jrsteven’s Recent Comments

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  Quammen reads well in Grist, but I wonder

  how he would do in front of a conservative school board debating evolution and intelligent design? He acknowledged his own vulnerability in his last answer - that a wide swath of America will say "screw you!" to an assembly of experts, no matter what the topic. Supporting evolution in a political fray is a tough fight on the wrong battlefield.

  I grew up in a small Ohio town that tried to put intelligent design into my biology classroom. It was theater, mostly. The ID supporters, including a few school board members, had their talking points from national organizations, and we had ours from groups like the NAS and the ACLU.

  But reducing evolution to a political argument, or a debate in front of the public, gives away too much to the ID side. Something as complex as evolution is not easily debated on Tuesday evenings in the high school library. That's why the Dover, PA case from last year was so good - it managed the debate with court-room rules.

  I'm glad Quammen wrote this book because it acknowledges how difficult it can be for some people to accept evolution--including Darwin. Although he might not fare well in front of my old school board, Quammen's books and articles are doing a lot to reach the vast middle of this debate. His NatGeo yellowbook article from November 2004 ("Was Darwin Wrong?") was terrific, and the cover couldn't be beat. I just wish he still wrote more for magazines (or should I say   - the magazine I work for - Backpacker).On David Quammen chats about evolution, science, religion, and his new book posted 3 years ago 38 Responses