Anyone else heard about this “scientism” thing, or have any thoughts on it?

DNA tells big story of T.rex’s link to chickens
Fri Apr 25, 12:19 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - It may seem unfathomable, but DNA testing has shown the towering Tyrannasaurus rex’s closest living animal relatives include the humble chicken, a new study has found. ...

Actually, this isn’t so unfathomable, evidence for this has been growing for years. E.g., the existence of feathered dinosaurs; or check the sample essay HERE.

Many people assume that superior intelligence or ability is a key to success. But more than three decades of research shows that an overemphasis on intellect or talent—and the implication that such traits are innate and fixed—leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unmotivated to learn.
Teaching people to have a “growth mind-set,” which encourages a focus on effort rather than on intelligence or talent, produces high achievers in school and in life.

We’ve hashed over the IQ debate lots of times here, so I hesitate to raise it again. But I saw this article, and it seemed to raise a related by slightly different question about what is the most productive way to view intellectual ability; not so much arguing whether it is a fixed innate quantity or strongly environmentally determined, but whether there is a difference in the utility of thinking about it in one or the other of these ways. I didn’t want to dig back through really old threads, so I thought I’d put this here, but I apologize for starting up the debate again, if this does.

HERE‘s the PR sheet.

One typical quote:

Ben Stein, the lovable, monotone teacher from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
and The Wonder Years is on a journey to answer one of the biggest questions
ever asked: Were we designed or are we simply the end result of an ancient
mud puddle struck by lightning? Stein, who is also a lawyer, an economist,
a former presidential speechwriter, author and social commentator, is
stunned by what he finds on his journey. He discovers an elitist scientific
establishment that has traded in its skepticism for dogma. But even worse,
along the way, Stein uncovers a long line of biologists, astronomers,
chemists and philosophers who have had their reputations destroyed and
their careers ruined by a scientific establishment that allows absolutely
no dissent from Charles Darwin’s theory of random mutation and natural
selection.

The Talk.Origins Archive: Exploring the Creation/Evolution Controversy.

Probably the best place to start is with their excellent FAQ page.

They also have a lengthy page of awards and recognitions.

There is also a good page from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

And there is also the CSICOP’s wonderful Intelligent Design Watch site.

Kudos to these folks for all their hard work!

In terms of quality, the production values are fantastic.  The content may be a little introductory too (hense why they’d be great for high schools).  Below are some of the dvds that they offer:

Evolution: Fossils, Genes and Mousetraps (a lecture by Ken Miller)
Evolution: Constant Changes and Common Threads (four lectures on them mechanisms of evolution, and a discussion on whether evolution and religion are compatible).
The Double Life of RNA
The Science of Fat
AIDS: The Evolution of a Pandemic
Potent Biology: Stem Cells, Cloning and Regeneration
Scanning Life’s Matrix - Genes, Proteins and Small Molecules

Here’s the link to their catalogue. 

You guys should try to spread this link around as much as possible. 

For international orders:

Orders from Countries Outside North America

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If you are outside North America, videotapes, CD-ROMs, and DVDs can be ordered only by written request. Your letter should include the item(s) you would like to order and your name, title, occupation, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, and fax number. If your request is approved, you will receive an e-mail confirmation.

Please e-mail your letter to: webmaster at hhmi dot org

I appreciate everyone’s insight, it was helpful and re-assuring. I’ve removed the text to effectively retire this post to make room for other more concurrent topics.

The hard data that has been produced over the past decade has shown clearly that human activity has no measurable effect on the temperature of the planet.  The contribution of CO2, methane and other gases are dwarfed by water vapor and their effects are lost in the experimental error of the measurements.  There is no correlation between CO2 in the atmosphere and the temperature of the planet.  The sun is the cause of these temperature cycles and they are as predictable as the seasons.  Historically, warmer is better in general, not worse.

It is shameful that a Nobel was awarded to Al Gore and the IPCC.  Their work was entirely political in nature.  The many errors in Gore’s movie are required to be included in science classes and textbooks in the UK.  Virtually nothing that Gore said about the science of global warming is correct.  I purchased and read four books on the topic when it first gained international attention in the mid-nineties.  None of them agreed with the IPCC then.  Now there is an impressive new list of books which clarify the topic and expose the dishonesty found in the political arena.

My favorite source of proper science publications on this topic is the web site, JunkScience.com.  Steve Milloy is a great watchdog and exposes many other science errors in the media.