Customer Reviews

Astrobiology, the Origin of Life, and the Death of Darwinism (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

As an evolutionary biologist I was interested to read this book to see if it had any true merits. Now that I have I see that it is a work of wonderful science fiction, not science. It is quite apparent that the author has no formal training in evolutionary biology. Much of the book is interesting and HIGHLY speculative, it provides little evidence for its wild claims. In real science extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence but the author provides no convincing evidence for his claims. Also, even if life did arrive here instead of the accepted method (which DOES have much evidence supporting it) it still does not refute Darwinian evolution. Darwinian evolution is the ONLY mechanisms currently proposed which results in adaptation, the mere idea that individuals come to resemble alien life forms because their DNA is silent and "remembers" these forms is pure fantasy. If this is the case how could there be adaptation on a foreign planet, and for that case how did these little "seeds" come to be created in the first place? I could continue ripping this book apart but I've more important things to do. I am very interested in astrobiology but as a scientist I realize that mere speculation is not science, no matter how enticing the theories may be. Very good read if you're looking for science fiction, but don't bother if you know anything about evolutionary biology.

Do we live in a natural universe or not? If DNA evolved naturally SOMEWHERE, then it COULD have evolved on Earth, and the biochemical search for an existence proof will eventually be found by our own scientists. This won't necessarily disprove the old idea of panspermia (of which this book is just a vainglorious rehash), but Occam's Razor might convince some that the postulate is redundant and unnecessary. There certainly is no evidence that DNA is transmitted among the planets of the universe, and until that evidence is found, it makes a lot more sense to postulate that the origin of life is something that probably happens all the time throughout the universe, and quite readily, all within the universal laws of nature, given a suitably benign environment, of which there are undoubtedly millions per galaxy, "Rare Earth" notwithstanding (another book full of non-sequiturs). This book is good entertainment for the scientifically illiterate and for those who wish to remain so. It is nothing more than that.

OK,I'm biased. I am familiar with this author's previous work; he pioneered research in neuroplasticity back in the 1970s, was the first to demonstrate neuroplasticity and recovery of function in the primate brain (again back in the 1970s), and pioneered research on the sexual differentiation of the brain (again, back in the 1970s); repeatedly making discoveries that repeatedly overturned established scientific dogma. I have also read and reread his classic neuroscience text. So, I'm biased. But this is truly a fantastic, ground breaking book--which is exactly what you would expect of a man with his background. It is also more than that. It is revolutionary. Joseph details the prevailing theories as to the origin and evolution of life, explains their strengths and weaknesses, and then presents well researched viable alternatives to the mainstream view. What is the origin of life? He tells us: The earth is an island and life has washed ashore. The universe is probably crawling with life. How did life evolve? He tells us: In a predictable,step-wise molecular clock-like fashion and in accordance with the genetic engineering of the environment, and presents the genetic and astrobiological evidence to support his conclusions. This book differs from all others on this topic in that the author is actually a pioneering evolutionary and developmental neurobiologist, he presents the only viable alternative to the mainstream scientific view (instead of simply echoing that view as is standard practice in all other books on the topic), and, more importantly, I would guess that in about 10 years most scientists will not only completely embrace Dr. Joseph's conclusions, but they will wonder how anyone could have ever thought otherwise. Read this book and you too will be years ahead of your time. Read this book, and feel enlightened. Read this book and you will feel like a genius.

