The Sparrow's Home

: Life is hard. God is good. We need each other.

  • Homeschool
    • Homeschool Curriculum Reviews
    • Homeschooling High School
      • Earning College Credits in High School
    • Elementary, Middle School, & Littles
    • Homeschool Experiences (Tutoring/Study Groups)
    • Homeschool Consulting
  • Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • Vegetables & Sides
    • Breads
    • Desserts
    • Beverages
    • Freezer Recipes
    • Preserving
  • Faith
    • Resources for Living a Biblical Faith
  • Family
    • Parenting
    • Marriage
      • How to Break Porn Addiction: There is Hope!
    • Everything Disney
    • All the Board Games
    • Themed Entertaining
    • Home & Garden
      • Herbal Remedies
  • Contact
  • Home

Fact or Fraud: 4 Common Science Textbook Errors

September 19, 2016 by Susan 10 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links.  See my disclosure for more information.

Like it? Share it!

Did you know that science textbooks from elementary school through college continue to print “facts” that were patently proven false decades ago?  We examine these common textbook topics:

  • Peppered Moths
  • Embryonic Homology
  • The Miller Experiment
  • The Geologic Column

Fact or Fraud: 4 Things Your Science Textbook Has Wrong

 

If your child’s textbook taught that bloodletting, heroin, and mercury were effective medical treatments, I imagine you’d take issue with that.  After all, those practices were proven false long ago.  Well, did you know that science textbooks from elementary school through college continue to print “facts” that were patently proven false (by mainstream science) decades ago.

Several years ago, my husband began studying evolution and the age of the earth with a critical eye.  Since then he’s travelled to a number of states to present at camps, churches, and a Bible College.  For Christians, he presents solid Biblical evidence.  He also provides ample scientific evidence that is easy to understand that proves that evolution, besides being mathematically impossible, is wrought with lies and deception.

So let’s dig in to determine fact or fraud.  I know some of these examples will look familiar to you…get ready for (as Paul Harvey used to say), “The rest of the story.”

4 Common Science Textbook Errors

Peppered Moths

Fact or Fraud..The peppered moth experiment is just one example of fraudulent information being presented as fact in science textbooks.

This is often the prime example given by textbooks to show natural selection, supposedly proving evolution.  So here’s the set-up as it’s presented:  At one time, 95% of peppered moths were light colored, and only 5% were dark colored.  But, in the mid-1800’s, after soot from coal-fired factories in England darkened the trunks of trees in the area, the light colored moths were more easily found and eaten by birds, leaving the dark colored ones to survive, thrive, and take over the population.

There were some big problems with the research, however.  Mainly, peppered moths don’t land on the trunks of trees.  They live higher up, in the canopy of trees. (Possibly to avoid being easily seen and eaten by birds?)  That not only completely falsifies the entire story, but it also makes it very difficult to take a picture of the moths on a tree trunk, to make your point visually.

That is, unless you glue dead moths to the tree.  Which is exactly what the researcher did.

He had to, because in 40 years of research, he actually only observed 2 moths on tree trunks.  (Can I say, those must have been two exciting days!  40 years… can you imagine?!)  He also altered his other research to reflect the point he wanted to make (that there were more dark moths in areas with soot-covered trees and light moths in areas where the trees were not soot-covered).

Criticisms of the experiment first began in the 1980’s, and in 1998 it was proven fraudulent.  Upon examining proof of the fraud, Dr. Jerry Coyne, a professor and evolutionist, said,

My own reaction resembles the dismay attending my discovery, at the age of six, that it was my father and not Santa who brought the presents on Christmas Eve.

Why is this forged example of natural selection still used by evolutionists today as the primary example of natural selection?  Here’s the thing…natural selection is real.  It’s observable and true. But this study is not.  It is, however…

the slam dunk of natural selection, the paradigmatic story that converts high school and college students to Darwin, the thundering left hook to the jaw of creationism.  (Hopper)

Another proponent says,

The rise and fall of the peppered moth is one of the most visually impacting and easily understood examples of Darwinian evolution in action [so] it should be taught.  It provides, after all, the proof of evolution.  (Majerus)

In 1999, textbook writer Bob Ritter, who knew the study was fraudulent, but used it anyway, defended his practice.

You have to look at the audience.  How convoluted do you want to make it for a first time learner? High school students are still very concrete in the way they learn.  The advantage of this example is that it’s extremely visual.

