Tuesday, April 12, 2011

I'm kind of want to read this book.

Yes, this is another post about science, not technology. Oh well. Being someone who studies anthropology and biology, I'm obviously interested in evolution. Actually, I'm extremely interested in evolution. I'm also extremely interested in the evolution-creationism debate that's still going on in high schools across the country. When I read about arguments that are posed by creationists to disprove evolution I find myself getting very, very angry. It's clear that evolution education in many parts of this country is lacking. People simply don't understand how it works, even though it's a painfully simple process. That being said, I encourage everyone to better educate themselves before making outlandish claims.

As I'm sure you can imagine, I'm also a fan of anyone out there who tries to make the concept of evolution easier for people to understand. It's a basic principle in biology, but also one of the most important. The book "Written in Bone" by Brian Switek is a new book that explains the evolution of evolution. It goes through the entire history of evolutionary thought, including all the things they got right and all the things they got wrong.

I think this is an excellent way to present the theory of evolution to those who know little about it. Some arguments that arise from creationists are ones that science as already rejected, it's just that nobody keeps up the scientific world enough to realize it. By presenting the entire history of the theory, Switek shows people all of the things science got wrong, but then shows what it did to correct itself. And that's what science is all about. Seeking new knowledge. I hope there are people out there who read books like these and educate themselves. Understand how science and evolution work. By educating ourselves we can educate others.

Here's the link to the review of Switek's new book: http://www.boingboing.net/2011/04/12/read-this-written-in.html

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