Larry's Big Reply
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Hierdie blad is 'n opstel. Dit gee die mening en idees weer van enkele gebruikers op Meta-Wiki, wat besmoontlik nie deur almal gedeel word nie. Dit is ook nie 'n amptelike beleid of riglyn op Meta-Wiki nie, maar kan wel so geag word op ander Wikimedia-projekte. Voel asseblief vry om hierdie bladsy soos benodig by te werk, of gebruik die kletsblad om groot wysigings voor te stel. هذه نصيحة. تعبر عن آراء وأفكار بعض مستخدمي ميتا-ويكي لكن قد لا تكون مدعومة على نطاق واسع. هذه ليست سياسة على ميتا-ويكي، لكنها قد تكون سياسة أو إرشاد في مشاريع ويكيميديا آخرى. لا تتردد في تحديث هذه الصفحة عن الحاجة، أو استخدم صفحة النقاش للتعديلات الجوهرية. Esto ye un ensayu. Espresa les opiniones y les idees d'algunos wikimedistes o usuarios de Meta-Wiki, pero pue ser que nun tenga un sofitu ampliu. Esto nun ye una política de Meta-Wiki, pero pue ser una política o direutiva n'otros proyeutos de Wikimedia. Tien llibertá p'anovar esta páxina como necesite, o use la páxina d'alderique pa proponer cambeos importantes. Гэта эсэ. Яно выражае думкі і ідэі некаторых вікіпэдыйцаў або мэта-вікійцаў, але не абавязкова зьяўляецца меркаваньнем большасьці. Гэта не старонка правілаў Мэта-Вікі, але можа зьяўляцца правілам або рэкамэндацыяй у іншых праектах Вікімэдыі. Вы можаце абнаўляць гэтую старонку як заўгодна, а можаце скарыстацца старонкай абмеркаваньня, каб прапанаваць істотныя зьмяненьні. Ovo je esej. Sadrži misli i ideje nekih korisnika Meta-Wikija, ali ne mora nužno da bude široko prihvaćen. Ovo nije pravilo na Meta-Wikiju, ali može da budi pravilo ili uputa na drugim projektima Wikipedije. Slobodno promijenite ovu stranu po potrebi ili koristite stranu za razgovor za veće promjene. Açò és un assaig. Expressa les opinions i idees d'alguns usuaris de Wikimedia o del Meta-Wiki però pot ser que no tingui un ampli suport. Això no és una política del Meta-Wiki, però pot ser política o guia d'estil en algun altre projecte Wikimedia. Sentiu-vos lliures d'actualitzar aquesta pàgina quan faci falta o utilitzeu la pàgina de discussió per a proposar-hi canvis d'importància. Toto je esej. Vyjadřuje názory a náměty některých wikimedianů nebo uživatelů Meta-Wiki, ale nemusí mít širokou podporu. Toto není pravidlo Meta-Wiki, ale může to být pravidlo, doporučení či vodítko na jiných projektech Wikimedia. Můžete tuto stránku aktualizovat podle potřeby, nebo použijte diskusní stránku k návrhům větších změn. Traethawd yw hwn. Mae'n mynegi barnau a syniadau o rai defnyddwyr Wicimedia neu Meta-Wici ond efallai nad oes ganddo gefnogaeth lydan. Nid yw hwn yn bolisi Meta-Wiki, ond y gallai fod yn bolisi neu ganllaw ar brosiectau Wikimedia eraill. Mae croeso i chi ddiweddaru'r dudalen hon wrth angen, neu ddefnyddio'r dudalen sgwrs er mwyn cynnig prif newidiadau. Dette er et essay. Det udtrykker visse Wikimedia- eller Meta-Wiki-brugeres holdninger og idéer, som ikke nødvendigvis deles af et flertal. Dette udgør ikke en politik på Meta-Wikien, men det kan være en politik eller et regelsæt på et andet Wikimedia-projekt. Du er velkommen til at ændre denne side efter behov, eller