But talk to an average Joe on Main Street about evolution and he's likely to turn up his nose and say it's a load of bunk. They think the textbooks are wrong. A Harvard-trained researcher, Alters has long been interested in why so many people dismiss a theory that scientists almost universally believe to be true. The reasons are often religious, Alters says, but he's discovered that they're also often the result of a profound misconception about how science operates. Together with University of Southern California educational psychologist William B. Michael, Alters recently surveyed or interviewed 1,200 first-year students at 10 different American colleges.
Scientists have ample evidence to prove the inaccuracy of such views.
This is an important finding, says Alters. Science teachers should never attack the religious beliefs of their students in the classroom, he maintains. But misconceptions about how science works are fair game. It's important not to proselytize. That would be abusing my position.