I know it is not politically correct to question the mental competence of one's intellectual oppononents, but the argument over the teaching of evolution seems to have brought out the mental midgets in unprecedented numbers.

I'm not talking about those who see in the majestic complexity of the universe an example of intelligent design, which is an article of faith rather than a matter of science. Instead, I refer to those critics of evolution who, in attacking it, demonstrate a total lack of understanding of the theory itself, or of the principles of reasoned thought in general.

Now, evolution is not a difficult theory - grammer school students have been grasping it pretty well for generations. Rather, it is their parents who seem most at sea. My own bias is that religious fervor is either a cause or an effect of intellectual incompetence, but, after all, these are the same people ( 75% of those who voted for Bush, according to exit polls, despite the Pres himself having repudiated this position) who continue to believe that Saddam had WMDs and was responsible for 9/11.

I don't mean to hold up the Democratic electorate as a paragon of inteligence or rationality (come on, have the last Democratic candidates really been the best they could do?), but, in the battle for the bottom rung, I think we have a clear winner.
- posted by Martin Eagle @ 5:59 AM