'A New Hope' for Texas board of Education?

There is at least one ray of light for the continuing saga that is the Texas Board of Education's fight to completely effup students. A University of Texas math professor, Lorenzo Sadun, has decided to run for the board.

If Sadun is elected, he will be the only scientist on the board. He said that even though he may encounter opposition from members of the board, he will find a common ground with his colleagues and will pursue agreement without sacrificing the quality of education for Texas students.

“Despite my taking a fairly hard line, I am a conciliator,” Sadun said. “I have not met a person who knew so much I couldn’t teach them something, and I’ve never met someone who knew so little that they couldn’t teach me something.”

And the best part about it:

The board has allowed politics and philosophy to influence its decisions regarding science textbooks. The theory of evolution was contested by conservative board members who insisted that the theory of intelligent design, or creationism, be taught alongside the theory of evolution.

“Intelligent design is fake science,” Sadun said. “It is a religious belief about the creation of the earth and humanity, dressed up in the language of science.”

Image via Topic Agnostic

Things are getting busy

The second year of grad school is the worst. Expectations that you will be starting your own research and applying for funding in addition to finishing your coursework(1) really put a crunch on the time a student has. Not to mention that dirty word ... qualification. The quals, the competency test, the BFE. Call it what you will, it's very mention sows in the mind images of medieval torture and carnal abomination. But, of that which we cannot speak, ...

But first a bit of fun.

I have discovered that Family Radio broadcasts in my area, which should not be of too much interest to anyone. However, they do have two titillating short segments called Beyond Intelligent Design with Mel Mulder(2) and Creation Moments with Ian Taylor. Both follow the same sort of format:

A) Scientists have discovered some interesting new fact.

B) Scientists aren't completely sure of the mechanism.

C) Therefore, IT MST TOBE THE JEBUS!!!! ELEVENTEE ONEE !!!!

Not exactly the most rigorous example of logical thought, but at least it is concise. Of particular interest to me is that they sometimes cover topics in the neurosciences. Interesting. I feel that I must go through at some point and confirm the high exacting standards they almost assuredly employ.

Image via Strollerderby

(1) It doesn't help when the course master schedules your course to run four weeks longer than the length of the semester.

(2) Who is, I am convinced based on the lack of prosody in his voice, a robot.