class, Mr. Stevens would have sarcastically called me a “star” and failed me. It would be funny, if they weren’t in an actual bill submitted to the state legislature.
(7) “Hypothesis”, a scientific theory reflecting a minority of scientific opinion which may lack acceptance because it is a new idea, contains faulty logic, lacks supporting data, has significant amounts of conflicting data, or is philosophically unpopular. One person may develop and propose a hypothesis;
(9) “Scientific theory”, an inferred explanation of incompletely understood phenomena about the physical universe based on limited knowledge, whose components are data, logic, and faith-based philosophy. The inferred explanation may be proven, mostly proven, partially proven, unproven or false and may be based on data which is supportive, inconsistent, conflicting, incomplete, or inaccurate. The inferred explanation may be described as a scientific theoretical model;
The newest tactic of creationists. Don’t like the meaning of a term? Redefine it!
Foster Disbelief 