Customer Reviews

The Facts of Life: Shattering the Myth of Darwinism

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At last, there is a readable account which looks at the reality of the facts underpinning Darwinism. This book is written by a non-Christian, non-Creationist science writer concerned that scientists have forgotten the philosophical basis of their art and made a theory an article of faith. Unfortunately, in failing to recognize the potential weaknesses of evolutionary theory, biologists are closing the door to new knowledge. (If classical physics had had such a fanatical following, would Einstein have come to prominence?) If you would like another reason to read this book, take one from Richard Dawkins of Oxford University: His review of "The Facts of Life" printed at the beginning of the book convinced me that it was worth reading. He resorted to ridicule and personal attack, but never (in a reasonably lengthy article) did he begin to refute the actual evidence reported in the book. If an eminent practitioner cannot use the tools of his trade to support the basis of his convictions it certainly raises questions about their quality. If you are an interested scientist or layman disturbed by evolutionary blind faith - read this book.

I think that it should be a requirement to actually READ the book that your review is about, not just to parrot what the neo-Darwinist faith tells you that you must say about a book.

Because this book is aimed at disputing much of what is treated as fact by neo-Darwinists despite their not actually haven proven any of it, I can see why it would get its share of criticism. But to describe this book as being written for the average layperson when parts of it are so technical that I had to struggle to grasp what was being said (this being said by a woman who qualifies for Mensa membership)... This is clearly written by someone who has not read the book.

The basic premise of the book is that much of what is being taught to our children regarding the origins of life and how species develop is simply untrue. As a recent college student, I can verify that this is still what is being taught, even though biologists and others have reason to doubt that it is, in fact, accurate information. As Richard Milton observes, Darwinism/neo-Darwinism is as much a matter of faith as Christianity or Buddhism. It has not been conclusively proven thus far, but scientists are treating it as truth and no longer searching for answers.

He attacks neo-Darwinism on the basis that its proponents either ignore the evidence that doesn't fit or go to extraordinary lengths to *make* it fit. He seems to believe that science is suffering for having decided that Darwin was completely correct and, instead of evaluating new evidence as it comes to light, eschewing those who have any evidence that we might not have the total answer just yet. If you don't subscribe to the Darwinist faith, that seems to disqualify any credibility you might have on the subject of science. Milton thinks that is leading science to overlook important evidence that might one day point us toward the truth.

Milton is not a creationist. "I am not a creationist and do not hold an religious convictions. I can find no scientific or logical reason to believe or disbelieve in a creator and I remain open-minded on the question" (p 233). He lists his reason for writing the book as being "to sound a cautionary note about the extent to which ideological Darwinism has replaces scientific Darwinism in our educational system. My message is that the world is full of people who want you to believe in their 'ism'--Darwinism, Marxism, Freudianism, and the rest. Don't accept anything they say unless they can substantiate it with scientific evidence, however persuasive their arguments" (p 235-6).

Personally I found the book, "Shattering the Myths of Darwinism" by Richard Milton to be extremely refreshing, profound, enlightening, totally honest, free of emotion and cuts through dogmatism of both polarized positions (neo Darwinists and so called "Scientific Creationists") I found Richard Milton's book to be very honest and intelligent without the vilification and arrogance often found by some credentialed authors. The honest enquirer looking for truth loses out by not reading this book.

This is the kind of thing that gives ignorance a bad name.

"Methods of lava-dating are hopelessly inaccurate (sometimes by as much as 2.9 billion years)". That says it all. He is using the well-known fact that lava contains XENOLITHS (enclosed chunks of foreign material - xenos means foreign) which date differently from the lava, as indeed they should, to pretend that radiometric dating is inaccurate. Clearly, he doesn't know the first thing about his subject matter. (And where do the right dates come from, that he uses to claim there are wrong dates?)

For more on radiometric dating and how we know that Milton's talking total tripe, from an unimpeachable evangelical scientific source, google "Radiometric dating a Christian perspective"

And he then goes on to complain, as a taxpayer, that scientists won't give him the answer he wants! Well I'm afraid that when it comes to getting answers from science, what you want is neither here nor there, and it is dangerous to try to make it otherwise.

Directed at the non-science-literate, The Facts of Life does nothing more than parrot tired old creationist saws that were debunked decades ago. Much of the book contains gross factual errors that are easy to check with only a moderate background in science and the rest is little more than a rehash of claims that range from patently false to simply ignorant. Much of the book is based on information that was superceded long before the book was written, suggesting that Milton's own research is shallow at best. A true embarrassment that isn't even as interesting a read as other creationist books like Behe's Darwin's Black Box or the rants of Phillip Johnson, The Facts of Life is a guaranteed candidate for the remainder table and a complete waste of time for anyone who wants to know the facts of the issue.