til at foreslå større ændringer på diskussionssiden. Dies ist ein Essay. Es drückt die Meinungen und Ideen einiger Meta-Wiki-Benutzer aus und wird eventuell nur von wenigen Benutzern unterstützt. Dies ist keine Richtlinie aus dem Meta-Wiki, kann aber Richtlinie oder Leitsatz in anderen Wikimedia-Projekten sein. Aktualisiere diese Seite falls nötig, oder benutze die Diskussionsseite, um größere Veränderungen vorzuschlagen. Dies ist ein Essay. Er drückt die Meinungen und Ideen einiger Meta-Wiki-Benutzer aus und wird eventuell nur von wenigen Benutzern unterstützt. Dies ist keine Richtlinie aus dem Meta-Wiki, kann aber Richtlinie oder Leitsatz in anderen Wikimedia-Projekten sein. Tun Sie sich keinen Zwang an und aktualisieren Sie diese Seite falls nötig, oder benutzen Sie die Diskussionsseite, um größere Veränderungen vorzuschlagen. Αυτό είναι ένα δοκίμιο. Εκφράζει τις απόψεις και τις ιδέες κάποιων χρηστών του Meta-wiki αλλά ενδέχεται να μην έχει ευρεία υποστήριξη. Δεν είναι πολιτική του Meta-wiki, αλλά ενδεχομένως είναι πολιτική ή οδηγία σε κάποιο άλλο εγχείρημα του Wikimedia. Μπορείτε να ενημερώσετε αυτή την σελίδα αν χρειάζεται, ή χρησιμοποιήστε την σελίδα συζήτησης για να προτείνεται μεγαλύτερες αλλαγές. This is an essay. It expresses the opinions and ideas of some wikimedians or Meta-Wiki users, but may not have wide support. This is not policy on the Meta-Wiki, but it may be a policy or guideline on other Wikimedia projects. Feel free to update this page as needed, or use the discussion page to propose major changes. Este es un ensayo. Este texto expresa opiniones e ideas de algunos usuarios, pero pueden no tener un amplio consenso. Esta no es una política de Meta pero puede sí serlo en otros proyectos. Usted tiene libertad para actualizar esta página o usar su página de discusión para proponer cambios mayores. See on essee. See tekst väljendab Meta-Wiki kasutajate ideid ja arvamusi, kuid sellel ei pruugi olla laiapõhjalist toetust. Tekst ei ole Meta-Wiki ametlik poliitika, aga võib olla ametlik poliitika või juhtnöör mõnes teises Wikimedia projektis. Vastavalt vajadusele võite seda lehte uuendada või kasutada arutelu lehte, et pakkuda välja suuremaid muudatusi. Jen eseo. Ĝi esprimas la opiniojn kaj ideojn de iuj Vikipediistoj aŭ uzantoj de Meta-Wiki, sed eble ne havus vastan subtenon. Ĝi ne estas la regularo de Meta-Wiki, sed ĝi eble estas regularo en aliaj projektoj de Wikipedia. Laŭvole ĝisdatigu ĉi tiun paĝon laŭ bezono, aŭ uzu la diskuto-paĝon por proponi grandajn ŝanĝojn. این صفحه یک انشا است. این صفحه نظر و ایدهٔ برخی از کاربران فراویکی را بیان میکند اما ممکن است از حمایت گستردهای برخوردار نباشد. این صفحه یک سیاست در فراویکی نیست، اما ممکن است سیاست یا رهنمودی در دیگر پروژههای ویکیمدیا باشد. آزادانه آن را به روز کنید، و برای تغییرهای بزرگ از صفحهٔ بحث استفاده کنید. Tämä on essee. Se ilmaisee joidenkin wikimedialaisten tai Meta-Wikin käyttäjien mielipiteitä tai ajatuksia, mutta sillä ei välttämättä ole laajaa kannatusta. Tämä ei ole Meta-Wikin käytäntö, mutta saattaa olla käytäntö tai ohje muissa Wikimedia-hankkeissa. Päivitä tätä sivua tarpeen mukaan tai ehdota isoja muutoksia