Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea
1 journaler for this copy...
I've been coveting this book from afar, so when I saw it at a discount store I snatched it up. It provides a sweeping view of evolutionary theory, and accompanies a series of eight television shows from the U.S. Public Broadcasting System.
Read good book reviews by readers on Amazon: 'In his defense of evolution, Zimmer points out that it is not simply a theory of biology that is at stake, but the scientific method itself. Some of my favorite quotes from Part 4 are: 1) "The scientific method does not claim that events can have only natural causes but that the only causes that we can understand scientifically are natural ones. As powerful as the scientific method may be, it must be mute about things beyond its scope. Supernatural forces are, by definition, above the laws of nature, and thus beyond the scope of science (p. 332)." And 2) "When microbiologists study an outbreak of resistant tuberculosis, they do not research the possibility that it is an act of God. When astrophysicists try to figure out the sequence of events by which a primordial cloud condensed into our solar system, they do not simply draw a big box between the hazy cloud and the well-formed planets and write inside it, `Here a miracle happened.' When meteorologists fail to predict the path of a hurricane, they do not claim that God's will pushed it off course (p. 333)." And finally 3) "Science cannot simply cede the unknown in nature to the divine. If it did, there would be no science at all. As University of Chicago geneticist Jerry Coyne puts it, `If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance `God'`(p. 333)."'
See other books by Carl Zimmer and Carl Zimmer's Web log.
See also Dinosaur in a Haystack.
External site: Creationist Lies and Blunders
Read good book reviews by readers on Amazon: 'In his defense of evolution, Zimmer points out that it is not simply a theory of biology that is at stake, but the scientific method itself. Some of my favorite quotes from Part 4 are: 1) "The scientific method does not claim that events can have only natural causes but that the only causes that we can understand scientifically are natural ones. As powerful as the scientific method may be, it must be mute about things beyond its scope. Supernatural forces are, by definition, above the laws of nature, and thus beyond the scope of science (p. 332)." And 2) "When microbiologists study an outbreak of resistant tuberculosis, they do not research the possibility that it is an act of God. When astrophysicists try to figure out the sequence of events by which a primordial cloud condensed into our solar system, they do not simply draw a big box between the hazy cloud and the well-formed planets and write inside it, `Here a miracle happened.' When meteorologists fail to predict the path of a hurricane, they do not claim that God's will pushed it off course (p. 333)." And finally 3) "Science cannot simply cede the unknown in nature to the divine. If it did, there would be no science at all. As University of Chicago geneticist Jerry Coyne puts it, `If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance `God'`(p. 333)."'
See other books by Carl Zimmer and Carl Zimmer's Web log.
See also Dinosaur in a Haystack.
External site: Creationist Lies and Blunders
This is an excellent book, which is very clear and readable, with a narrative flow of scientific discoveries. It's even exciting in spots.
Passed along to LotStreetWiz
Passed along to LotStreetWiz
It's back on the shelf in my office.
