Product Description

Though the United States is the world leader in science and technology, many of its citizens display a shocking ignorance regarding basic scientific facts. Recent surveys have revealed that only about half of Americans realise that humans have never lived side by side with dinosaurs, and about the same number reject the idea that humans developed from earlier species of animals. This lack of knowledge in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence for evolution springs from a number of negative influences in contemporary society: poor secondary education in some regions of the country, misinformation in the mass media, and deliberate obfuscation by supporters of Creationism and Intelligent Design. In this concise, accessible, 'myth-buster's handbook', educators Cameron M. Smith and Charles Sullivan clearly dispel the ten most common myths about evolution, which continue to mislead average Americans. Using a refreshing, jargon-free style, they set the record straight on claims that evolution is 'just a theory', that Darwinian explanations of life undercut morality, that Intelligent Design is a legitimate alternative to conventional science, that humans come from chimpanzees, and six other popular but erroneous notions. Smith and Sullivan's reader-friendly, solidly researched text will serve as an important tool, both for teachers and laypersons seeking accurate information about evolution.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #239565 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .30" h x 5.30" w x 8.45" l, .52 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

Customer Reviews

Simply brilliant........
This book is written in ten chapters, each debunking a specific myth regarding evolution. The writing is particularly impressive for two reasons. First, it explains concisely and clearly the principles relating to each point, which is far from easy. Second, it does so without resorting to the patronising or insulting tone taken by some science writers toward religion.

How you would value this book rather depends on your point of view. If you already accept evolution, read this anyway as it will dramatically improve your understanding of the issues and equip you to refute the claims some people try to make regarding intelligent design etc. If you do not accept evolution - well - you might not want to read it, but please, please try it. You may be surprised.

Angry debate over demonstrable evolutionary principles vs religious creationism / intelligent design is nothing new, and one book cannot solve the problem. But this is a step in the right direction if it can reach the right audience. In summary: easily the best material on the subject I've seen.

Excellent and very readable intro to evolution
"Misconceptions" would be a better word in the title than "myths," but no matter. I give this very readable book five stars because of its educational value. Reading this book is an excellent introduction to the basis and the ideas of Darwinian evolution, as well as providing talking points to refute the specious argument of creationists and "intelligent designers."

The first misconception is in the common interpretation of the phrase "the survival of the fittest." The Darwinian jungle is indeed a jungle (and a savannah, an ocean, a river, a desert, etc.), but the key to survival--being "fit" and successfully reproducing--usually has a lot less to do with how sharp your claws or how great your physical strength. Rather it has to do with how well you can make a living in the environment you find yourself in. Fitness implies such things as a good immune system, the ability to co-operate with other living things, perhaps the ability to eat a wide variety of foods, or an abundant food that will not disappear, and so on. Being able to kick butt big time is probably not a good example of fitness.

Second misconception: "It's just a theory." Yes, and a tiger is just a cat. Or, would you believe that it is very remotely possible that the earth is not round. Or, yes it is possible that only I exist and I am just dreaming up all this stuff. Actually, evolution is as much of an established fact as any theory can be. A theory, by the way, as used by scientists, isn't just an unproven idea. It is "a logical, tested, well-supported explanation for a great variety of facts." The "theory" of evolution is supported by the fossil record and the analysis of the DNA of living organisms. It is demonstrated in our lifetimes by the adaptation of microorganism such as disease bacteria. And perhaps even more importantly, its three main processes of replication, variation, and selection, remain the basis of biological understanding in a host of sciences from medicine to ecology.

Third: There is a ladder of progress (the "great chain of being") from the most primitive to the most advanced organisms (from microbes to us!). Actually the idea of progress is purely an anthropomorphic one; and the idea that evolution has some goal, ditto. Evolution is eternally a phenomenon of the here and now without any concern for the future. True, organisms have become more complex, but that is only because they couldn't have gone in the other direction! A random walk away from a wall will show, as time passes, footsteps at a greater and greater distance from the wall.

Fourth: there is a missing link that is missing. There are intermediate forms that have been discovered; and more will be discovered in the future. The fossil record is necessarily limited since very, very few of the organisms that have ever existed are fossilized. Furthermore, the transformation from one species to the other is not from one fixed type to another but from the observation of a living thing at one moment in time to the observation of another very similar living thing at another moment in time.

Fifth: Evolution is random. Mutations are random, but changes in species are anything but random. The changes are sculptured by the environment.

Sixth: People come from monkeys. We had a common ancestor with chimpanzees some six million years ago, and millions of years before that we and modern monkeys had a common ancestor. Actually if you go back far enough we are descended from pond scum. And so what if we were descended from monkeys? Some people seem to think that our close relationship with other animals is somehow demeaning. Silly.

Seventh: Nature is in perfect balance. Truth is nature is in constant flux. Balance is in the eyes of the beholder. The earth's ecological balance is an ever changing, temporary thing. At one time the "balance" was characterized by most of life finding oxygen poisonous. At another time the balance was a "snowball" earth. Who knows what the future balance will be?

Eighth: Creationism disproves evolution. Creationism is really just a kind of fairy tale, a mythology that appeals to the need of some people to feel close to their idea of God. It's a way of giving a spurious meaning to life.

Ninth: Intelligent Design is science. Actually that would be unintelligent design, and it is not science at all. Instead, ID is creationism in a tux, as some wag put it. The key misconception of ID is that we or any organism was designed. Organisms grow; they evolve. If they were designed by an intelligent designer, one imagines that they would not have as many flaws. ID is a political movement that attempts to acquire the power and prestige of science. It's a yearning for the authoritarian rule of the Dark Ages.

Ten: Evolution is immoral. Evolution is of course amoral or non-moral. What is, is from a moralistic point of view, not necessarily what ought to be. Is does not imply ought. Morality is a human idea. By the way, people who understand evolution are just as moral, or even more so, than the followers of e.g., Jerry Falwell, James Dobson and George W. Bush.

Myth thith at your peril
An excellent demolition of popular fallacies surrounding evolution, explained in understandable terms, some technical terms being explained for the benefit of we laymen. In fact, it has helped me to understand some of the terms used in other books by eg Dawkins.
Thoroughly recommended.