keskustelusivulla. Ceci est un essai. Il exprime les opinions et les idées de certains contributeurs de Meta-Wiki, mais peut ne pas rencontrer le soutien des autres. Il n'est ni une règle ou une recommandation sur Meta-Wiki, mais peut l'être sur d'autres projets Wikimédia. N'hésitez pas à modifier cette page si besoin est, ou à proposer des changements majeurs sur la page de discussion. Dit is in essay. It jout mieningen en ideeën wer fan guon meidoggers op Meta-Wiki, mar it is net sein dat eltsenien it der mei iens is. Dit is ek gjin offisjeel belied of rjochtline op Meta-Wiki, al kin dat wol sa wêze op oare Wikimedia-projekten. Fiel jo frij om dizze side wêr't dat nedich is bij te wurkjen of om grutte wizigings út te stellen op de oerlisside. Isto é un ensaio. Expresa as opinións e ideas dalgúns wikimedistas ou usuarios de Meta-Wiki pero poida que non teña un amplo apoio. Non é unha política en Meta-Wiki, pero si pode selo noutro dos proxectos da Wikimedia. Síntete libre de actualizar esta páxina se cómpre ou fai uso da páxina de conversa para propor grandes cambios. Des isch e Essay. Är druckt d Meinige un Idee vun e baar Meta-Wiki-Benutzer uus un wird unter Umständ nume vu wenig Benutzer unterstitzt. Des isch kei Richtlinie us em Meta-Wiki, cha aber Richtlinie oder Leitsatz in andere Wikimedia-Projäkt syy. Due der kei Zwang aa un due die Syte wänn netig aktualisiere, oder bruuch d Diskussionssyte go greßeri Veränderige vorschlaa. עברית: דף זה הוא מאמר. הדף מבטא את הדעות והרעיונות של חלק מהמשתמשים במיזמי קרן ויקימדיה או במטא־ויקי, אך ייתכן שאין להם תמיכה נרחבת. דף זה הוא לא דף מדיניות במטא־ויקי, אך ייתכן שהוא דף מדיניות או דף הנחיות במיזמי ויקימדיה אחרים. הרגישו חופשיים לעדכן את הדף לפי הצורך, או השתמשו בדף השיחה להצעת שינויים משמעותיים.
Ovo je esej. Izražava mišljenja i zamisli nekih wikimedijaca ili nekih suradnika Meta-Wikija, ali ne mora nužno biti široko prihvaćenim niti imati veliku potporu. Ovo nije pravilom na Meta-Wikiju, ali može biti politikom ili smjernicom na drugim Wikimedijinim projektima. Slobodno ažurirajte ovu stranicu po potrebi ili rabite stranicu za razgovor radi predlaganja većih izmjena. Ez egy esszé. Néhány Wikimédia- vagy Meta-Wiki-felhasználó véleményét fejezi ki, de lehet, hogy nem kapott széles körű támogatást. Nem irányelv a Meta-Wikin, de irányelv vagy útmutató lehet más Wikimédia-projektekben. Szabadon frissítheted ezt a lapot, ha szükséges, vagy használd a vitalapot, ha nagyobb változtatást szeretnél javasolni. Isto es un essayo. Illo exprime le opiniones e ideas de alcun wikimedianos o usatores de Meta-Wiki, ma pote esser non appoiate per le consenso general. Isto non es un politica del Meta-Wiki, ma pote esser un politica o directiva in altere projectos de Wikimedia. Sia libere de actualisar iste pagina in caso de necessitate, o usa le pagina de discussion pro proponer major alterationes. Ini adalah sebuah esai. Esai ini menyatakan pendapat dan gagasan dari beberapa Wikimediawan atau pengguna Meta-Wiki dan mungkin tidak didukung oleh komunitas secara meluas. Esai ini bukan kebijakan Meta-Wiki, tapi mungkin saja merupakan kebijakan atau pedoman di