Monkey Girl

I started a new book today called Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and The Battle For America's Soul. by Edward Humes.

On the jacket it says Told from the perspectives of all side of the battle, Monkey Girl is about what happens when science and religion collide.

I'm only on chapter three but the book is very interesting so far. I'm not all that familiar with the details of the recent wars over evolution in Dover, PA. This book takes you behind the scenes.

Some notable quotes from the book:

• "he (a religious member of the school board) fails to grasp that evolutionary theory is in no way claims that man descended from apes, but only that today's men and today's apes share a common ancestor in the distant, prehistoric past."
• "he would have explained what a hypothesis and a theory and peer review were all about; how careful observation and data collection can confirm a hypothesis sufficiently to make it a theory; and how a theory is not just a guess or speculation in the world of science, but a robust and tested explanation of natural phenomena."
• "Creationist leaders have read the same surveys as evolution proponents: poll after poll that shows belief in evolution rises with education level, while areas in the United States with the strongest commitment to creationism tend, as a whole, to have the lowest level of education. Decades of Gallop polls unwaveringly reveal a remarkable correlation between education and what Americans believe about origins.
• 65 percent of Americans who attended graduate school believe evolutionary theory is scientific and well supported by the evidence.
• 52 percent of those with bachelor's degrees accept evolution
• Only 20 percent of Americans with high school educations or less believe evolutionary theory is well supported by the facts."

good stuff so far~

Comments

You have been reading some interesting stuff. I am looking for books for my upcoming vacation, but THIS particular one doesn't really seem like hammock-reading fodder -- but maybe soon!

[TW]

Nice blog - if a little pink :-)

You've just been tagged with a blog meme: http://tinyurl.com/25ts73

Enjoy!

[evanescent]

Hi there! Not actually commenting on your blog, but I thought I'd let you know you've been tagged!

http://ellis14.wordpress.com/2007/06/27/my-eight-random-facts-wed-27th-jun07/

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