belief versus evidence-based

i work with a woman who believes the earth is only 5500 years old or so...she says to me the other day, "you can try and prove things with science, and then the other side will be proven by science too, it doesnt matter, its about belief and i do believe the earth is as old as the bible..."

i told her, "no, the other side is not proven by science, but i guess we do believe what we believe"...

i bring this up because of this article i read this morning

Sex Ed Can Help Prevent Teen Pregnancy : from yahoo

Mon Mar 24, 11:46 PM ET

MONDAY, March 24 (HealthDay News) -- Comprehensive sex education may help reduce teen pregnancies without increasing levels of sexual intercourse or sexually transmitted diseases.
So find U.S. researchers who reviewed data from a 2002 national survey of more than 1,700 heterosexual teens, ages 15 to 19.

There is ongoing debate about whether abstinence-only education or comprehensive sex education (including instruction in birth control) is best for students.

Study lead author Pamela Kohler, a program manager at the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues found that about 25 percent of teens received abstinence-only education and about two-thirds received comprehensive sex education. About 9 percent -- particularly teens from poor families and those in rural areas -- received no sex education at all.

The researchers found that teens who received comprehensive sex education were 60 percent less likely to get pregnant or to get someone pregnant than those who received no sex education.

read the rest here

but it doesnt matter how many empirical studies are done...as my co-worker says, people will believe what they believe...though really, how many people would let a doctor perform a non-evidence based surgery on them?...although now that ive posed that question, im scared to know how many people would say "me!! i would!!"

Song of the day: lets talk about sex- salt and pepa