Salem hypothesis
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The "Salem Hypothesis" (named after Bruce Salem) is a name for a correlation that has been observed amongst scientists, between subscribing to creationism and working in an engineering discipline. There are two versions of the hypothesis, with different implications.
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[edit] Origins
The "Salem Hypothesis" is credited to Bruce Salem[1], a regular contributor to the Usenet talk.origins newsgroup. It is used in circles where the debate between evolution and creation is occurring, often humorously[citation needed].
[edit] Wording and implications
The first states: "In any Evolution vs. Creation debate, A person who claims scientific credentials and sides with Creation will most likely have an Engineering degree."[citation needed]
The second states: "An education in the Engineering disciplines forms a predisposition to Creation/Intelligent Design viewpoints."[citation needed]
The validity of these hypotheses is debatable, as neither has actually been subjected to experimental rigor.
The first description makes no comments about the engineering disciplines, nor engineers themselves; rather, it describes an alleged link between those who see themselves as both scientist and creationist and the posting of scientific credentials to claim credibility.
The second description, however, posits a positive causal connection between the engineering disciplines and the belief in creation. Proponents of the second description often link the "Design" mindset of engineers to a belief that humanity itself was also designed.
