kulebyashka

Hard to give this a 5, but way more than a 4. There are many good recent books updating the fascinating story of life on earth, including those by Prothero, Carroll, Shubin, Coyne, etc. They briefly dismiss Creationism/ID as the ideological pseudoscience it is, and concentrate on the fun part, the real science. Miller takes the harder path, which shouldn't even be necessary in the 21st century, giving ID the benefit of the doubt that it might be a genuine scientific hypothesis, and painstakingly shows why it isn't. Furthermore, he shows that the attack isn't just on Darwinian evolution, but on the nature of science itself, by allowing the supernatural into explanations of nature. Our country has greatly benefited from advances in physics, chemistry, geology, and molecular biology. Ironic that many who enjoy those benefits essentially argue against the science behind them. My problem with giving this a 5 is the lengthy discussion trying to reconcile his faith in a purposeful God with the biology he knows so well--kinda lost me. Better to do like Gould and leave them to separate spheres.

2023-07-15 23:28