Darwin's Public Defenders  Stephen Meyer  Friday, September 28,
2001  We count on scientists to tell us what they know and do
not know - not just what they want us to hear. But when it comes
to the origin and evolution of life on earth, some spokesmen for
official science are less forthcoming than we might wish.  When
writing in scientific journals, leading biologists candidly
discuss the many scientific difficulties facing contemporary
versions of Darwin's theory. Yet when those same scientists take
up the public defense of Darwinism in educational policy
statements or public television documentaries, that candor often
disappears behind a rhetorical curtain. "There's a feeling in
biology that scientists should keep their dirty laundry hidden,"
says theoretical biologist Danny Hillis, adding that "there's a
strong school of thought in biology that one should never
question Darwin in public."  Nowhere is this uncritical public
allegiance to Darwinism more evident than in PBS's current
eight-hour, Paul Allen-fu