Monday, June 18, 2007
Has Beens
The misleading movie or book blurb is famous by now. Take this for example:
Take DaveScot (please) over at William Dembski's Uncommon Descent blog:
Here's what he blurbs from Michael Ruse's review of Michael Behe's Edge of Evolution: "IDT has been remarkably successful. George W. Bush is one among many who have stated flatly that it should be taught in schools alongside evolutionary biology. Although it is illegal to do so - another court case in Dover, Penn., in 2005 ruled that it, too, violates the separation of church and state - estimates are that at least 20 per cent of American schools already teach it. One suspects that it is not entirely unknown in biology classes north of the border, either."
But it seems "has been" are the operative words. Here's what dear, dear Dave left out: "I am afraid, though, that The Edge of Evolution is a bit of a sad sack. Nothing very much new, old arguments repeated, opposition ignored or dismissed without argument. What does surprise me is how emphatic Behe now is in putting a distance between himself and the older Creationists... "
And, "... with so many important issues waiting for attention in our society, I am just a bit depressed that anyone would think that something like IDT is worth pushing or that it gains so much attention others have to spend time refuting it."
Here's a link to Ruse's review.
The blurb: "Benjamin Kunkel has succeeded in crafting a voice of singular originality."The misleading blurb is a skill, one of the few perhaps, to which ID activists with their penchant for quote mining are uniquely suited.
The review by Gilbert Cruz in Entertainment Weekly: "Benjamin Kunkel has succeeded in crafting a voice of singular originality — one that you want to punch in the mouth."
Take DaveScot (please) over at William Dembski's Uncommon Descent blog:
Here's what he blurbs from Michael Ruse's review of Michael Behe's Edge of Evolution: "IDT has been remarkably successful. George W. Bush is one among many who have stated flatly that it should be taught in schools alongside evolutionary biology. Although it is illegal to do so - another court case in Dover, Penn., in 2005 ruled that it, too, violates the separation of church and state - estimates are that at least 20 per cent of American schools already teach it. One suspects that it is not entirely unknown in biology classes north of the border, either."
But it seems "has been" are the operative words. Here's what dear, dear Dave left out: "I am afraid, though, that The Edge of Evolution is a bit of a sad sack. Nothing very much new, old arguments repeated, opposition ignored or dismissed without argument. What does surprise me is how emphatic Behe now is in putting a distance between himself and the older Creationists... "
And, "... with so many important issues waiting for attention in our society, I am just a bit depressed that anyone would think that something like IDT is worth pushing or that it gains so much attention others have to spend time refuting it."
Here's a link to Ruse's review.
