Nicely put, Stephen.  Some of us have similar concerns with regard to the
centuries old conspiracy to expunge Aristotelian physics from the
curriculum and replace it with, for example, a theory of natural motion in
which bodies are said to exert an unseen mystical "force" called "gravity"
across time and space.  Any understanding of true science, as the term was
used in the quadrivium, that is genuinely empirical and grounded in common
sense observation, would surely be Aristotelian.  Revisionist stories from
the propagandist Galileo and the astrologer/alchemist Newton abound.  These
even require a revisionist theory of optics to account for the well-known
illusion that the earth may appear spherical when viewed from great
altitudes, due to the thickening of the atmosphere at supra-lunar levels
and consequent light refraction.  This is not to say that all varieties of
Aristotelian science are apodeictic, but the model of planetary motion
devised by Heraclides of Pontus, with properly calibrated parameters, is at
least as adequate as that of Copernicus.  Yet these ideas are given neither
the historical respect they deserve nor the intellectual recognition they
should command as viable alternatives to the politically correct orthodoxy.

for further information see  http://flat-earth.org

At 02:15 PM 2/24/2005 -0500, Stephen Nichols wrote:
>While reading through a week's worth of email, I ran across a few lines
>in one of Richard's emails on the "academic freedom bill" that I find to
>be a bit misinformed.  Granted, I understand Richard's main concern, but
>I feel the need to clear up the topic.
>
>Richard expresses concern over a student "objecting to evolution in a
>biology class without equal time to creationism or a law of physics
>rather than God's law in an engineering course."  Why would creationists
>object to a law of physics?  Creationists do not have a problem with
>demonstrable, measurable, repeatable science (e.g. physics, chemistry,
>genetics).  Instead, they disagree with the metaphysical theories
>about the historic origin of time, space, and life (e.g. macro-
>evolutionary theories--punctuated equilibrium, neo-Darwinian evolution)
>which are increasingly taught as fact instead of theory.
>
>Stephen

Fritz Efaw,
Emma Goldman Distinguished Professor of
Political Economy and Inorganic Psychology.