Mosquitos, Thermodynamics, and a Whole Lot of Ignorance

Kudos to John Lynch for finding the dumbest quote I’ve seen from a politician in recent memory.

South Carolina’s governor, Mark Sanford, has proudly stepped forward to compete for the claim of most scientifically confused politician in an interview with a Columbia TV station. Here’s the quote:

Q: What do you think about the idea of teaching alternatives to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution in public schools; for instance Intelligent Design.

Sanford: I have no problem with it.

Q: Do you think it should be done that way? Rather than just teaching Evolution?

Sanford: Well I think that it’s just, and science is more and more documenting this, is that there are real ‘chinks’ in the armor of evolution being the only way we came about. The idea of their being a, you know, a little mud hole and two mosquitoes get together and the next thing you know you have a human being is completely at odds with, you know, one of the laws of thermodynamics which is the law of, of.. in essence, destruction. Whether you think about your bedroom and how messy it gets over time or you think about the decay in the building itself over time. Things don’t naturally order themselves towards progression. Uuummm.. in the natural order of things. So, it’s in fact, it’s against fairly basic laws of physics… and so I would not have a problem in teaching both. Uh, you saying this is one theory and this is another theory.

Here’s an inside tip for those that wondered. Evolution doesn’t believe that mosquitoes in mud holes lead to humans. Now obviously Sanford is speaking tongue in cheek, but the quote shows his massive ignorance on the scientific theory.

But in case that ignorance wasn’t fully exposed, the part about thermodynamics should seal the deal. I can explain real quick. The second law of thermodynamics states that in a closed system, things move toward entropy (or disorder). The earth is anything but a closed system of course, having that big ball of gas undergoing constant nuclear fusion, and sending the love our way. (The sun gives us energy.)

Whatever exposure Sanford had to science, it obviously didn’t sink in too well. Who do you want creating your kid’s science curriculums? People that know a little about science? Or politicians bent on protecting the little ones from the evils of science by “teaching the controversy”?