Creationism is not real science

A response to Lindsey Stevens, whose Fence Post letter on July 3 attempts to present creationism as on par with evolution in terms of scientific validity. Unfortunately for creationists, this couldn't be further from the truth.

Saying that learning about creationism and evolution is learning about "both sides of science" shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what science is, as well as a fundamental misunderstanding of what evolution is. This is only reinforced by Lindsey's claim that because evolution is a theory, it isn't a fact. However, this only continues the trend of misunderstanding science, and depends on the logical fallacy of equivocation in order to make a faulty point.

A scientific theory is not an opinion, nor is it a guess. It is a deductive conclusion that depends on empirical data and explains phenomena in the world around us. Whenever someone says that "evolution is a theory, and therefore not true," remind them that gravity is also a theory. And the idea that "creationism fits much of the evidence better" is outright ridiculous, and nothing makes that point better than Lindsey's comment about a young earth.

For those who don't know, the young earth opinion says that the earth is only 5,000 to 6,000 years old. However, carbon dating has definitively put the earth's age at around 4.5 billion years old. Richard Dawkins compared the magnitude of this error on par with saying the distance between New York City and San Francisco is no greater than 10 yards.

That's how wrong "creationist evidence" is. Unfortunately, saying that something is a real science over and over again does not make something a real science.

Christopher Burrell

Barrington