proyek-proyek Wikimedia lainnya. Silakan memperbarui halaman ini seperlunya, atau gunakan halaman pembicaraan untuk mengusulkan perubahan besar. Questo è un saggio. Esprime le opinioni e le idee di alcuni utenti di Meta-Wiki, ma potrebbe non incontrare il sostegno di altri. Non è una raccomandazione o una linea guida di Meta-Wiki, ma potrebbe esserlo su altri progetti Wikimedia. Non esitate a modificare questa pagina, se occorre, o a proporre modifiche rilevanti nella sua pagina di discussione. この記事はエッセイです。何人かのメタウィキの利用者の意見と考えを表していますが、幅広い支持を得ているとは限りません。メタウィキの方針ではありませんが、他のウィキメディア・プロジェクトの方針かガイドラインであるかもしれません。必要に応じてこのページを遠慮なく編集し、大きな変更の提案にはこの記事のノートを使用してください。 이 문서는 수필입니다. 이것은 일부 사용자의 의견을 나타낸 것으로, 총의를 얻지 않았을 수 있습니다. 이 문서는 메타위키 정책은 아니지만, 다른 위키미디어 프로젝트에서 정책이나 지침으로 사용하고 있을 수도 있습니다. 이 문서를 편집하거나 주요 내용을 바꿔야 한다면 토론 문서를 이용해 주세요. Dat hee ess ënë Opsatz. Dat hejß, dat ët dë Mejnonge un Ideeë vun elke Wikimediaanere odër Meta-Wikie Benotzere widdërjiff, äwwër onger Ömständen kejne wejtrejschende Ongerstötzung jeneeß. Ët ess allsu kej Vürschreff op Meta-Wiki, künnt äwwer ë Fürschreff oder Reschtleenije op aandere Wikimedia-Projekten sinn. Ihr künnt jään dë Sigk aktuwaliseere, odër de Klaafsigk för öm wejtjrejfende Ändëronge vürzoschlaage. Tai yra Vikipedijos rašinys. Čia pateikta vieno ar keleto naudotojų (o gal ir visos bendruomenės) nuomonė kai kuriais Vikipedijos tvarkos klausimais. Jis skirtas ne pačiai meta viki o kitiems Vikipedijos projektams. Tokius rašinius gali taisyti visi, tačiau siūlytume esminius pakeitimus pirmiausia aptarti aptarimų puslapyje. Fanoharana no eto amin'ity pejy ity. Maneho ny hevitry ny mpandray anjara sasan'i Metawiki, ka mety vitsy ny mpanohana azy. Tsy manolotra fitsipika, na torohevitra ofisialy ny votoatin'ity pejy ity, fa mety ho izy eo amin'ny tetikasa Wikimedia sasany. Raha ilaina dia ovay ity pejy ity, na mikasa fanovana lehibe eo amin'ny pejin-dresany. Ова е есеј. Во него е искажано мислењето и идеите на извесни викимедијанци или корисници на Мета-Вики, но не значи дека тоа ужива широка поддршка. Ова не претставува правило на Мета-Вики, но може да виде правило или напатствие на други проекти на Викимедија. Најслободно менувајте ја страницава, или пак користете ја страницата за разговор ако сакате да предложите некои поголеми промени. ഇതൊരു പ്രബന്ധം ആണ്. വിക്കിമീഡിയയിലേയോ മെറ്റാ വിക്കിയിലേയോ ചിലരുടെ അഭിപ്രായം മാത്രം ആണ് ഇത്. ഇത് പൊതുവേ അംഗീകരിക്കപ്പെട്ടിട്ടുള്ള ഒരു മാർഗ്ഗരേഖ അല്ല. എങ്കിലും ഇതെ മറ്റേതെങ്കിലും ഒരു വിക്കിപ്പീഡിയയിലെ മാർഗ്ഗരേഖയായി കണക്കാക്കപ്പെടുന്നുണ്ടാകാം. ഈ താൾ താങ്കൾക്ക് സധൈര്യം തിരുത്താവുന്നതാണ്. എന്തെങ്കിലും മാറ്റങ്ങൾ നിർദ്ദേശിക്കാനുണ്ടെങ്കിൽ സംവാദം താളിൽ കുറിപ്പ് എഴുതുക. हा एक निबंध आहे. यामध्ये काही विकिपीडिया सदस्यांची किंवा मेटा-विकि सदस्यांची मते आणि कल्पना मांडण्यात आल्या आहेत. त्यांना बहुतांशांचा पाठिंबा असेलच असे नाही. हा निबंध मेटा-विकिवरील धोरण मांडत नाही, पण इतर काही विकिमीडिया प्रकल्पांमध्ये हा निबंध धोरण किंवा मार्गदर्शक तत्व म्हणून वापरला जात असणे शक्य आहे. आवश्यक असेल तेव्हा विनासंकोच हे पान संपादित करा किंवा काही मोठे बदल सुचविण्यासाठी चर्चा पानाचा उपयोग करा. Ini adalah sebuah karangan. Ia menyatakan pendapat serta buah fikiran sesetengah