Jan
31
Judge John E. Jones III’s decision in the Dover trial has been heralded as a great victory for science and science education and a major setback for intelligent design and creationism.
It is neither of these. The Dover trial is simply the latest certainly not the last in a long line of largely irrelevant and inconsequential legal challenges to the teaching of evolution in America. The most famous of these is certainly the Scopes Trial. Nominally, Scopes lost and was fined in this historic encounter, but the real loser was the teaching of evolution weakened in the wake of the verdict as skittish textbook publishers downplayed the controversial theory.
Another celebrated legal encounter occurred in 1982 in Little Rock, Ark., when that state proposed to mandate “equal time” high school pedagogy, requiring creationism to be taught alongside evolution. The judge concluded that there was no basis for teaching creationism with evolution in Arkansas public schools. In an about-face from Scopes, creationism lost this battle, but continued to dominate the cultural battle among Americans at large.
A similar challenge originated in Louisiana in 1987 and eventually made its way to the Supreme Court where, presumably, once and for all, creationism was declared unscientific, religious and not appropriate for America’s high school biology classes. But polls continued to show that America’s rejection of evolution was as widespread as ever.
Intelligent design creationism’s successor suffered its first major legal defeat in Dover late last year. But like similar legal defeats of its parent species, the defeat means next to nothing to the American public. Polls will continue to show opposition to evolution. The real effect of the Dover ruling will prove to be as inconsequential as its predecessors in Tennessee, Louisiana or Arkansas.
America’s battle over evolution is not about science nor even about education. It is about religion, and, as such, can only be understood as a culture war between religion and secularism. The legal hairsplitting we have seen about how science is religiously neutral and religion can be reconciled with evolution is an ivory-tower perspective that may warm the hearts of philosophers but does little to thaw the chill between the culture warriors who disagree.
The careful, sober language of Judge Jones stands in marked contrast to the rhetorically charged commentary that has emerged from both sides over the past few decades as religious and secular visions of origins have competed for the allegiance of Americans.
Liberal publications produced cartoons heaping ridicule on the opponents of evolution, portraying them as “missing links.” Anti-religious spokespeople for science described the illiteracy and backwardness of the creationists. Richard Dawkins called creationists “cavemen,” an insult that Isaac Asimov seconded on the back cover of Dawkins’ influential book The Blind Watchmaker. In his review of Blueprints in The New York Times, Dawkins charged that people who did not believe in evolution were “stupid, wicked, or insane.” Dawkins is considered by many to be the leading public intellectual in the English-speaking world, and there are countless other leading anti-religious intellectuals who share his views, such as Daniel C. Dennett, Peter Atkins and Stephen Pinker.
Creationists countered that science was trying to undermine religion. Their leader Henry Morris argued in his influential book The Long War Against God that evolution was a part of Satan’s strategy to destroy faith in God. His views are shared by many of today’s influential religious leaders, such as Ken Ham, James Dobson and D. James Kennedy.
So, while major confrontations like the Dover trial get headlines and give the impression that important battles are being won and lost, they are really nothing more than highly visible skirmishes while the real battle the one for hearts and minds, not stickers and textbooks continues unabated.
Karl Giberson is editor of Science & Theology News.
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Jan
30
Learning is awkward, uncomfortable, frightening. At least that’s what many adults
think. Learning means admitting knowledge gaps, in a strange room, in front of
strangers, to an instructor just met. Factor in prior school experiences, mandatory
attendance and the dizzying pace of life and it’s a wonder adults learn at all.
Fortunately, humor tackles these fears and overpowers them. When people laugh,
they relax. They also share a moment of togetherness. Humor should, for these
reasons, be a companion to any learning program.
But what’s an unfunny trainer to do: become a comedian? Hardly. It’s not necessary.
Everyone is already funny. Your funniness is simply undiscovered. And trainees, for
their part, are so desperate for humor that they will laugh at almost anything.
Almost funny is good enough.
But even almost funny requires planning. That’s where the acronym L-A-U-G-H can
help. If you learn how to “laugh,” your learners will too. To be funny, do the
following.
Lighten Up
The first step in discovering your natural humor is to Lighten Up. Although funny is
a result of natural tension, tense presenters stifle humor. When you tense, your
learners tense. The few laughs that occur will likely be at your expense. Strive to
present a carefree but focused approach. Relax and let the learners feel your
relaxation. You’re not the warden. Learning shouldn’t feel like prison. Life is too
short for dramatics anyway. Relax and your learners will too.
Amuse Yourself
Having adopted a lighter attitude, amuse yourself. Laugh at the absurdities of life.
There is plenty to be found in corporate life, government and relationships. In the
learning environment, seek out the fun. Say that aside when it occurs to you (as
long as you do not demolish your training time line).In general, have a good time.
Understand Humor
Once you’ve relaxed, created a humor friendly environment and begun enjoying
yourself in the training room, it’s time to learn the formulas that make funny funny.
