Entry 552, on 2007-06-12 at 16:13:07 (Rating 4, Religion)
As a follow up to my blog entry about the Museum of Lies (aka Creationist Museum) yesterday, I would like to offer some further commentary. Many people have said that the Museum is a reasonable way to present an alternative theory, and is an expression of free speech. On the surface this seems reasonable, but is it true?
I suppose there's no point in trying to prevent this sort of thing from being set up, because that would just invite the propagation of conspiracy theories and accusations that science can't stand competition. Its also entertaining to see these alternative views, no matter how implausible they are. Its a bit like the crazy person shouting religious slogans on the street corner: disturbing but entertaining at the same time. And, after all, only a certain type of person would take the street corner crazy or the Museum of Lies seriously anyway, and there's probably little hope for them ever developing a rational attitude at any time.
But I think there is a way through which the museum could be attacked. Its a commercial enterprise: admission for an adult is about US$20. Its illegal to present false information in a commercial context: its called fraud. So I think the museum could be closed on the basis of the fraud it perpetrates. Of course, I would never want to do that - just like I would never want to stop the street corner crazy - because then we would lose a major source of entertainment!
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