Anima Ex Machina

Like Antonio Lazcano, I am always amused at the questions  I am asked about Mexico in the United States and Europe. As a biologist,  Lazcano is frequently asked about the difficulties he faces lecturing on the origin of  species in a Catholic country. To the surprise of many, Mexico is predominantly secular in most regards, and this is especially true of  its educational system among other major national institutions. There has been nothing in Mexico that compares with  the unfortunate attempts recently made to introduce religious ideas into the science curriculum in the U.S., where polls show that  40% of the population believes in strict biblical creationism. Lazcano is one of the most prominent international scientists in the field of evolutionary biology and a professor on the Faculty of Science at the National University of Mexico (UNAM).  I am glad to have had the chance to attend some of his lectures.

He recently wrote an interesting article for Science under the title: Teaching Evolution in Mexico: Preaching to the Choir.

As he points out, these efforts to introduce religious ideas into science education should be addressed by imaginative researchers and educators on both sides of the border, especially since the American religious right appears poised to spread its creationist notions  beyond U.S. borders.  The Talk Origins is a place to start. It uses information theory as a scientific resource to approach matters that creationists have mistakenly attempted to explain in biblical-literalist terms.