Darwin's Ghost
I'm once again trying to read Darwin's Ghost.
God! Somebody shoot me!
I haven't read anything this dry since the begats in I Kings. (Wait for it. There! Now you get it!)
I'm almost to the point that I would rather be a creationist than have to read any more of this book.
Somebody help me! Isn't there a, how shall I say it, more enjoyable (dare I say, "entertaining") way to learn about evolution? When I can actually focus on what the particular chapter I'm reading is about, I get it.
But getting there...ARRRGGGG!
God! Somebody shoot me!
I haven't read anything this dry since the begats in I Kings. (Wait for it. There! Now you get it!)
I'm almost to the point that I would rather be a creationist than have to read any more of this book.
Somebody help me! Isn't there a, how shall I say it, more enjoyable (dare I say, "entertaining") way to learn about evolution? When I can actually focus on what the particular chapter I'm reading is about, I get it.
But getting there...ARRRGGGG!
7 Comments
http://deconversion.org/forum/topic/49
Origin of Species turns out to be a pretty good read, as well. Darwin did not have the advantage of all the dating and DNA and thorough observation that we have, yet he managed to work out the right answer anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHoxZF3ZgTo
I think he's fascinated by the universe and frustrated by people who don't get it, or people who make scientific claims that are not backed by any science. Once you realize all the cool stuff in his brain, you understand why. I didn't like his tone in one of the books I read. But you know, nobody's perfect. He has a lot to offer. Judging people is pretty pointless, whether it's him judging you OR you judging him. Just see if he has anything useful to offer to your life. If not, move on!
I did hear a couple of sarcastic/snide remarks directed at creationists, but nothing offensive enough to me to keep me from watching/reading what he has to say.
So, what do you guys recommend for my first Dawkins read? The Greatest Show on Earth? The Selfish Gene? Something else? I'm a damp sponge here, ready to soak up some knowledge!
As for Dawkin's anger at creationists, I can certainly understand it. Imagine if you had spent your whole life studying a topic or learning a craft only to be told by people who have never studied your topic or learned your craft that you do not know anything about it, that they are the only ones who do, and furthermore they are out to do whatever they can to prevent you from pursuing your passion, including spreading falsehoods about what it is you do or think. I think that you would not be patient with these people indeed!
I am the daughter of a high school biology teacher, and I can vouch for the amount of deliberately encouraged ignorance out there. It is one thing to say, I disagree with your interpretation of the evidence; it is another to not even know what the evidence is or says. For example, the idea that evolution teaches that humans are descended from apes. So many people say that, when it is not true. Humans and apes have a common ancestor; one is not descended from another. There is a difference. My father would get so frustrated at people's inability or unwillingness to recognize that difference; you did not have to accept evolution to pass his class, but you did have to be able to give an accurate account of what the theory was all about. And this is why Dawkins and others are so angry at creationists, because they either do not know what the theory of evolution says, or they do know and choose to pass on falsehoods like "evolution says we are descended from monkeys." In The Greatest Show on Earth, Dawkins makes a very good comparison with modern Holocaust-deniers.
What is going to happen, what is already happening, is that the United States will fall further and further behind in the sciences, and in this increasingly high-tech world its citizens will find themselves at a great disadvantage when it comes to the labor market. A couple of years ago my employer announced that it was planning to add several thousand new jobs over the next several years. Immediately people who knew where I worked began bombarding me about getting in there. Now here is the sad part. Yes, the economic slowdown put a lot of that on hold; but even so, NONE of the people who came to me asking about jobs were even remotely qualified for those jobs. Most of those jobs required a science degree, BS or higher, and that was for entry level. If your academic skills are just enough to allow you to barely graduate from the watered-down version that passes for a high school education these days, I am very very sorry, but none of those promised jobs are for you. You would not believe the anger and resentment I heard from people who applied, were turned down, and then found out some "foreigner" got the desired position instead.
The bottom line is, that while people may be upset with the way science writers like Dawkins come across, I would be much more concerned if he and others stopped being so "abrasive". Because that means that they no longer care about what is happening and they are willing to watch Western civilization slide back into the dark ages.
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