ahli wikimedia atau pengguna Meta-Wiki tetapi tidak semestinya mempunyai sokongan yang meluas. Ini bukannya polisi di Meta-Wiki, tetapi ia mungkin merupakan polisi atau garis panduan di projek-projek Wikimedia lain. Silakan mengemaskini laman ini jika perlu, atau gunakan laman perbincangannya untuk mengusulkan perubahan-perubahan yang besar. Dit is een essay. Het geeft de meningen en ideeën van enkele gebruikers op Meta-Wiki weer, maar wordt waarschijnlijk niet door iedereen gesteund. Dit is ook geen officieel beleid of richtlijn op Meta-Wiki, maar dat kan het wel zijn op andere Wikimedia-projecten. Voel u vrij om deze pagina als nodig bij te werken, of om de overlegpagina te gebruiken om grote wijzigingen voor te stellen. Dette er et essay. Det uttrykker meningene og ideene til enkelte wikimedianere eller Meta-Wiki-brukere, men har ikke nødvendivis stor støtte. Dette er ikke en retningslinje på Meta-Wiki, men kan være retningslinje på andre Wikimedia-prosjekter. Du er fri til å oppdatere siden om det trengs, eller skrive på diskusjonssiden for å foreslå større endringer. Dette er et essay. Det uttrykker meningene og ideene til enkelte wikimedianere eller Meta-Wiki-brukere, men har ikke nødvendivis stor støtte. Dette er ikke en retningslinje på Meta-Wiki, men kan være retningslinje på andre Wikimedia-prosjekter. Du er fri til å oppdatere siden om det trengs, eller skrive på diskusjonssiden for å foreslå større endringer. Aquò es una redaccion. Exprimís las opinions e las idèas d'unes contributors de MetaWiki, mas pòt rencontrar pas lo sosten dels autres. Es pas una règla o una recomandacion sus MetaWiki, mas o pòt èsser sus d'autres projèctes Wikimèdia. Esitetz pas a modificar aquesta pagina se fa mestièr, o a prepausar de cambiaments màgers sus la la pagina de discussion. Ten artykuł jest esejem. Wyrażone są w nim opinie i pomysły niektórych wikimedian lub użytkowników Meta-Wiki, ale niekoniecznie mają szersze poparcie. Nie jest to zasada obowiązująca na Meta-Wiki, ale może to być zasada lub zalecenie na innych projektach Wikimediów. Możesz aktualizować tę stronę w razie potrzeby lub skorzystaj ze strony dyskusji artykułu aby zaproponować większe zmiany. Isto é um ensaio. Ele expressa as opiniões e ideias de vários wikimedianos ou usuários do Meta-Wiki mas pode não ter grande respaldo. Isto não é uma política no Meta-Wiki, mas pode ser uma política ou orientação em outros projetos da Wikimedia. Sinta-se livre para atualizar esta página quando necessário, ou use a página de discussão para propor alterações maiores. Acesta este un eseu. Aici sînt exprimate opiniile şi ideile unor utilizatori de pe Meta-Wiki, dar este posibil să nu aibă accepţiune majoritară. Aceasta nu are titlu de politică pe Meta-Wiki, dar poate fi politică sau ghid de reguli pe alte proiecte ale Wikipediei. Poţi să îmbunătăţeşti această pagină după cum crezi adecvat, sau să foloseşti pagina de discuţie pentru a propune schimbări majore. Это эссе. Оно выражает мнения и идеи некоторых пользователей Мета-вики, но может не пользоваться широкой поддержкой. Эссе не является правилом Мета-вики, но, вероятно, может быть правилом