Gabler gone, but it makes no difference
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Pirate modeI read this which led to this, where I learned a few months late that Mel Gabler was dead. This Mel Gabler. I don't like to speak ill of the dead, but Gabler had a good 89 year run in which he spread poison and ignorance and lies, and made his wretched mark on the textbook industry. He was a dishonest old man who reviewed biology textbooks through the lens of his own stupidity and religious prejudice, and he was darned good at it.
Take a look at his criteria for evaluating biology textbooks. I've added links to Mark Isaak's indispensable index of creationist claims so that you can easily look up the real story. Every single one of these criteria that Gabler used to block the adoption of good science textbooks was a lie. Most of them are trivial and obvious lies to anyone with a little basic knowledge of biology. I look at his rationalizations and see gibbering, spittle-flecked senility…and this is the man the Texas State Board of Education took seriously.
| Gabler's criterion | Gabler's rationalization | Isaak's rebuttal |
|---|---|---|
| no fossil evidence for gradual evolution | "Punctuated equilibria" theory admits the systematic gaps between life forms in the fossil record, and the lack of evidence there for gradual evolution. | CC200 |
| circular reasoning in "punctuated equilibria" theory | "Punctuated equilibria" theory says evolution occurs too slowly to see it in the present, and too quickly for the fossil record to capture in the past. This is circular reasoning: the lack of evidence for evolution proves it happened. | CC201.1 |
| circular reasoning in the standard geological column | "Index fossils" are fossils of life forms that evolutionists think lived only briefly in geologic time. Evolutionists position rocks in the Standard Geological Column by the stage which their index fossils represent in the presumed evolution of life. Thus the Standard Geological Column reflects evolutionary assumptions but does not prove them. | CC310 |
| subjective interpretation of the standard geological column | No actual single example of the entire Standard Geological Column exists in nature. The alleged evolutionary ages of rock strata do not always match the alleged evolutionary ages of some of the fossils they contain. Supposedly younger strata sometimes contain supposedly older fossils. Supposedly older strata sometimes contain supposedly younger fossils. | CD101 |
| complex initial appearance of life forms in the fossil record | Evolution says complex life forms developed from simple forms. But the "earliest" fossils of each life form are as structurally complex as their modern counterparts. The kingdoms, phyla, and classes that first appear in the fossil record still exist today. | CB010.1 |
| no undisputed transitional forms in the fossil record | Scholarly reappraisal often shows "missing links" to have been either fully human (e.g., Neanderthal Man, Cro-Magnon Man) or apes (e.g., Pithecanthropus, Ramapithecus). Archaeopteryx is discredited as a missing link. | CC050, CC351 |
| no examples of "micro-evolution" | Evolution is the process of increasing net genetic complexity (between the original cell and Einstein, there had to be new genes). Speciation and subspeciation require no increased net genetic complexity, and are thus not even "micro-evolution." Darwin's finches, Kaibab and Albert squirrels, industrial melanism (spotted moths), penicillin-resistant bacteria, and DDT-resistant insects are non-evolutionary adaptations of existing life forms to new environments, involving no increased net genetic complexity and therefore no evolution. | Isaak doesn't cover this one specifically; Gabler has invented his own bizarre definition of evolution so that he can falsely claim evolution has not been observed. |
| no known mechanism for evolution | Recombination reshuffles chromosomes. Mutations restructure DNA. Neither produce more complex chromosomes or DNA. Thus neither increase net genetic complexity, without which there is no evolution. | CB102 |
| conflicts between anatomy and biochemistry | Amino acid sequence differences among life forms often contradict evolutionary predictions based on anatomical similarities. | Sometimes they do. Convergent evolution can produce similarities that are not homologous. This is not evidence against evolution. |
| flaws in radiometric dating | Radiometric dating methods give conflicting dates for the same object and/or for different samples of the same object. These dating methods assume a uniform decay rate of the parent element, initial absence of the daughter element in the test sample, and isolation of the test sample from outside contamination — all scientifically questionable assumptions on various grounds. | CD010 |
| statistical improbability of evolution through chance mutations | Even if all mutations were beneficial, the mathematical probability of life developing by chance verges on absolute zero. | CB940 |
Mel Gabler is dead, but his work continues. Texans for a "Better" Science Education still uses Gabler's dishonest garbage (a page that, coincidentally, was updated just yesterday; no lie reeks enough to convince a creationist to drop it, I guess). The odious Terri Leo has been re-elected to the Texas State Board of Education and will no doubt perpetuate his work.
So, no, I can't feel any joy at the death of one sad and narrow-minded old man. The evil that men do lives on long after they're gone, and he has left an enduring legacy. It's awfully hard to dance on a grave when you're still battling the corpse.
In a fine bit of synchronicity, the random quote that turned up just after I posted this was a classic from SJ Gould:
Since we proposed punctuated equilibria to explain trends, it is infuriating to be quoted again and again by creationists -- whether through design or stupidity, I do not know -- as admitting that the fossil record includes no transitional forms. The punctuations occur at the level of species; directional trends (on the staircase model) are rife at the higher level of transitions within major groups.
The Gablers didn't confine themselves to biology, either. They (Mr & Mrs) apparently had a pretty big influence over history, social studies, and health textbooks, too. Y'know, you don't want those poor schoolkids finding out about the leaders of Texas independence being pro-slavery, or about them nasty pinko labor unions, or that there are such things as contraceptives....
And yes, dear Ms Leo is bravely carrying Mel's torch into the 21st century.