Advice to Lecturers:

[4thofeleven]

That grinding noise from the front row? That would be my teeth, after sitting through yet another lecture on mythology/folklore/religion that uses the big bang as an example of a modern creation myth in a way that demonstrates the lecturer has absolutely no idea what the big bang theory is or how it was developed. Yes, there are plenty of unexamined axioms in modern ‘rational’ society. However, the implication that the big bang lacks any observable evidence – or, for that matter, that it has taken the place of religious cosmology in providing a sacred narrative in our society – does little to reassure me that you know what you’re talking about.

Also, if you’re assuming your audience understands the terms “atavistic”, “autochthonic” or “eschatological”, you probably don’t need to explain what a metaphor is.

Comments

[sunnyskywalker]

Oh, it could be worse. My 9th grade biology teacher described the big bang as "when the solar system exploded and that's why everything in the universe is rushing away from us." Granted physics wasn't her field, but I would still hope a science teacher would know the basic idea.

But I agree that comparing two unlike phenomena, one based on observation and one not, is extremely frustrating. It's... okay, if you were studying children, you would note that a child believing in fairies and a child believing that Grandma and Grandpa exist, as evidenced by photographs and phone calls, are different kinds of belief, yes?