[Edit: This is from a creationist textbook (if you didn’t get that). I love that they say of electricity “No one has ever observed it or heard it or felt it”, then give a scripture verse describing an example of electricity that can be seen, heard and felt.]
agnophilo 
WAT DID I JUST READ?
omg I read this somewhere else awhile back! It hurts! It hurts!!
Maybe I’m not reading this one correctly… I don’t quite get the point.
@PervyPenguin – A page from a creationist textbook.@x_Butterflies_and_Hurricanes_x – : )@jmallory – It’s from a creationist textbook. Note the scripture passage at the bottom.
WTF. How old is this? Please tell me it’s from before 1700 or so.
hee hee yes, I know it’s from a creationist textbook but it reminds me of the science book I had in a California public school in, ummm ok well lets just say a very long time ago. All that was missing in ours was the bible verse.
@anaraug – Heh, the translation of scripture is. So yeah, basically. It would actually be sad and defy common sense if it were from the year 1.
@tsh44 – That blows : (
@agnophilo – S’ok I had a love of reading encyclopedias and old college text books that stood me in good stead for a scientific education while in that experimental school.
‘lectricity! we know scientists are clueless; while us creationists are working it out, have a hair dryer.
actually, the correct reading, i believe, belies a more sinister, controlling tone: thou SHALT NOT understand it.
Shocking!
How old is that textbook, I wonder?
@agnophilo – Ha! Ok… It didn’t click right away, but now it makes perfect sense. I was wondering why it was saying that no one knows where electricity comes from! I thought the verse from Psalms was added to be some sort of mock on Christianity and it didn’t click. Now it all makes sense… and makes me a little sad that this book is out there somewhere!
@tsh44 – Kudos.@complicatedlight – Haha, exactly.@complicatedlight – That’s the idea. I went to a catholic school through Jr. High, I think their strategy was “don’t teach very much science, don’t teach too much scripture, and hope they don’t ask questions”.@llibra – Yup.@epiginoskete – 1990. I found a webpage defending it (badly) which then said that this was from an “old” edition, and then said “want to see what’s in the latest edition?” and gave a link to buy the book. It’s titled “Science 4 Student” (not kidding) and the price is $32.00.@jmallory – Yup. “Some scientists think electricity comes from the sun, derrr…” They say no one knows where electricity comes from, which of course they contradict when they say it comes from many sources.
Thank you Jesus
@agnophilo – *cringes*The thing is, we can still feel wonder at the marvel of electricity without having to pretend nobody gets it. I wonder how those textbook-makers feel about wireless Internet — that is, if the Internet is more than just a digital Sodom and Gomorrah to ’em.
An excellent example of how clueless… some people can be. We have a very detailed understanding of electricity, describing it both conceptually and mathematically. And our ideas about how electricity works aren’t exactly new…You could argue that EVERYTHING we see, hear, and feel is the result of electromagnetic repulsion forces… Of course, there’s no reason to get into that here. Forces resulting from electricity can certainly be felt – try sticking your finger in an outlet. Well, no… don’t do that, it’s really not safe. You’re body is a conductor and the current will try to flow to ground through you, which really isn’t safe.But in another sense, you don’t exactly hear, feel, and see the Electricity itself from lightning… You see the intense current of a lightning bolt creates a plasma corona through the atmosphere along it’s path. The plasma corona radiates light (the “bolt” you see), the thunder (which you hear) is also an indirect result of the electricity… as far as feeling it… well, only if you’re struck by the lightning, or very close to where it strikes… And although it is possible to survive being struck by lightning, a fair number of people who are struck by lightning don’t survive. If you’re close enough to the lightning bolt, you would feel a pressure wave expanding out as a result of the plasma corona…But my point was really to demonstrate, yeah… this stuff is actually pretty well understood. It’s funny to me that Creationists are so happy to ignore the work of such figures as Franklin, Gauss, and Tesla…
‘Tis true, ‘Tis true, a very stupid mistake on the part of who ever put the textbook together. I would like to say it is a very old textbook but it would have to have been printed AFTER blow dryers. Even disregarding the picture…if they mention light bulbs, irons and telephones…it is obvious that someone knew how to generate electricity.
@mommachatter – Yeah, it’s pretty asinine. Even a non-scientist should know better.The point is to throw religion at the kids though, not educate them.
I know nothing about electricity.