In a review, one reviewer has decided to talk about what Michael Behe actually says in Darwin Devolves. For example,
In a section called “The Blind Metaphor,” Behe notes:
“The primary way by which natural selection makes evolution self-limiting is by promoting poison-pill mutations. Whatever genetic alterations that help an organism survive and reproduce better than its competitors will be fodder for natural selection—even if the alterations make a species less able to adapt in the future (200).
In hindsight, that is what we should have expected. Despite the boost in plausibility it receives from its metaphorical name, over multiple rounds natural selection is clearly nothing like the opposite of chance, no more than, say, gravity is the opposite of chance. Both of those phenomena are certainly directional, but only for one step …
The same for natural selection. It will favor the increase in the number of organisms that do better in their environment for any reason, regardless of the basis for the variation (203).”
The upshot of all this is that changes requiring specific multiple mutations are badly out-performed by simple, destructive mutations that increase viability. Robert C. Newman, “A Book Review” at Books at a Glance
Readers will find the review helpful before plunging into the book, available February 26:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) February 19, 2019 EST
- #1 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Theology > Creationism
- #1 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Biology > Developmental Biology
- #4 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Science & Religion
See also: Michael Behe responds to the hit pre-publication review at Science
Some thoughts on the hatchet review of Behe’s Darwin Devolves in Science
Science Mag’s hit on Michael Behe’s Darwin Devolves avoids his main point In these times, are you better off knowing the problems or innocently citing approved sources of misinformation as your reason for making decisions? You decide.
All together now, Dissenters: Happy Birthday, Darwin! Folks, it’s Darwin Day, when we are told by Darwinians to celebrate “intellectual bravery.” Very well, here is some: Dissent from Darwinism, the vid.
and
Devolution: Getting back to the simple life
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