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Review Summary: An Excellent expose on the politics of Darwinism |
Date: 2009-01-05 |
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Details: Start by ignoring the ad-hominem attacks of some reviewers. This book is an excellent expose on the underlying politics and protectionism of the Darwinists. Reading the book exposes the common tactics or those on shaky ground be they AGW Warmaholics or evolutionists.
This book is primarily one that exposes many of the underlying flaws and limitations in the current state of study in evolutionary processes. It highlights the same kinds of attacks made on say deniers of anthropogenic global warming as made on anyone who supports the consideration of Intelligent Design (ID).
The fundamentals of ID are mentioned but not in detail and this is why I only gave the book 4 stars. After reading this book, at the very least you should be questioning the tactics of the Darwinists in the US and encourage you to start asking questions about the possibility of ID. There is also no requirement to believe in God to think about the scientific principles behind ID.
Any argument that goes "evolution is true so anything else is false and you have no right to question it" is not science or a scientific process, it is sociology. |
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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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out of 94 Reviews