Let me say again, natural selection is real.  (It does not, however, prove evolution.  Evolution relies on new information being added to an organism, which has never…never…been observed.)

The glaring problem I have with this is that it proves that mainstream scientists are willing to lie, to present fraud as fact.  And that’s a big deal.

The Peppered Moth Experiment:  Fact or fraud?  Fraud.

–
Answers Bookstore

Embryonic Homology

Fraud as fact...Haeckels Drawings are just one example of fraudulent information being presented as fact in science textbooks.

You’ve seen this drawing, right?

Darwin considered this, by far, the strongest proof of his theory of evolution.

However, these drawings were discovered in the 1870’s to be fraudulent.  In fact,  Earnest Haeckel was charged with fraud by his own university in Germany for falsifying them.  He was desperate to provide evidence for Darwin’s theory.  So he hand-picked various embryos that somewhat resembled each other.  They weren’t all at the same stage of development, but he lied and said they were.

Here’s a more accurate set of images for several of the embryos:

Fact or Fraud...Haeckels Drawings are just one example of fraudulent information being presented as fact in science textbooks.

 

Even lying about the stages of development was not good enough, so he altered the drawings to resemble each other even more closely.  In some cases using the exact same drawing to represent different kinds of embryos.

Something else that Haeckel’s drawings have perpetuated is the idea of human embryos having ‘gill slits.’

Merrill Earth Science textbook from 1993 says,

The human embryo growing in it’s mother has gills like fish.

Even National Geographic published Haeckels drawings in a 2007 photo essay on ocean-dwelling worms.  They state that the worms’ gill slits are just like those on embryonic humans.

Yet it has been known for over 100 years that those ‘gills’ are just folds of skin that are never used for breathing (neither in the womb nor out) and eventually turn into glands in your throat and bones in your ear.  By the way, even fish don’t have gills at that stage of development!

Like Darwin, Haeckel claimed that the developmental stages of an embryo retrace its evolutionary past. The idea is that the human embryo supposedly goes through a fish stage, an amphibian stage, a reptile stage, and so on.  Sadly, this view that human embryos are ‘less than human’ has been used in arguments in support of abortion over the years.

Embryonic Homology:  Fact or fraud?  Fraud.

The Miller Experiment

Fact or Fraud..The Miller Experiment is just one example of fraudulent information being presented as fact in science textbooks.

Almost every biology textbook uses the Miller Experiment as an example when discussing the origin of life.

In the 1950’s, Stanley Miller set out to create the building blocks of life using his spark chamber.  He tried to simulate the atmosphere of ‘billions of years ago’ by combining gases such as methane and ammonia.  He left out oxygen.  Then he generated electrical sparks to drive the chemical reactions.  The textbooks say that he created amino acids, the building blocks of life!

And that is a fact…kind of.

When Miller picked which gases to use to represent the early atmosphere, why did he intentionally leave out oxygen?

Well, because he knew from previous attempts that life could not have started in the presence of oxygen.  Oxidation prevents the molecular bonds from forming.  And yet, it has been shown that the early atmosphere likely had more oxygen than our atmosphere today.

Let’s say, however, that the early atmosphere really didn’t have any oxygen.  No oxygen – -no ozone layer.  Earth fried.  Goodbye.

Even if we overlook the oxygen issue, let’s take a look at the amino acids that Miller produced in his spark chamber.

There are two types of amino acids, left-handed and right-handed.  Every amino acid in every protein in the human body (and there are trillions of these) is left-handed.  In fact, every living thing on Earth has only left-handed amino acids.

What Miller created was an even mixture of left-handed and right-handed amino acids.  That is poison to life.  It’s actually what happens when an organism dies.

Every experiment had the same result.  What Miller created was death, not life.

Also, the mixture he produced was 85% tar, 13% carboxylic acid (both toxic to life) and only 2% amino acids.

The experiment is a known and recognized failure, and yet it is still used as evidence in textbooks that life can start on its own.

By the mid 1970’s, Belgian biochemist Marcel Florkin had declared that the concept behind Miller’s theory of the early atmosphere had been abandoned.  In 1995, Science magazine said that the experts now dismiss Miller’s experiment because the early atmosphere looked nothing like it did in his experiment.

The Miller Experiment:  Fact or fraud?  Fraud.

