"We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged."
為回擊這種欺騙公眾的行為,美國國立科學教育中心(National Center for Science Education)也組織了一個科學家簽名活動。科學家們這次採取了帶諷刺意味的反擊,用他們自己的話說就是組織了一個tongue-in-cheek parody。首先,這個活動的宣言就秉承了科學家一貫的嚴格,起草地清清楚楚,毫不模稜兩可。原文是:
Evolution is a vital, well-supported, unifying principle of the biological sciences, and the scientific evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the idea that all living things share a common ancestry. Although there are legitimate debates about the patterns and processes of evolution, there is no serious scientific doubt that evolution occurred or that natural selection is a major mechanism in its occurrence. It is scientifically inappropriate and pedagogically irresponsible for creationist pseudoscience, including but not limited to "intelligent design," to be introduced into the science curricula of our nation's public schools.
不僅索取簽名的宣言明確全面,簽名的方式也別具一格,那就是並非所有同意這個宣言的科學家都可以簽名,而是只有名字叫Steve或其變種比如說Steven、Stephen、Stephanie等的科學家才可以簽名。有數據表明,名字叫Steve(包括Steven、Stephen、Stephanie等)的占科學家總數約1% 同時這個名字的選擇也恰好可以紀念已故的Stephen Jay Gould,著名的古生物學家和進化論專家(生前在哈佛大學和美國自然歷史博物館工作)。選擇占科學家人數僅僅1%的Steve們的這個舉動,充分表現了科學家們的幽默和自信。這個活動被命名為Project Steve。