или руководством в других проектах Викимедиа. Вы можете обновлять эту страницу как считаете нужным или воспользоваться страницей обсуждения, чтобы предложить значительные изменения. This is an essay. It expresses th' opinions 'n' ideas o' some wikimedians or Meta-Wiki users bit kin nae huv wide support. This insae policy on the Meta-Wiki, bit it kin be policy or guideline oan ither Wikimedia projects. Cop free tae update this page as needed, or uise th' collogue page page tae propose major changes. Toto je esej. Vyjadruje názory a námety niektorých wikimedianov alebo používateľov Meta-Wiki, ale nemusí mať širokú podporu. Toto nie je pravidlo Meta-Wiki, ale môže to byť pravidlo, odporúčanie či vodidlo na iných projektoch Wikimedia. Môžete túto stránku aktualizovať podľa potreby, alebo použite diskusnú stránku na návrhy väčších zmien. Ово је есеј. Садржи мисли и идеје неких корисника Мета-Викија, али не мора да буде широко прихваћен. Ово није правило на Мета-Викију, али може да буде правило или упутство на другим пројектима Викимедије. Не устручавајте се да промените ову страну по потреби или користите страну за разговор да бисте предложили веће промене. Den här sidan är en essä. Den är inte en av Wikimedias policys eller riktlinjer, och återspeglar kanske endast författarnas åsikter. Uppdatera sidan om det behövs eller diskutera innehållet på diskussionssidan. หน้านี้เป็นข้อเขียน แสดงถึงความคิดหรือไอเดียของผู้ใช้วิกิมีเดียหรือเมต้าวิกิบางคนซึ่งอาจจะยังไม่ได้รับการสนับสนุนกว้างอย่างขวางนัก นี่ไม่ใช่นโยบายบนเมต้าวิกิ, แต่อาจเป็นนโยบายหรือแนวทางของโครงการอื่น ๆ ของวิกิมีเดีย อย่ากังวลในการแก้ไขหน้านี้ตามที่คุณต้องการ หรือใช้หน้าอภิปรายในการเสนอการเปลี่ยนแปลงใหญ่ ๆ Це - есе. Воно виражає думки й ідеї деяких користувачів Мета-вікі, але може не користуватися широкою підтримкою. Есе не є правилом Мета-вікі, але, імовірно, може бути правилом або керівництвом в інших проектах Вікімедіа. Ви можете підкорегувати цю сторінку безпосередньо, якщо вважаєте за необхідно, або скористатися сторінкою обговорення, щоб запропонувати значні зміни. Đây là một bài luận. Nó thể hiện ý kiến và ý tưởng của một số thành viên Wikimedia hoặc Meta-Wiki và có thể không được đồng tình một cách rộng rãi. Đây không phải là quy định tại Meta-Wiki, nhưng nó có thể là quy định hoặc hướng dẫn tại các dự án khác của Wikimedia. Xin hãy thoải mái cập nhật trang này nếu cần, hoặc sử dụng trang thảo luận để đề xuất những thay đổi lớn. 这是一篇论述。它只表达了部分维基人或元维基使用者的意见及观点，此等观点可能未获得广泛支持。这不是元维基的政策，但可能是属于其他维基计划的政策或指引。如有需要，欢迎更新本页面，或在讨论页提出修改的建议。 这是一篇论述。它只表达了部分维基人或元维基使用者的意见及观点，此等观点可能未获得广泛支持。这不是元维基的政策，但可能是属于其他维基计划的政策或指引。如有需要，欢迎更新本页面，或在讨论页提出修改的建议。 這是一篇論述. 它只表達了部分維基人或元維基使用者的意見及觀點，此等觀點可能未獲得廣泛支持。 這不是元維基的政策，但可能是屬於其他維基計劃的政策或指引。如有需要，歡迎更新本頁面，或在討論頁提出修改的建議。 |
This originally appeared on Creationism/Talk. I thought it deserved to be broken out onto its own page, so I did so.
Larry's Big Reply
Before I reply, let me just say that if we can agree that creationism as it stands, apart perhaps from the fact that the evolutionist insists on having the last word, is adequately unbiased, then our dispute is probably academic. So--on with the academic dispute!
