Eppur si muove

After being forced to recant his heliocentric view of the solar system on bended knee, Galileo reportedly muttered "Eppur si muove" ("And yet it moves") in the act of standing up. Whether myth or reality, it is a very fitting scenario for humankind. Myths and misconceptions prevail and persist in the face of immense quantities of evidence. In spite of all the manipulating, threatening, debating, excommunicating, and vilifying, the truth remains. The fear of the truth and the often panicked defense of myth extends well beyond Galileo's time and claims. The earth does circle the sun, the earth is 4.5 billion years old, life has been evolving for billions of years, and the list goes on. Once an idea becomes embedded in a culture it is very difficult to change. This is particularly true if the idea is tied to religious claims and may contain "divine" penalties for not accepting and supporting the idea.

It is very easy to see the problems in others' myths and misconceptions. Those who adhere to a young earth creationist view typically accept that the earth revolves around the sun, the earth is round rather then flat, the periodic table defines the basic atomic building blocks of our universe, and so forth. In fact many creationists would ridicule anyone who did not accept these other scientific claims.

If the past provides any insight into the future, the descendants of today's creationists will likely accept the theory of evolution. These descendants will also likely point to the failure to accept evolution as a failing of humankind. They, like us, will see clearly the fallacies in those who do not see the truth in the scientific claims they were raised to believe. Also like us, they will not see the problems, and will likely defend, any erroneous beliefs. People can, and often do, change their positions on various matters. However, changes of opinion often come after time-consuming and strenuous efforts.

Careful consideration of personally accepted positions would seem to be a useful undertaking. When new evidence is presented a logical and careful weighing with an open mind can be very difficult. The use of fallacious arguments such as appeals to emotion, antiquity, or authority are used extra caution is warranted.