Origins: Examining the Evidence
Geoff Barnard, Andy McIntosh & Steve Taylor
Truth in Science, 164 pages, £15.00, ISBN: 978-0956963109
www.truthinscience.org.uk
This book presents a critical approach to evolution theory by considering the scientific evidence challenging the widely accepted paradigm. The authors are all distinguished academics in disciplines that give them collectively the authority to critique current theories of evolution.
It is a book that will enrage Darwinists, because it adopts an evidence-based approach to testing and falsifying ideas that are widely declared to be fact. All the textbook evidences for evolution are scrutinised to show that the conclusions drawn from these evidences go far beyond that warranted by data.
Readers will find informative and challenging sections on: the RNA world; the origin of biological information; the genome and the myth of junk DNA; the fossil record and whether it supplies evidence for the ‘tree of life’ concept; the significance of the ‘Cambrian explosion’; the origin of birds, mammals and mankind.
In their summary, the authors write: ‘[We] have argued that the Darwinian story is not only incredible, it is also an inadequate framework for biological research, for scientific understanding and for teaching new generations of scientists, humanitarians, artists — in short, this paradigm is a world view that sells students short as real human beings’.
Origins is designed to help students develop critical thinking skills and it has achieved this admirably. It will be extremely useful for students studying these issues and should be widely read by all who are interested in what science can contribute to our understanding of origins.
David Tyler
Manchester
