Dear Texas Board of Education, Our colleague Phil reports that one Ms. Barbara Cargill proposed an amendment to the Texas science standards so that teachers must tell students there are different estimates on the age of the Universe. After passing 11 - 3, it goes to final vote tomorrow. The problem with this is that there is just no way the Universe could possibly be 6000 years old. I'm certain. You see, I used to study horseshoe crabs--neat little critters--and they've been poking around the planet for hundreds of millions of years. So you realize the inherent problem... Even if there's fuzzy math going on, it's simply not a possibility. Now I drove across Texas earlier this year and it's a pretty nice place with terrific BBQ and a great big open blue sky. I even met some good folks in Austin working hard to get a planetarium goingat
. Thing is, we've been discussing science literacy today here at The Intersection and especially when it matters. Clearly now is one of those instances. Please vote wisely. Sincerely, Sheril Rose Kirshenbaum p.s. This outstanding resource may help with the decision.
