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Review Summary: Intelligent Design? Poor Science. |
Date: 2008-10-30 |
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Details: Disappointing in both subject matter and execution.
After reading some popular science books about evolution, I picked up this book in the hope of getting a clear, complete and articulate description of Intelligent Design from one of its leading proponents. I hoped it would improve my understanding of the reasoning behind ID, and perhaps reveal and question some of the unspoken assumptions of evolutionary theory.
This book failed to deliver in every way.
The first third of the book was a discussion of the "flaws" in evolutionary theory. Although there were some interesting points raised, almost all were based on misunderstandings or misstatements of evolutionary theory. None of the "flaws" came close to undermining evolutionary theory as the most sound explanation of the evidence. Furthermore, the errors in fact, interpretation and logic were, frankly, laughable.
Next was a discussion of Intelligent Design that was so short, you'd miss it if you skipped a few pages. Even so, it's clear that ID is based on an "analysis" that is purely subjective - whether design can be "inferred" from observation. There's no objective, repeatable method for measuring "design", so any detection of it is little more than opinion. The concept of "irreducible complexity" is an interesting discussion topic, but is nothing new - Darwin himself mentions it in The Origin of Species. Even if examples of it were found, they would at best only raise questions about the dominant role of natural selection in evolution, rather than lend any kind of support to the existence of a designer.
The final half of the book was a mishmash of tired old arguments - including "finely tuned universe", no less - endless rantings of how "Darwinists" have prevented ID from being taught in schools and fired "open-minded" academics, and how "Darwinism" leads to Nazism and immorality. The logic employed in these discussions varied from suspect to non-existent, and unsupported assertions abounded.
I approached this book with an open mind, searching for better understanding, and willing to be convinced of any valid insights and new perspectives that ID could give into the development of life on Earth.
Not only did this book convince me that ID is completely unscientific in basis, but if Wells is representative, its proponents are largely incapable of reason. Not recommended. |
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Review Summary: Excellent! |
Date: 2008-10-26 |
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Details: This is a very good book. If you wish a more scientific approach to ID, I would refer you to Michael Behe's "Edge of Evolution." |
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Review Summary: Smithy's take. |
Date: 2008-10-24 |
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Details: I really enjoyed reading this book.Dr Wells does a good job in trying to level the balance that the one eyed media have produced in portraying Darwinism as a fact and anybody deviating from that as a Philistine on a par with those who believe in fairies,little green men and ESP.Well done Jonathan Wells.Your book should be in every library. |
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Review Summary: Actually, science isn't anything you'd like it to be |
Date: 2008-10-21 |
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Details: I started reading this book for fun (why not) at a local book-store while waiting for a tardy friend. It's written in a very friendly "Idiot's guide to..." style, which makes for easy reading. While parts of the book are entertaining, the author ultimately eschews reason for propaganda.
On one hand, Mr. Wells argues (to be honest, he does very little actual arguing - mostly he states "facts") that "Darwinism" is a questionable science. I find this perfectly reasonable, which is why I started reading the book in the first place. However, he then proceeds to claim that intelligent design is a science. Now, I wondered, how will he argue this claim? The reasoning is staggering: we should define science in whatever way necessary to accommodate intelligent design.
Ultimately, this book isn't meant to be taken as serious literature - it's propaganda. If you're wondering "Propaganda on whose behalf?", I suggest you investigate the author: this is usually the first thing to do with politically charged books. While you might get something out of reading it, a serious question remains: if you are interested in a critique of "Darwinism", why not pick up something more substantial, like "Darwin's Black Box"? |
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Review Summary: Clear thinking, or Moonie brainwash? You decide |
Date: 2008-08-04 |
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Details: Wells pokes holes in Darwinism (defined as macro evolution, not microevolution, of all species from a common ancestor, by natural selection of random processes) and defends Intelligent Design as legitimate science, and clearly revels in the task. The writing is understandable, the examples are enlightening, and the control of Darwinism on the scientific establishments in government and universities is examined in numerous cases.
A scan of reviews on Amazon shows about a 60/40 split between 5 stars and 1 star, averaging 3 stars with a standard deviation of two!. In other words, there is no middle ground. Wells was accused of being a brainwashed Moonie, and the Discovery Institute for which he works a Moonie front, and he was praised as a clear thinker and defender of academic freedom, but never by the same people.
Read and judge. |
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out of 93 Reviews