–
Answers Bookstore

The Geologic Column

Fact or Fraud..The Geologic Column is just one example of fraudulent information being presented as fact in science textbooks.

Science textbooks would have us believe that the geologic column was created by geologists who, having examined the evidence, constructed a model of their findings.

Nope.

Would you be surprised to know that the geologic column was created in the mid 1800’s, before any dating methods were in use.  A group of men came up with a number of layers of rock, giving each one a name (like Jurassic), an arbitrary age, and an index fossil to identify that layer.

Sounds really scientific.

Interestingly, once dating methods were developed…none of the assigned dates changed.  Weird, huh?  (A brief aside here about radiometric dating methods…they’ve been proven unreliable when dating things that we know the age of, and yet scientists trust them to determine accurately the age of things we don’t know the age of).

The geologic column can be found in only one place in the world:  Textbooks.

In fact 80-85% of the earth’s surface does not have even three geologic periods appearing in the ‘correct’ consecutive order.  In many places, you’ll find the geologic periods in the ‘wrong’ order.

If the geologic column did exist in one place, it’s been estimated that it would be 100 miles thick.  (Psst…the earth’s crust is at most 30 miles thick).

One secular Earth Science textbook states,

If there was a column of sediments deposited continuously since the formation of the Earth, the entire history of the planet could be reconstructed. Unfortunately, no such column exists.

No such column exists.

 

What about the fossils, you ask?

One textbook we have says,

The layers of rock can be dated by the types of fossils they contain.

On the very next page it states,

Scientists have determined the relative times..of organisms from the locations of their fossils in sedimentary rock layers.

Did you catch that?

Fact or Fraud..The Geologic Column is just one example of fraudulent information being presented as fact in science textbooks.

This quote from the American Journal of Science in 1976 says it all,

The intelligent layman has long suspected circular reasoning in the use of rocks to date fossils and fossils to date rocks.  The geologist has never bothered to think of a good reply, feeling the explanations are not worth the trouble as long as the work brings results.

Even the Encylopedia Brittanica says,

It cannot be denied that from a strictly philosophical standpoint geologists are here arguing in a circle.  The succession of organisms has been determined by a study of their remains embedded in the rocks, and the relative ages of the rocks are determined by the remains of organisms that they contain.

The geologic column:  Fact or Fraud?  Fraud.

–

Fact or Fraud

These textbook errors are just the tip of the iceberg.  It is disturbing to me that mainstream scientists have become a taboo that we are not allowed to question or challenge without being called ignorant or backward.  These examples of intentionally perpetrated fraud by the scientific community should cause us to question everything they say, however.  In what other area of life are we expected to trust someone who is repeatedly wrong or deceptive…the weatherman, maybe?

Keep an eye out for these textbook errors…I guarantee you’ll find them.  And when you do, ask yourself

(1) Do these textbook editors know so little about science that they think these things are true?  OR

(2) Do they know they are false and put them in anyway?

 

Click here for lots more resources on growing faith, lessons from Scripture, and more!

 

If you’d like more resources:

  • Have we disconnected the fruit from the seeds when it comes to a Biblical worldview?
  • Answers in Genesis
  • The Institute for Creation Research
  • Creation.com

If you’re interested in a presentation on this topic at your church or homeschool group:

  • onegodsixdays.com

And if you’re looking for curriculum for homeschoolers:

Apologia, Dr. Jay Wile and the Answers in Genesis Bookstore  all have curriculum that is scientifically accurate.

You can follow Dr. Wile on Facebook, too, or on his website.

 

Sources

  • Hooper, Judith. Of Moths and Men: An Evolutionary Tale (New York: W.W. Horton, 2002), pg. xvii.
  • Majerus, M.E.N., Melanism: Evolution in Action (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998).
  • Coyne, J.A., “Not Black and White,” Nature396 (1998): 35.
  • Richardson, St. George’s Hospital Medical School, London.  New Scientist.  Sept. 6, 1997, p. 23.
  • Mitchell, Elizabeth M.  M.D., Something Fishy About Gill Slits, Answers in Genesis
  • C. Flowers, A Science Odyssey: 100 Years of Discovery. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1998, p. 173
  • Austin, Stephen A. PhD.  Ten Misconceptions About the Geologic Column.  Institute for Creation Research.
  • O’Rourke, J.E. American Journal of Science 1976, p. 276

 

Click here for lots of resources on living a Biblical faith.

