Mendeleevism

Overview

Mendeleevism refers to the theory of chemical periodicity, and is named after Dmitri Mendeleev who is credited with having first discovered the principle.

"Mendeleevism" is a term apparently coined by the reDiscovery Institute web site as a parody of anti-science rhetoric which attempts to spin certain scientific theories (most notably evolution and other areas of science concerning the creation of the universe, the Earth, life, and humanity) as being no better than political or ideological viewpoints.

The larger point is that the periodic table, which is extremely well-established fact and the basis for all of our understanding of chemistry (upon which many other scientific disciplines rest in turn), can be attacked with rhetoric which sounds every bit as convincing as the rhetoric being used to attack evolution – which (by contrast) is extremely well-established fact and one of the cornerstones of our understanding of biology, biochemistry, animal behavior, sociology, and anthropology, as well as being consistent with findings throughout other areas of science.