I totally agree with your guys' attitude toward creationism. I think it's silly nonsense, too. Let's get that straight--we don't need to debate the merits of the theory (unless Bruce wants to do so). Moreover, I am probably the biggest commonsense realist and defender of rationality here. If you think my position is rooted in anything like relativism, that is excellent evidence that you don't understand my position and that you need to re-read what I've written more carefully. Jimbo, too, is a realist and defender of rationality, and he shares my view (in generalities, at least), as you can see on neutral point of view. Gee, how can that be? Read on.
Why on earth would I wanna do that, Larry? It's not like I advocate Creationism as such or anything. I only tried to point out that beating on the creationists is counter-productive. - AyeSpy (aka BrucieBaby)
1. Is evolution controversial? Yes--to the public at large, which will be reading Wikipedia. No--to scientists. For whom are we writing? The public at large--and scientists. (Perhaps that's what causes our problem here.) Lee says: "General articles on biology, on the other hand, should simply treat evolution as uncontroversial, because no serious biologist disagrees, and failure to do so compromises understanding of the subject." I think this is wrong on two counts. First, while evolution is uncontroversial among serious biologists, it is controversial among an alarmingly large portion of the general public; you do them and yourselves no favors by ignoring this controversy. Second, I see no reason to believe that recognizing that nonbiologists do not accept evolution as fact in any way "undermines understanding" of evolution. It doesn't even undermine your real goal, of course, which is to get people to accept evolution instead of getting caught up in idiotic creationist nonsense. In fact, the opposite is true: by failing to recognize the controversy, you essentially alienate the people you most want to teach. You would prefer indoctrination, it seems.
I think you may overestimate the controversy over evolution in the general public, but I agree with your point wholeheatedly - AyeSpy
2. Will we have to qualify every statement, or even every page, with a statement to the effect that it is the view of scientists? No, of course not. Why not? Because it's not controversial to anyone. Will we have to highlight discredited minority views as prominently as scientific fact? Of course not.
3. If we do describe scientific fact as what is accepted by all or nearly all scientists, then how are we misleading anyone? The question, again, is how? Have we encouraged anyone to believe anything other than what you want them to believe? Where's the downside you all fear?
4. Josh writes: "Historical revisionists are probably more important even. Yes, they can be interesting, but statement of their opinions as anything even resembling potential fact isn't just wrong, it is potentially offensive." Josh, I am not saying that historical revisionism should be presented as "anything even resembling potential fact." I am saying that the view should be described and appropriately attributed. How does that imply that the opinions will be presented as "anything even resembling potential fact"? Please bear in mind that we can reserve plenty of room for attributed explanations of why mainstream historians regard various kinds of historical revisionism as so much hokum. Our including such explanations is absolutely essential to having an unbiased encyclopedia, by the way.
5. Josh again: "To take the extreme example, even if it invokes Godwin's law against myself, what do you suppose would be the response if we said the holocaust was something widely considered to have occured by most historians, rather than something that occured? I'd consider that an awful legitamization of some of the worst opinions available." I would say that this is a very poor illustration (i.e., a "straw man") of my position. I imagine we should first clearly present what is generally believed about the Holocaust; then, perhaps quite far down in the article, we should have a paragraph or two that says something to the effect that the above is accepted (in generalities anyway) by all but a very small handful of trained historians, called Holocaust deniers and revisionists, blah blah blah, and explain the facts of that. This then attributes the claims about the Holocaust in a perfectly appropriate way and also mentions the fact that there is another (very minority) view. At the same time, we can state that most historians (most people) find such revisionism not only obviously false, but extremely morally repugnant. I hope I am making my position clearer now.