 

CLICK HERE to see what you need to know about these common errors.

Fact or Fraud: 4 Things Your Science Textbook Has Wrong

 

Like it? Share it!

You Might Also Like

  • The freedom that homeschooling offers can make for some of the best first days of school ever!
    First Day of School Traditions for Your Homeschool
  • Developing the habit of daily Bible reading is hard enough for ourselves, how do we instill the habit in our kids? This is a creative and informal way to start.
    Family Bible Journal
  • Creative P.E. Ideas for Your Homeschool.
    Creative PE Ideas for Your Homeschool

Filed Under: Bible, Elementary & Middle School, Homeschool, Homeschooling High School Tagged With: Bible, creation, homeschool, worldview

Comments

  1. Lisa/Syncopated Mama says

    September 21, 2016 at 7:24 am

    This post reminds me of the Dr. Dino videos – have you seen them? Have a great week!

    Reply
    • Susan says

      September 21, 2016 at 10:16 am

      Lisa, I will check that out, thanks for the suggestion. I’m surprised that I haven’t heard of that series…we’ve seen so many videos! One that we’ve particularly enjoyed that’s interesting for both kids and adults is Dr. Jobe Martin’s “Creatures That Defy Evolution.” Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
      • Jennifer Nordberg says

        July 31, 2018 at 9:50 am

        Hi, Susan! Imagine my surprise to see you on a site I just stumbled across! This has never happened to me before.
        I was just sitting here with my coffee when I noticed the names Landry and Joe Martin. I thought, “What are the chances?” So when I opened your icon there you were!

        Reply
        • Susan says

          July 31, 2018 at 3:17 pm

          How funny! What site was it that you saw both Joe and I? Weird!!

          In any case—WELCOME! 🙂

          Reply
  2. Roy A. Ackerman, PhD, EA says

    January 2, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    These are interesting choices. For starters, I have taken and taught a multitude of biology courses and never saw yourfirst two examples. There are much better choices that proves natural seclection.
    Your Miller debunking is more than a lot fo bunk. After all, you calim there was lots of oxygen at the start of the world- but that is not a fact. And, Miller’s experiments clearly provided data that there were enantiometric mixtures. No where did any person claim that all the produced compounds were the ones that were necessary..
    Finally, geological columns have nothing to do with ho dating is determined. We use radioactive decay, such as C14, among other scientific concepts.

    Oh- by the way- the first two chapters of the tora (and the first two chapters of your bible) describe the evolutionary process. The issue is what is a day? That first rotation of this orb we call earth has immense inertia- who knows how many hours, day, months, years, it took for that first revolution?

    Reply
    • Susan says

      January 2, 2017 at 7:47 pm

      Roy,
      We can agree that there are better examples of natural selection. I don’t discount that natural selection is observable and provable. It clearly is. The peppered moths example appears in numerous textbooks, I assure you. Most recently, we saw it in our kids’ Environmental Science textbook. Haeckel’s drawings, as well, appear in the vast majority of textbooks (that I’ve seen). These are not meant to show natural selection, but embryonic homology.

      Regarding Miller’s experiments, the most current research does indeed show that oxygen was plentiful in the early atmosphere. There are articles here and here discussing this. Finally, while it’s true that no one claims that he produced everything necessary for life, the inference that is commonly made is that because amino acids were produced, the experiment proves that life can eventually come from non-life. This is simply not true, nor did his experiments prove it, as he set out to do. This has been admitted by numerous mainstream science sources, most of which say some form of, “Is this experiment interesting? Yes. Does it prove anything? No.”

      Regarding dating methods, scientists absolutely do use the layer in the geologic column. They do this primarily because fossils are almost always found in sedimentary layers which do not contain radioactive elements, and thus cannot be dated using radiometric dating methods. Carbon 14 is never used to date rocks, in fact, it is only used to date organic remains. Thus, fossils that are “millions of years” old, should not contain any C14 as C14 has a maximum life of 100,000 years (based on half-life). But interestingly, scientists find C14 in fossils all the time that are ‘supposed’ to be millions of years old.

      Lastly, the word that is used in Scripture that is translated as “day” is the word, “yom”. In Genesis 1 it is paired with an ordinal number and the words ‘morning’ or ‘evening’. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, every single other time the word ‘yom’ is used either with an ordinal number OR with the words ‘morning’ or ‘evening’ it clearly indicates a 24 hour period. Why would we dispute that this pattern is different in Genesis? Also, in Exodus chapter 20, it says this:

      “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”

      Are we to doubt that the word ‘day’ here means anything other than a 24 hour period?

