Editing Project Steve (section)

{{Short description|Scientists named Steve who support evolution}}
'''Project Steve''' is a list of scientists with the [[given name]] [[Stephen|Stephen or Steven]] or a variation thereof (e.g., Stephanie, Stefan, Esteban, etc.) who "support [[evolution]]". It was originally created by the [[National Center for Science Education]] as a "[[tongue-in-cheek]] [[parody]]" of [[creationism|creationist]] attempts to collect a list of scientists who "doubt evolution", such as the [[Answers in Genesis]]'s list of scientists who accept the biblical account of the [[Genesis creation narrative]] or the [[Discovery Institute]]'s ''[[A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism]]''. The list pokes fun at such endeavors while making it clear that, "We did not wish to mislead the public into thinking that scientific issues are decided by who has the longer list of scientists!" It also honors [[Stephen Jay Gould]].<ref name=home>{{cite web |url=https://ncse.com/taking-action/project-steve |title=Project Steve  |publisher=[[National Center for Science Education]] |access-date=September 2, 2016 |date=October 17, 2008}}</ref> The [[Level of support for evolution#Scientific support|level of support for evolution among scientists]] is very high. A 2009 poll by [[Pew Research Center]] found that "[n]early all scientists (97%) say humans and other living things have evolved over time."<ref>[[Pew Research Center]]: "[http://people-press.org/2009/07/09/section-5-evolution-climate-change-and-other-issues/ Public Praises Science; Scientists Fault Public, Media]" July 9, 2009.</ref>

However, at the same time the project is a genuine collection of scientists.  Despite the list's restriction to only scientists with names like "Steve", which it turns out is roughly 1 percent of scientists,<ref name=home/> Project Steve is longer and contains many more eminent scientists than any creationist list. In particular, ''Project Steve'' contains many more [[biologist]]s than the creationist lists, with about 54% of the listed Steves being biologists.<ref name=FAQs>{{cite web|url=http://ncse.com/taking-action/project-steve-faq|title=Project Steve: FAQs |publisher=National Center for Science Education |date=February 16, 2003 |access-date=May 25, 2016}}</ref> The "List of Steves" webpage provides an updated total of scientist "Steves" who have signed the list.<ref name=List-of-Steves/> {{As of|2024|2|12|df=US}}, Project Steve has 1,500 signatories.<ref name="List-of-Steves">{{cite web|url=https://ncse.ngo/list-steves|title=List of Steves|date=January 6, 2022|website=National Center for Science Education|access-date=January 22, 2022}}</ref>