The Greatest Show On Earth

butterbattle
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The Greatest Show On Earth

Hey all! I just finished my signed copy of Richard Dawkin's new book, The Greatest Show On Earth, which outlines the evidence for the theory of evolution. And uuuhh, it was actually pretty good. The two main reasons I didn't like The God Delusion very much were because the clarity and quality of Dawkin's writing simply plummeted whenever he discussed anything other than biology, and, although I appreciated what he was trying to do, I wish he had been more informative, i.e. spent more time explaining the issues instead of engaging in ideological brawls. With this new book, I can't make either complaint since the entire text is Dawkin's forte and extremely informative.

Of course, if you're knowledgeable about evolution, this book will tell you little that you didn't already know. Plus, there are undoubtedly books out there that cover far more of the evidence and in far greater detail than Dawkins did. However, as usual, Dawkin's book is an easy and pleasant, yet intelligent, read, which makes it ideal for introducing open-minded individuals to the topic. As Dawkins writes, "Evolution is a fact, and this book will demonstrate it. No reputable scientist disputes it, and no unbiased reader will close the book doubting it."

Hence, if you've ever pondered the questions, "Why do I exist?" or "Where are all the transitional forms?," consider checking out this book.

 

Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare


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 Sounds good. I have his

 Sounds good. I have his Climbing Mount Improbable, however I never finished it. Although it was very interesting, it was too dry and technical for a layman such as my self. I'd like to give this new book I try,whenever it reaches our shores.

Evolution is still a very weak spot for me. I fully accept it, but I've had so little education in it I probably wouldn't do very well debating a theist. I loved the God Delusion, in fact if I had to recommend one book to anyone it would be that. In your opinion is The Greatest Show On Earth better for a layman that say Climbing Mount Improbable?

Psalm 14:1 "the fool hath said in his heart there is a God"-From a 1763 misprinted edition of the bible

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This is getting redudnant. My patience with the unteachable[atheists] is limited.

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Yah, I finished it a week or

Yah, I finished it a week or so ago myself. Not an autographed copy though.

 

Even for those who already know a fair amount of the material, it is nice to have it put together as a package. And even if you do know most of it already, you might just find that there are a few bits that you managed to miss. Heck, he even goes into a few bits of material that were just hitting the academic world when he was writing the book (tiktaalik comes to mind).

 

I would have possibly preferred it if he had spent a bit more time on the section where he establishes dating methods. For example, he goes from tree rings right into radioactive dating. Had he also written a few pages on the role of varves in the formation of sedimentary rocks, that would have helped with the matter of dating fossils by stratigraphy.

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