Just a Theory

May 27th 2005 at 9:07 am

A brilliant parody:

Called the universal theory of gravity, Newton’s so-called law is taught to physics students everyday. But a growing movement of parents wants to change that. They say that Isaac Newton’s theory of acceleration and velocity is just that—a theory—and that forcing students to accept a Newtonian view of the natural world is unfair to those who don’t believe in gravity.


This small Pennsylvania town south of Harrisburg is at the center of the movement to force high school physics teachers to introduce alternative explanations of the force of gravitation. But parents here reject the claim that they’re trying to ban teachers from mentioning gravity, or the increasingly controversial Sir Isaac Newton. Rather, they say, their goal is to supplement the existing physics curriculum.

“It’s just not fair to the young men and women who attend physics classes in Dover that they learn about one theory over and over,” says curriculum improvement advocate Lorraine Dittie. “What we’d like to see is a more a balanced presentation.”

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