In all of the on point replies, "theory" is mentioned. Having gone to school in the U.S. (I sometimes wonder if I was educated), I was taught that evolution, like relativity, was a theory. So far, there were no "facts" or observations that are contary to these theories and they are generally accepted. Many of the competing theories are not supported by observations. As far as evolution being "fact," we'll never know.

As far as evolution goes, I was never taught that there are serious alternative theories. I attended HS in Cincinnati, neither North or South.

Thanks for your reply .very interesting .

We are tought evolution...darwinism if you prefer. Fact based evolution...not fairy tales.

AH stil sez.......slime iz slime!

Hi Wolf, sorry I'm late. I've been working at a remote location without "personal" access to the Internet.

My experience is similar to jobermeyers. I went through the public school system* in Los Angeles. They are required by law to approach topics from the secular standpoint, although they may also present alternate theories. We were taught evolution as presented by Darwin. We were also taught that some people hold to the "creationist" theory, but that it is not commonly accepted because of the lack of empirical evidence to support it. (Of course, the creationists counter by asking about the "missing link" in evolution theory...)

*Which term means precisely the opposite of the way it is used in England. :)

I don't know what is taught in the private, church-sponsored high schools.

Due to the requirement to separate "church and state" in the USA, our government-sponsored public schools are required to emphasize secular theories over religious ones when there are discrepancies.

-- Break --

This next is slightly off-topic, as it was not taught in my high school. As an adult, I have discussed the two theories with a number of priests (Anglican and Roman) and asked them how the Church feels about Darwin's theories of evolution. I was startled to learn that they see no conflict!

First, although the Bible says what God did to create the world, it does NOT specify what method(s) God employed to accomplish this.

Second, bibilical linguistic scholars have determined that (as has often occurred), there is an alternate interpretation of the original Hebrew text of the Pentateuch. Specifically, the word we commonly see translated as "day" can also mean "age" or "epoch!"

So... They see no reason why God couldn't have created the world in seven "ages" or "epochs" of year/centuries/millenia, using evolution as the tool for developing the various life forms that populate it!

Whoooowhee!!! . . . bet that ther Mad Max guy'd hav a lidl bit difurunt take on at!

An if he din't, his daddy shur wood!!!

Interesting . How old would you tell your children (if you have/had any)the Earth really is? and why.



PS This is much better than all that remote nonsense ;)

You think this is remotely interesting?

Well it's certainly quite remote from anything affecting everyday life!

As to the age of the Earth, I'd have to say "I don't know." Although I have not paid a lot of attention to the question, I seem to recall reading somewhere that scientists are now questioning the accuracy of the carbon method for determining the ages for geological strata. If that's true...

but whats your guess?

It's made of jam.

JELLIE........DAMMIT.......JELLIE!!!!!

Since I haven't researched the topic is ages (or is that epochs?) I just popped over to ask Jeeves, typed "How old is the Earth?" and presto! The first link displayed is to a FAQ on the age of the Earth.

Isn't the Internet a wonderous thing?

Sorry, old information . . . "Last updated April 22nd 1997".

The latest thinking is, undoubtedly, that the Universe is nothing more than a big jam sandwich - and a strawberry one at that. Mind you, there are a few radicals leaning towards blackcurrent. And then, of course, there's the lunatic fringe who think it's all nothing but a big conspiracy and insist that it's raspberry. How ridiculous.

Bruce the internet is a very wondrous thing .I can show you several sites that state the earth is around or exactly 6000 years old.

My children were/are doing a school projects and use the computer to find information and don’t just copy from Encarta.
Once they performed the search they asked MY opinion on what they had found.
I am a lover of free speech and thought but the vast differences of opinion displayed are truly amazing.
With one site saying the speed of light is slowing down?!

I used to think that school work is so easy now they have PC’s and the internet but they have to learn new skills .How to filter all the differing information and give an answer in a way the teacher wants not just an answer but an opinion that meets with the teacher’s/schools opinion. A kid could work really hard unknowingly using info from sites only to get a bad mark.

It must be hard for parents who have a very strong set of beliefs (it doesn’t matter if they are wrong or right ) but then have to make there children learn something to the contrary .