Proposed school science standards badly overdue

AS A SENIOR scientist/engineer recently retired from Sandia National Labs, I feel a need to speak out regarding an article titled “National lab scientists assail proposed science standards”, Albuquerque Journal, Oct. 12. The article reports on a letter written by 61 Los Alamos senior technical staff to the New Mexico Public Education Department expressing their disappointment with the proposed public school science standards, which omit the age of the Earth and limit references to evolution.

I support the proposed standards. The educational system has indoctrinated students on evolution as the only valid explanation for the presence of life on the Earth, in spite of the fact it has never been proven. In fact, the more we learn about the complexity of life, the weaker the case for evolution becomes. The complexity of a single cell is staggering, and all parts have to be working correctly in order for life to be possible. As an engineer I know how hard it is to design and build a working system — one that is much, much simpler than a living cell. Any scientist or engineer who claimed a complex piece of computer software “just happened” would be laughed out of the room, and yet when it comes to the origin of life, some have the faith to believe life is an accident.

Many in the scientific community want to use the educational system to indoctrinate our children in their particular world view, rather than allow the free exchange of ideas and debate that once characterized science. If there really is overwhelming evidence for evolution, then let the evidence speak for itself. But I suggest that the evidence for evolution is very weak, which is why some in the scientific community want to suppress dissent and censor opposing views. It is time we allowed our students to examine the evidence and to learn to think for themselves. Let’s adopt the proposed standards. C. DOUGLAS BROWN Albuquerque