      I’m glad that you wrote. This is an issue that my family is passionate about, and I’m always interested in taking the opportunity to clear up commonly held mis-understandings.

      Reply
  3. Tabitha Teeter says

    October 1, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    Very interesting and upsetting. I was taught 3 of these as you described and may have learned about the Miller experiment some other time.

    I had a geology professor in college who brought out questions about the geologic column. He never took a side (secular university), but i sure started to check and research things before beleiving them after his class

    Reply
    • Susan says

      October 1, 2017 at 9:26 pm

      I’m surprised (and pleased) to hear that a secular professor even mentioned any issues with the geologic column. It’s sad that more people don’t dig into things like you did instead of just believing everything they’re told.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Origins of Life: Problems With the Miller Experiment - One God Six Days says:
    October 1, 2018 at 8:50 am

    […] through various forms of media, that we are indeed the result of a string of accidents. We’re told that these accidents are proven fact, when in fact, that couldn’t be further from the […]

    Reply
  2. Critical Thinking Skills for Homeschoolers - 7sistershomeschool.com says:
    August 6, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    […] Want to get started with critical thinking for your homeschoolers? Read this fun post about textbook errors from our friend, Susan at The Sparrow’s Home. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

100 Puns to Make You Roll Your Eyes, Groan, and Shake Your Head. There's something for everyone, arranged by category: food, animals, Harry Potter, Star Wars, literature, work-related, visual puns, and more!

Connect with Me:

About me…

Welcome! I'm Susan, and I'm so glad you're here. I am a former teacher turned homeschooler, married to my favorite person, blessed far more than I deserve, and certain that we don't have to do it all alone. Find Out More…

Get The Sparrow’s Home delivered right to your inbox. –Never miss a thing!

Let's be friends! Send me new posts and updates. I'm good with one (sometimes two) emails per week.

What I’m Reading Now…

Recent Posts

  • How to know the ‘next right thing’ to do in these uncertain times
  • 100 Bible verses that say who you are, what defines you, and why you matter
  • When your child struggles with reading…finding a reading curriculum and resources that are easy to use is everything.
  • The Absolute Best Cinnamon Rolls
  • Make a porch snack basket to brighten the day of your delivery drivers this holiday season (7 free printable signs to choose from!)

What’s Popular

  • Recipes That Use Up A Lot of Eggs (Bonus Pudding Recipe!)
    Recipes That Use Up A Lot of Eggs (Bonus Pudding Recipe!)
  • One Hour Bread: Fast & Easy Italian Bread Recipe
    One Hour Bread: Fast & Easy Italian Bread Recipe
  • Easy Sausage Egg Bake
    Easy Sausage Egg Bake
  • Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
    Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
  • M&Ms Ice Breaker and Guided Prayer Activities
    M&Ms Ice Breaker and Guided Prayer Activities
  • Healthy Chocolate Mousse
    Healthy Chocolate Mousse
  • The Easiest Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya
    The Easiest Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya
  • 7 Honest Homeschool Math Curriculum Reviews
    7 Honest Homeschool Math Curriculum Reviews
  • How to know the 'next right thing' to do in these uncertain times
    How to know the 'next right thing' to do in these uncertain times
  • Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake
    Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake

All of our recipes are shared at:

Meal Plan Monday is just one of the Link Ups where I contribute.

Follow The Sparrow’s Home:

Contact

Privacy Policy

Disclosure Statement

Amazon Associates Disclosure

Susan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon. com and affiliated sites.

Copyright © 2021 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Homeschool
    • Homeschool Curriculum Reviews
    • Homeschooling High School
      • Earning College Credits in High School
    • Elementary, Middle School, & Littles
    • Homeschool Experiences (Tutoring/Study Groups)
    • Homeschool Consulting
  • Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • Vegetables & Sides
    • Breads
    • Desserts
    • Beverages
    • Freezer Recipes
    • Preserving
  • Faith
    • Resources for Living a Biblical Faith
  • Family
    • Parenting
    • Marriage
      • How to Break Porn Addiction: There is Hope!
    • Everything Disney
    • All the Board Games
    • Themed Entertaining
    • Home & Garden
      • Herbal Remedies
  • Contact
  • Home