I found this book very disappointing. It didn't explain anything. First of all, the book has nothing to do with astrobiology. The entire book deals with the author's idea of "evolutionary metamorphosis." Second, the origin of life. The author makes no attempt to explain where life came from at all. All he says is that it didn't come from Earth. To anyone in my field, that's obvious. The window on the origin of life keeps getting smaller and smaller. It could only have come from another place. I believe it is entirely plausible that the seeds for life could have come from somewhere else. But to claim that full fledged DNA came from another place? Interesting idea, but where is the proof? No one finds DNA molecules floating around in deep space (at least not yet). If they did indeed come from another planet, where did that DNA come from? It had to have come from somewhere. The author makes no attempt to explain the origin of life, but in fact "disproves" every meathod to form DNA. This can only suggest divine intervention and intelligent design. And finally, the death of Darwinism. The author contributes nothing to the death of Darwinism, but will help it grow stronger with his half-truths and misrepresentations of current theories. A more appropriate title would have been "Evolutionary Metamorphosis, The Origin of Life (on Earth), and an Attempt to Undermine Darwinism." The guy's got some interesting ideas but his methodology leaves much to be desired.

Panspermia, the hypothesis that life did not originate on Earth but Elsewhere, needs to be given serious consideration by the scientific establishment. This book is a huge step in the wrong direction.

In the introduction Joseph throws out evolution. In the first chapter he throws out the Big Bang, General Relativity, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Yes, at least some of our current ideas are probably wrong, but you need something more to throw out the Second Law of Thermodynamics than that it conflicts with your pet Steady State hypothesis.

On top of that, this reads like a rough draft, with punctuation errors and mis-numbered diagrams that a halfway competent editor would have caught on the first read through.

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!

I admit, I quit reading when the author, in the first chapter argued that "light can travel faster than the speed of light." Then two months later it was announced in the journal "Nature" that "light can travel faster than the speed of light." Obviously, the author of "Astrobiology..." knew something the rest of us didn't, and I decided to finish his book, the central theses of which, I believe, can be summarized as follows: 1) The first creatures on earth (and their DNA), came from other planets, 2) DNA acts on and modifies the environment, 3) the modified environment acts on gene selection to activate "silent" genes and "silent" genetic traits which exist apriori. Since the author first made these proposals (in 1997), numerous studies have confirmed the existence of silent genes which contain silent traits which exist apriori and which are activated by changes in the environment. Over 90% of the human genome is silent, 4) As these "silent" genes/traits are inherited and were passed down from ancestral species, then these genes and traits must have inherited from creatures that "evolved" on other planets. 5) Genetic evidence indicates that evolution has progressed in a highly predictable "molecular clock-like" fashion. 6) Conclusion: DNA acts to modify the environment to engineer its own evolution and the activation of traits and genes which exist apriori; i.e. "evolutionary metamorphosis." If Joseph's theory is correct, then he is the greatest thinker of all time--which also makes him the most dangerous man of all time, at least from the perspective of the scientific establishment.

As mentioned in a previous review, I most definately feel like a genius . . . compared to the author. He is obviously poorly versed in the field of physics, as demonstrated by his faulty use of physical theories, such as relativity and the big bang. He claims that universe is eternal, yet he fails to realize that the proton will decay in 10^32 years . . . if the universe was indeed eternal, then we would all be a seething stew of decaying subatomic particles. This immediately undermines his entire line of thinking, since obviously life does not have an indefinate amout of time to develop and spread across the universe. He also misunderstands the theory of relativity and redshift and dismisses years of research because of one flawed idea. The most laughable part of his book was the second chapter, which claims that aliens came down and manufactured human beings as servents. Aliens? Flying saucers? Advanced genetic engineering techniques manifested in ancient Sumerian drawings? Give me a break! If you want to read something like this read the Area 51 series by Robert Doherty (I highly recommend this series if you believe that aliens guide the course of human history. It's an excellent work of fiction that I truly enjoyed!). Aside from the many mispellings and mislabeled diagrams, I find many of his arguments flawed and circular. He claims that an RNA-based world is impossible because of circular reasoning. Yet he himself uses it to show that DNA can only come from another planet. He cliams DNA begets DNA and since that DNA did not come from Earth, it must have come from another planet. OK, that sounds reasonable. But then where that DNA on that planet come from? From another planet before that? And yet another planet before that? He never states how DNA originated or where it originated, he simply says it did not come from here. I have read other reviewers claiming that he is a genius, a power to be reckoned with, the biggest voice of reason of the past 1,000 years. If so, then why have I never heard of him before? Why do people dismiss him so easily? I'll tell you why. It is because his entire theory of this so-called "evolutionary metamorphosis" is based on half-truths that he demands the reader to believe as fact. I would strongly discourage anyone from reading this book if they are looking for anything factual. When I started reading this book, I kept an open mind, thinking that this would be worth my time and that I might learn something. By the time I finished the first chapter, I had serious doubts about the credibility of the author. By the end of the second chapter, I was laughing hysterically. Read it if you want to be inspired to write some good science fiction novels . . . I certainly was. But don't read it for fact or to get the lowdown on the most revolutionary scientific advances of today. Anyone who does so is ignorant. This book is nothing more than thinly veiled propaganda for creationism supported by faulty "facts" and half-truths twisted around to fit the point. DNA coming from another planet going back to "long ago" and no claims as to where it originated? Sounds like divine intervention to me! He claims that he is not a creationist. I beg to differ. This guy should stick to neuropsychology, because he knows next to nothing about physics, astronomy, astrobiology, and evolutionary biology. Reading this book was an insult to my intelligence. It would have made an excellent work of fiction, had it been more interesting and soundly based in real science.

