Early statements of principle are followed by diversified research, independent confirmation and documentation of results in peer-reviewed journals. This has been and continues to be true of Darwin's theory. It has been visible in the popular press, but as a scientific enterprise it is stillborn. The writer is chairman of the biology department, Broome Community College. The theory of Darwinian evolution will not be an exception.
History shows that the attempt to mandate a particular outlook is a useless enterprise.
Worse, it can hinder the advance of science. Major breakthroughs were often delayed by such blatantly wrong yet long- held models like the Ptolemaic system and the phlogiston theory. Attempts to perpetuate a theory in light of new discoveries often reveal more about the biases of the adherents than they do about the true nature of the universe. One person offering partial support is an astronomer, while the intellectual founders of the movement are a mathematician and a law professor. Dr. Michael J. Behe is a biologist, but this seems to be out of the ordinary for proponents of intelligent design.