6. Is my position "spineless"? Jmlynch thinks so: "in accordance with the views of 99% of theologians, scientists and philosophers, they are wrong. We should state so emphatically. To do otherwise is to be spineless. ... This, I assure you, is contrary to the aims of any good project (particularly if it is haunted by the shades of the original Encyclopediestes)." Well, as a modern-day encyclopedist who has thought for many, many hours about this stuff (even before I started working on an encyclopedia), I can "assure you" that our doing what I ask is not in the slightest "spineless." Well, so much for mutual assurances; now to arguments. I think I can understand your reason for thinking so. Your assumption appears to be that, if we do not explicitly declare something to be true, then the reader can draw certain inferences about us--such as that we wish to placate creationists, or that we think creationism might be scientifically respectable, or that we might be creationists ourselves, etc., etc. Well, no. Reasonable people do not draw such inferences when presented with unbiased texts. You yourself, Jim, would not typically draw such inferences--you know better, of course. Suppose that a history text adopted a policy of failing to identify Nazi scum as the murdering bastards they were--but simply reported the facts about what they did. Would it be reasonable to assume that the text's author(s) might just be willing to admit the possibility that the Nazis were upstanding citizens doing a service to Europe?
Factually, I have read some very dry and "non-judgemental" accounts, practically devoid of adjectives. They still gave me the heebeejeebees and I never thought for a moment the author favored the Nazis. - AyeSpy
- -- The facts about what they did, simply reported, permit most readers to judge for themselves that the Nazis were in fact "murdering bastard scum". Readers who make the judgement that the Nazis were in fact "upstanding citizens doing a service to Europe" would probably not be influenced by the editor's stating his/her personal opinion to the contrary. Arguably, we are insulting the reader by assuming he/she needs to be "pushed" to see things our way. -- 27 Septenber 2001.
7. Are being fact-stating and unbiased independent goals? No: in order to be unbiased, you must be fact-stating. In particular, you must be very clear about how you word the facts about what various majority and minority positions are. I contrast (in the present context--not when I'm talking metaphysics & philosophy of language, where 'fact' is a technical term) fact with opinion; opinions can be correct (and thus fact-stating), but one identifies something as a fact to emphasize that it is not under dispute, and one identifies something as an opinion in order to emphasize that it is under dispute. If, in our evolution article, we say that evolution is a "proven fact," while this is no doubt true (i.e., evolutionary theory has met ordinary standards of scientific evidence), the force of saying it is that evolution is simply not under dispute. Well, it is under dispute by your readers, guys. And (damnably) that's a fact. You aren't going to change their minds, or make the world otherwise any safer for rationality and science (which I love at least as much as you do), by explicitly averring that evolution is a fact and creationism is false. Actually, what you do is close off the avenues of discourse by doing so, setting up the less-rational folk in an antagonistic stance toward you, and make it harder to help them see the light. (Think of this as intellectual diplomacy.)
8. "Further, one can easily propagandize by stating only facts." Very true; that's why we shouldn't refer to my position as merely that articles should be fact-stating. They should be unbiased. I've explained what I mean by this in many different places many different times. "A full page of 'Creationists believe that...because...' with no reference to contradictory evidence or any other claim is clearly a propaganda piece, even though it happens to be fact-stating." I totally agree, and I will thank you for not setting up further caricatures of my view.
9. "I also believe that it is fundamentally impossible to eliminate all bias, and the all readers of any purportedly-factual article should understand that all authors have biases, and read in that context." But whenever we can identify bias, we can eliminate it--one way or another, and usually by going "meta." Give yourself some credit; people are creative; we can think of ways to eliminate bias when we spot it. (If you're still not convince, I suspect this is because you have a useless, impossibly-restrictive concept of bias. Personally, I prefer my concepts to be useful.)
10. "I believe that being overly afraid of bias sometimes compromises those goals, by cluttering articles with reportage on clearly useless beliefs held by a few minorities." Why think that articles will be cluttered with views held by minorities? If they are minority views, they will not be highlighted and ubiquitous in the same way that the majority views will be. That's as it should be. No one can reasonably complain.
My conclusion:
We should not impose our values on other thinking people. You are all liberal-minded people, I trust--not liberal politically, necessarily, but liberal in the sense that you want to free minds. I enjoin you to think carefully about the best way to achieve this. By failing to take stands on controversial issues, we aren't demonstrating weakness--in fact, we are demonstrating the strength of our faith in the minds of our fellow human beings. We should let them arrive at their own conclusions. We should trust them to use their own minds--just as you want to be trusted. More benighted souls than our enlightened selves will appreciate our stance and be more apt to listen when we hand down the truth.
I don't know if I can make my case any more completely...
No need to... - AyeSpy
Larry
/Talk
