Books books books

The Antibiotic Paradox by Stuart B. Levy

I stumbled across this little gem last weekend.  I'm quite embarassed that it took this long for it to make its way onto my reading list.  It is an absolute must-read not only for those pharmacologically-inclined in academic nature but also for anyone who has found himself upping the dosage of the odd painkiller every now and then.  

The most interesting thing for me about this book is the notion of evolution on the microscopic scale.  It's something that creationists and intelligent design proponents (also creationists, just ill-disguised) laughably deny occurs.  Yet, the history of prescription antibiotics and their effects on the average patient reveal exactly the opposite.

However, make no mistake: the antibiotic paradox is one of the less amusing and more terrifying ironies in scientific research.  At the risk of courting sensationalism, I'll go as far as to say that it makes the likelihood of living out those cheesy Hollywood horror flicks about killer viruses that can. not. be. destroyed. because. they're. just. TOO. damn. powerful a very possible reality.  Of course, I am completely hyperbolising here... or am I? Read it and find out for yourself.

 

Eden by Tim Smit

I'm sure everyone reading this has heard of the 'Eden project.'  The book chronicles in great factual and emotional detail the genesis of this project, its development and its resulting triumphant production.  I've never visited the Eden domes because, well, they're in Cornwall... and well, it's Cornwall.  Nonetheless, the book has some amazing pictures which are in all honesty, a poor trade-off and I really should pay a visit to Cornwall sometime soon.  The Lost Gardens of Heligan were also restored by one of the creators of the Eden project (the author) and are of course, located in Cornwall.  So there we go.

The project is a noble and impressive conservationist effort on the surface but as the book reveals; the philosophy behind it is so much more.  The great thing about the book is that it is extremely well-written and has a lot of heart; something people forget scientists and engineers have.  I'm not going to detail what that is but some have called it eye-opening and life-affirming.  So, I don't know, I'd say pick it up because, well, who'd want to miss out on that?

Before you ask, I'm not being paid to endorse these books (but I wouldn't mind the extra money....?).  They are very good books that I've encountered over the last two weeks and completely worth a read.  If you enjoy the food for thought offered on this blog, you'll enjoy them.

There's nothing ethical about intelligent design

Simply put, the word 'evolution' means development. However, the word also provokes discussion in the religious, political, social and scientific field.

Personally, I'm more concerned with the scientific perspective regarding species evolution but I can respect the fact that this vantage point does not exist in a vaccuum.  Science, politics, society and religion are heavily entangled whether we like it or not.

The scientific form of evolution builds on Darwinian theory.  Despite the heuristic and informative value of what Darwin posited, there are still areas in even the developed world where the scientific evidence of what man originated from is as unbelievable to individuals living in the year 2010 as it was to the majority in the late 1880's.   The main instigator of this disbelief is, ironically, the belief in God and religious faith.  As a result, 'intelligent design' is regarded as an appropriate 'alternative theory' to teach children in schools.

Schools in the 'red states' of America are the most common examples of areas where 'intelligent design' is taught to be a legitimate theory that, as the Texan-based Foundation for Thought & Ethics puts it: "fills in the gaps of Darwin's theory."  Unsurprisingly, the FTE is a Christian organisation that specialises in providing schools with textbooks on, among other things: intelligent design, abstinence and Christian nationalism¹.  They infamously participated in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District court case back in 2005².  (The case is fantastically portrayed in Judgement Day: Intelligent Design On Trial - definately worth a watch!)

The case revolved around the small American town of Dover where the local high school's board members took issue with how the origin of life was taught in biology classes.  They insisted that their children should not be 'force-fed evolution as being the gospel' and it should be clearly outlined that 'Darwin's theory was just a theory - not proven fact.'  Shockingly enough, the school relented and the students were taught Darwinian theory along with intelligent design theory; with intelligent design being given a positive bias.  It was not long before parents began to realise that 'intelligent design' alluded to a creator and thus has deep religious connotations.  Intelligent design was creationism and the teachings of Genesis.  This led to a court battle which the parents (thankfully) won.

The first striking fact of this case is the fact that it took place in 2005.  Then again, it is perhaps naive to assume that all individuals living in the twenty-first century have progressed to the same stage or to assume that ignorance has been completely obliterated in our very seemingly advanced world.  Most likely, it's the optimist in me being shot down.

The other thing about this case is the ethical implications it raises. During a quick skim-read of the FTE's legal guidebook regarding intelligent design in the public school curriculum, one finds that the organisation "seeks to restore freedom of choice to young people in the classroom... [by] breaking the naturalistic monopoly over school curricula."³  Naturalistic of course is referring to the discipline of science.  Thus, the aim of the FTE is to, supposedly, prevent the corrupting influence of a discipline dripping with systematic knowledge gained through controlled observation and experimentation.


It is a fact that intelligent design is not a testable 'theory.' This means that children, the adults of tomorrow are being taught a falsehood that is legitimised by the blind faith of their parents and their communities.  Ethically, this is wrong. It is wrong to distort the facts regarding evolutionary theory.  It is also wrong to impose religious culture into the secular education system.  Funnily enough, it violates the First American Amendment for the freedom of religion too⁴.  America is a melting pot of nationalities and religious faiths.  Teaching a 'theory' based on the Christian book of Genesis would monopolise those of other faiths (which explains why the FTE is also a strong proponent of Christian nationalism too).

 Putting all of that aside, religion is a blind leap of faith.  Science is not perfect but by its very definition, science is digging out its own flaws and laying them bare for the world to see, investigate and hopefully fix.  Intelligent design is being taught as the gospel, as something that 'seems likely because there is proof here and there' but it is not something that can be proven.  So it is unethical morally and scientifically to teach intelligent design in public schools.  Nonetheless, it still happens even in lands as great as America and there are plenty of individuals out there wanting it to be taught in their schools too.


To put it in plain English: let's stick to facts in the classroom and leave the gigantic and elaborate leaps of faith for the churches, mosques and other places of religious worship.

Look who came crawling back...

For personal reasons, I deleted the old blog. 

The main reason was that I am a student and blogging was taking up too much of my already very limited time during the exam period.  As these things go, I want to write again but of course, I had completely deleted the blog in order to remove any temptation for me to post any updates. 

This means I'm starting anew.  Sadly the posts of yesteryear are gone but hopefully we can generate some of the interesting discussions and debates on current issues that we did on the previous blog. 

I look forward to your comments and to the influx of personal narcissism I'll be experiencing.