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Review Summary: At last! A hysteria-free book about this subject. |
Date: 2008-04-30 |
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Details: The word "evolution" is a hot button in our society, similar in effect to terms like "abortion," "gay marriage" and "religion." Thus,finding a book on the topic that doesn't include the author getting on his or her soapbox is virtually impossible.
I have searched long and hard for a popular-level treatment of the subject that simply presented the scientific evidence for, and remaining challenges with, the theory. I have suffered from far too many rants from both militant atheists, as well as insecure believers, who use evolution as a platform to push their own metaphysical, economic or political views. Yes, I am talking about both Richard Dawkins and Ken Ham, and the rest of their buddies on the extremist ends of the spectrum.
So to me this book was a Godsend. It lays out the history, evidence, and current state of thought - period. There is a very brief reference to objections to the theory in the back, including religious ones. But there is no attempt to make evolution say things it simply cannot say, such as whether or not there is a God, an objective moral code, a non-physical reality, or any of the other perennial questions that rightly belong to the philosophers and theologians.
After reading it, my position remains essentially unchanged. It seems obvious to me that evolution occurred. Life has evolved from the simplest forms to the ones we see today over billions of years. Birds are the descendants of dinosaurs and we are the descendants of ape-like creatures.
These facts simply cannot be disputed by anyone taking a fair look at the evidence.
I still remain agnostic regarding the engines of evolution, though. It is impossible to prove that all of the steps that led to life's rise were random, or, conversely, that they weren't. However, on the whole I remain skeptical that genetic drift, chance mutations, natural selection, accidental duplications, etc. can sufficiently explain the fantastic success evolution has demonstrated in crafting life forms not only well adapted to survive, but also beautifully elegant in their bodily structures.
"Goofs" like the panda's thumb steer me away from an Intelligent Designer, as least one modeled after a human engineer. But stepping back and looking at creation as a whole still leads me to believe that there is some form of Supreme Intelligence that started it all. Perhaps it set some general parameters for creation's progression, then let the Big Bang unfold on its own.
This does not necessarily mean "God" as that Being has been conceived of by the world's religions. For all I know our universe could be a clever science project put together by a bright third grader for a science fair. Even now we may be sitting in a jar on his bookshelf with an award ribbon hanging from it.
Or we might be lying in a dusty corner of a lab, a rejected effort of some scientist who saw how we turned out and said "I can do better than that!"
Or we might be the beloved creation of an all-powerful and omniscient Father God, who has reasons for the evils and imperfections we are beset with, reasons that will lead to our ultimate well-being and happiness.
Whatever the ultimate answers to such questions are, they are beyond the domain of evolution, and for that matter all of our physical sciences. This fact in no way detracts from the intellectual brilliance of Darwin's theory, or of the many insights we have gained from it. And to those who want to discover those insights, without hysteria or bias, I highly recommend this excellent book.
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Review Summary: A solid reference for the rest of us |
Date: 2008-03-23 |
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Details: EFD presents the basics of evolutionary biology.
There are separate chapters covering general issues, such as: basic genetics and mutations, natural selection, the various types of speciation, phylogenetics (deducing family trees), group v. individual selection, kin selection and the evolution of cooperation, co-evolution of interacting species, evo-devo (embryology), and molecular evolution. The chapter on molecular evolution discusses genomes (their sizes and functions), non-coding DNA, lateral gene transfer, gene duplication, genetic drift, and the molecular clock hypothesis.
Other chapters cover specific issues, including human evolution, the evolution of antibiotic resistance, the evolution of HIV, and the evolution of flu viruses.
Finally, in the traditional "Part of Tens" section, EFD discusses ten fascinating fossil finds, ten amazing adaptations, and ten erroneous arguments against evolution.
All in all, EFD is pretty good. It's not as detailed as an upper-level college textbook, but it is reasonably thorough and reasonably detailed.
Just occasionally there is some technical language that beginners might struggle with, but it's not excessive and is mostly limited to the chapters on genetics and phylogenetics. The vast majority of the book should be readily accessible, even to complete beginners.
I do think EFD could have included a more detailed description of one or two of the more dramatic evolutionary transitions revealed in the fossil record, such as from fish to land animal, reptile to mammal, land animal to whale, or primitive primates to modern humans. Although EFD did at least mention most of those transitions, it didn't present any of them in a way that would really convey how convincing the evidence is for primitive species gradually evolving into modern forms.
And in the section on erroneous arguments against evolution, EFD mentioned Intelligent Design, biblical (young-earth) creationism, and the argument that those religious theories should be taught in public high school science classes; but it didn't cite the two federal court cases that bear most directly on those two theories. ID was shot down in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School Board (2005), and Biblical creationism was shot down in Edwards v. Aguillard (1987). (And Edwards was foreshadowed by McLean v. Arkansas, 1981.)
But those are minor quibbles.
All in all, EFD would be a fine choice for anyone looking for a reasonably detailed overview of evolutionary biology. |
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out of 2 Reviews
