Evolution, creationism on tap in ECC lecture

On Monday, Eugenie C. Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education and a nationally recognized authority on the creationism and evolution controversy, will discuss creationist misconceptions of evolution and the current state of the creationism movement, as part of Elgin Community College's 2007-08 speakers series.

"If humans evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys? This misconception illustrates a major confusion held by many people about evolution: that fish evolved into amphibians, which evolved into reptiles, which evolved into mammals, which evolved into humans in some ladder of life or great chain of being," Scott said. "Yet, this isn't what evolution is all about."

Scott dedicates her 11 a.m. presentation, "What Creationists Think About Evolution and Why it is Wrong," to this and other creationist misconceptions of evolution.

At 7 p.m., Scott's second presentation, "The Evolution (and Stasis) of Creationism," brings you up to date on the current state of the creationism movement.

"Creationism has changed over the last 100 years or so, but some features have not changed much at all," Scott said. "The three pillars of creationism -- that evolution is a theory in crisis, that evolution and faith are incompatible, and that it is somehow fair or good pedagogy to teach both -- are as relevant today as they were during the trial of John T. Scopes."

Both presentations will be held in the auditorium of the Advanced Technology Center (ATC 144) on ECC's main campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. The presentations are free and open to the public. Tickets are not required.

Scott's visit is sponsored by ECC's liberal, visual and performing arts division; ECC's math science, engineering and health professions division; and ECC's student life co-curricular fund. For details, call (847) 214-7421.