AAAS: “Pseudoscience in India’s schools,” Educational authorities in India are being justly criticized for publishing + promoting school teaching materials containing pseudoscientific claims derived from Hindu mythology. “The educational modules — focused on Chandrayaan-3, the Indian space mission that in September landed a probe on the Moon — mention vim??nas, which are flying palaces or chariots described in Sanskrit epics.” [The graphic shows the exterior + cross-section of these imaginary flying structures]. ‘The modules’ creator, the National Council of Educational Research and Training, withdrew them last month after criticism but then republished them after the Ministry of Education defended them, saying, “Mythology and philosophy put forward ideas, and ideas lead to innovation and research.”’
Not Just Wakanda: The Sacred Rite-of-Passage Ritual That Morphs Boys Into Men and Humans Into Crocodiles
This was originally written for my Anthropology 113 course, “Witchcraft, Magic, Science, and Religion,” taken with Prof. Mark Sanders. Life on the Sepik: Introduction…