All jokes are based on surprise. Simply put, a joke leads you down a path of
expectations. The humor arises when the listener realizes that the joke is about
something different than the initial expectations. This formula is universal. The
more an item surprises a listener, reflects a truth in life and provides unexpected
insight, the funnier it will be.
The best way to understand humor is to watch the pros. Jay Leno and his writing
staff are masters. They use the same formulas night after night to great laughs. You
don’t even have to stay up late. posts his best jokes daily.
Steve Allen’s book, How to be Funny: Discovering the Comic You is one of
many books one that can also help you understand the basic formulas. You could
also join an Internet joke-of-the-day list. Use these resources to watch, read and
compare. You’ll soon discover the formulas that make funny funny.
Gather Material
Once you understand the basic formula, the next step is to gather material. It is not
a good idea to tell jokes in the classroom. You can, however, use the formula to
come up with your own humorous asides and situations. The process most
comedians use is trial and error. They will insert a new line into their show. If it gets
a laugh they’ll keep it. If it doesn’t, they change it and try it again. If it gets a small
titter, they will tweak it and try it again. They will continue honing and refining it
with each delivery, searching for ways to make the line funnier. They’ll add words.
They’ll take out words. If it gets less of a laugh the next night, they’ll revert to the
delivery they used the night before. They’ll keep tweaking until the titter becomes a
belly laugh. And most importantly, if no one laughs, they’ll cut it. In this way, you
can hone your material. Eventually, you’ll have a line you can count on every time.
Handle With Care
Humor is dangerous. Some subjects are simply not acceptable. Religion. Politics.
Race. Age. Nationality. Disabilities. Your learners. A good rule of thumb is to laugh
at yourself. Never insult your trainees, your bosses, your organization or your fellow
trainers. One wrong comment can ruin the whole event.
If you follow the steps I’ve outlined, you too can be funny. Nothing but your own
fear prevents you from being the natural comic you are. So, make learning
accessible, not awkward. Make it irresistible, not uncomfortable. Make it fun, not
frightening. Learn how to L-A-U-G-H.
Lenn Millbower, BM, MA, the Learnertainment
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Jan
29
How many times have you thought that all your business needs is a nice brochure? Nothing fancy, just something to pass out at trade shows. It would surely solve a lot of your sales problems. You may even think it shouldn’t cost much. It would look great printed on the new office color printer, right? Unfortunately, nothing in life or business is quite that easy. Many small businesses rely on brochures as their first form of sales communication but find them unsuccessful because they underestimate the skills and resources necessary to publish effective and attractive materials. The appearance and content of brochures and other sales material are so important because they represent your company to customers, suppliers, investors and employees. This is the first impression and, basically, your sales materials are your company in many people’s minds.
For that reason, even small businesses benefit from hiring qualified professionals to create their communication or advertising materials. However, for some businesses, the do-it-yourself route is the only option early on. Ultimately, whether you use professionals or rely on your own desktop publishing expertise, the following list of helpful hints can keep your brochure moving in the right direction.
Talk to your reader. This gets back to the important premise of ‘know your customer’. First, who is your audience? What is the best way to communicate with them? For example, when you talk to engineers, do they want to see photos of your company’s equipment or charts on your product’s performance? When you talk to the manager of a customer’s purchasing department is he or she most interested in productivity, yield, costs, customer service or invoicing systems? Do you know whether customers want to see photos of your facility or your employees or both? Bottom line, what will make potential customers take the time to read your brochure?
Clearly define the purpose of your brochure. Will it be your only sales piece? Will you hand it out at a trade show with other materials or mail it to potential customers with a cover letter? Does it need to communicate only general information about your company or actively help you make a sale? The purpose determines its design and content. Define and communicate this clearly to the writer and designer of your brochure.
Get ideas about design and information. Check out brochures and other sales material from your competitors and others at the next trade show you attend. Pick up samples that you find attractive and informative to use as a basis for your own project. Look up catalogues in the Thomas Register and check out web pages on the Internet. Try to understand how these companies convey their message. Analyze the information, photos, writing and designs in the materials and use them as a reference when designing your own brochure. One word of caution and advice, don’t let those expensive, glossy materials from the large companies intimidate you; learn from them. Get ideas that work from the expensive materials and adapt them to fit your budget. Large companies put large budgets of research and design into their materials, by reviewing them, you, too, can understand what works and use it too.
Tell the benefits of your product or service. Remember that you are in business because you solve a problem for your customers and thus, give them a benefit. For example, your potential customer really needs a contractor to build and design parts for his airplane. If you are a parts manufacturer and have aerospace engineers on staff to design these parts, that is a benefit to your customer - be sure they know! How well you communicate your unique benefits to your customers will determine whether or not they will choose to do business with you.
Provide something memorable and valuable. Don’t bore your audience with sales clich
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