Joseph is obviously a keen follower of the work of Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe because this book is just a recycling of H&C's ideas on panspermia. These ideas are pretty interesting but unfortunately they've been around for at least 25 years! Hoyle has always been at odds with the mainstream and is a true revolutionary or, at least, reactionary. What's more, much of his work on organic stuff in space and world-to-world seeding - once thought so fantastic - are now seeping into orthodox exobiology. Joseph would have been better off acknowledging where he got his ideas from up front, and then presenting some of his own views as an add-on.

The theories presented in this book are not only baseless and poorly presented, but also a tragic step in the wrong direction for the infant science of Astrobiology. The author should clearly have stuck to neuro-science, because his lack of understanding in the fields of biology, Archaeology and espescially Astronomy are overwhelming and frustrating throughout the book. I say this book is a step in the wrong direction because it might mislead people seeking to gain real knowledge about the subject into false and ridiculous ideas. In addition, Joseph comes off as more biased and defensive than even the Rare Earth scientists do. This book is not a total waste of money as there are many ideas within it that are at least worth debating. Yet, I would not recomend it as an introductory work to the field, rather I would recomend it as food for thought to an educated reader. Joseph must refrain from his one sided arguments, UFO stories, and seemingly emotional outbursts if he wants to be taken seriously by scientists.

I was asked by a colleague to review this book by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D. Dr. Joseph has done some amazing work in his life- but this book is not an example. From the very start, Dr. Joseph disregards proven and testable scientific hypothesis, especially Natural selection, and instead promotes his, as of yet unproven idea, that the cosmos is filled with- not just the basic building blocks of life- but actual life itself. As a Neurobiologist, albeit a brilliant one, Dr. Joseph may indeed have some insights to astrobiology - but he seems to show little understanding, much less toleration, of the basic laws of physics which are replete throughout the universe. If one did not know better, they might think they were reading work by people the likes of Stichin or perhaps even Velikovsky. This book is an excellent example, as is the book by Velikovsky titled Worlds in Collision, of what can happen when people, regardless of their brilliance, attempt to prove their beliefs in a scientific stage on which they are untrained. Although his work and writing on Mind-Brain topics are brilliant, this book, at least in my opinion, is nothing more than a thinly viewed attempt at creationism targeted for the scientifically illiterate. Still I rate this book a 4 out of 5 because Dr. Joseph makes the reader stop- just long enough to ask themselves what do they really know? Perhaps that was his intention.

Dr. W. Sumner Davis

Author of Miracles, Just Smoke & Mirrors, and HERETICS