1. Scientists and their hecklers; 2. Evolution basics; 3. The parallel tracks of mathematical reasoning; 4. The legacy of the Wistar Conference; 5. Probability theory; 6. Information and combinatorial search; 7. Thermodynamics; 8. Epilogue.
This book refutes anti-scientific, superficially mathematical arguments used to support anti-evolutionism in language accessible for both lay and professional audiences.
Jason Rosenhouse is a professor of mathematics at James Madison University. He is the author or editor of eight previous books, including Among the Creationists: Dispatches from the Anti-Evolutionist Front Line (Oxford University Press, 2012).
'If you want to convince an audience of a falsehood, an excellent
strategy is to bamboozle them with mathematical jargon that they
don't understand. If your incomprehensible equations seem to prove
what the audience wants to believe anyway, you'll earn a standing
ovation. This has been a favourite tactic of anti-evolutionists.
Jason Rosenhouse is a good mathematician but, unlike many
mathematicians, he is superbly gifted in the art of translating
mathematical arguments into words. He mercilessly exposes
creationist abuses of mathematics, using language that
non-mathematicians can pleasurably follow. As a bonus along the
way, he is an excellent mathematics teacher, patiently explaining
each point before revealing the abuse of it. I especially
appreciated his deft use of analogies. He is thoroughly well read
in the bogus literature of creationism and 'intelligent design,' as
well as in the biological literature. We have here a superb book,
lucid, knowledgeable, wise, and very necessary.' Richard Dawkins
FRS, Emeritus Professor of the Public Understanding of Science,
University of Oxford
'A little mathematics can be a dangerous thing when it is used as a
rhetorical weapon in a political and religious battle. In this
incisive and crystal clear book, Jason Rosenhouse shows that the
arguments of mathy creationists are like the proverbial spherical
cow and unflightworthy bumblebee: sophistical, wrongheaded, and out
of touch with biological reality.' Steven Pinker, Johnstone
Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of How
the Mind Works and Rationality.
'Creationists beware! Jason Rosenhouse is here to debunk your
perversions of probability theory, your tortured thermodynamics,
and your insults to information theory. And the rest of us will
learn a lot about evolution, mathematics, and their interrelations
from the expert guidance offered in The Failures of Mathematical
Anti-Evolutionism.' Glenn Branch, Deputy Director, National
Center for Science Education
'Written by a mathematician who has paid close attention to
mathematical arguments against evolution, this is a beautifully
written and careful refutation of those arguments. Jason Rosenhouse
covers arguments based on improbability, information, and
thermodynamics, and he does so with clear explanations that will be
accessible to anyone who takes science seriously. A wonderful
achievement.' Joe Felsenstein, University of Washington
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