From: Yak Wax (yakwax@yahoo.com)
Date: Sat Apr 25 1998 - 09:51:29 MDT
I recently said there was one thing in _Contact_ that's been on my
mind recently, now thanks to the flurry of responses there's another.
At the end of the film the overall message seems to be that science
and religion don't have to be opponents because they both seek to
attain the same goal - truth. I think this is wrong and is a
fundamental reason for the religious opposition to science. Science
does not seek "truth" that is the sole aim of religious groups.
Instead science seeks to develop theory, these theories are judged by
their applications in the real world. For instance, it doesn't matter
if quantum mechanic's is true or false as long as I can build a
working quantum computer. I think science needs to make a clearer
distinction between truth and theory, especially in areas that clash
with religious beliefs. Evolutionary theory has clashed on many
occasions with creationism, I think this is largely due to scientists
wrongly suggesting that creationism is entirely untrue and that
evolutionary theory proves this. Creationism is not of importance to
science simply because it has no application in it, whereas evolution
has bread artificial life, genetic research, game theory, etc. This
abundance of applications does not mean evolution is true and
certainly does not mean creationism is false. But scientists
increasingly "attack" religious beliefs, which means religious groups
have to defend themselves and look at science as an opposing belief
system.
--Wax
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