Endorsed by William Dembski, Ph.D., the scientist at the forefront of the intelligent-design movement.
Darwin might have thought twice about publishing his theories if he had had access to today's medical and microbiological discoveries. Drawing on years of research, Dr. Simmons demonstrates that the almost infinite complexity of the human anatomy simply could not have developed by chance. For example:
the body runs on "battery power"...from the hundreds of mitochondria in each cell
the two sexes--evolutionary theory cannot explain why they exist
every cell is its own pharmacist, chemist, and metallurgist
Accessible, clearly presented, and utterly fascinating, What Darwin Didn't Know shows the human body to be a marvelous system constructed by an infinitely wise Designer.
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"It's full of fascinating, insightful, and inspiring information that supports faith in God and our Creator's wise and intelligent design." -- Christian Booksellers Association Marketplace, January 2004
"Read this book, whatever you might think. You'll finish it a different person than you were when you began it." -- The Statesman Journal, February 15, 2004
From the Author
My book has to do with medical facts and how they conflict with the theory of evolution. Darwin may have made a sincere effort to explain the life around him in the nineteenth century, but he knew little, if anything, about the human cell, heredity (why a child resembles his parents), immunity, hormones, blood pressure and scores of feedback loops that tell the body when it's too hot or too cold, hungry or full, sick or well, and tired or refreshed. These examples and many, many more are discussed. They all speak very clearly for Intelligent Design, a discussion that needs to re-enter mainstream American dialogue. Although the bibliography has over 140 scientific citations and the text has been endorsed by four Ph.D's, the book was specificaly written for the non-medical reader.
I am physician who is Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Disaster Medicine. I have a B.S. in Zoology and I have completed the course work for a Masters degree in Microbiology. I am also a Fellow with the Discovery Institute Center for Science and Culture. I have studied the theory of evolution for over forty years. For thirty of those years I was an ardent supporter of Darwinian ideas. I now, however, find the data supporting this theory scientifically untenable. As of this date, my seventh book, What Darwin Didn't Know (2004), is in its sixth printing and my eighth book, Billions of Missing Links (2007), is in its second printing. Both books show how the incredible complexity of the human body and all other living beings cannot have come about through evolution.
This book is unique in that it comes from a medical/physiological point of view. It is the first book in over 30 years that looks at the complexity of the human body as it pertains to evolution. In the early 70's a book entitled The Body has a Head was published. It was virtually unreadable. Dr. Simmons book is eminently readable and very interesting. Furthermore, Darwin had several doubts about his own theories and Dr. Simmons points out these areas of weakness. If you want to learn something about the arguments surrounding evolution and don't want to have to read a scientific tome, this is the book for you.
I'm a supporter of Intelligent Design, and found this book to be a big disappointment. As a previous reviewer has said in more words, it does not really attempt to "dissect the theory of evolution." It is simply a collection of medical facts and trivia, after which the author asks in a sentence or two in each chapter, "How can this be the work of chance?" I read the first few chapters with highlighter pen in hand, expecting to highlight various things as I often do, but then found myself simply skimming through many sections as I began to realize that every chapter is the same: just a recitation of what things in our bodies do. If you're looking for argumentation and critical examination of evolutionary theory (such as in Behe's or Denton's books), this is not the book to buy.
When I went through medical school, I remember learning the amazing intricacies of the human body. "Someone needs to make this accessible to people not going through medical school," I thought at the time. Dr. Simmons, in this book, has done just that.
This book does a lot more than give a strong argument for "Intelligent Design" -- though it certainly does that. In fact, I ended the book impressed that it takes quite a bit more faith to believe in evolution than it does to believe in a purposeful creator. But this book also explains the body's complex inner workings in a way that is easy to understand, and to remember.
The problem is not so much what Darwin didn't know, since it is clear by now that most of what he said about evolution has really nothing to do with it, much less is able to explain it. Actually this applies, "mutatis mutandis", to all present evolutionists. Let me tell you what Darwinists still don't know. Although they have lots of models and theories, they really can't explain: 1) the origin of the Universe; 2) the origin of the first stars; 3) the origin of the first galaxies; 4) the origin of the solar system; 5) the origin of the Earth and the Moon; 6) the origin of the oceans; 7) the origin of life; 8) particles-to-people evolution; 9) the origin of the sexes; 10) the origin of language, etc, etc. They can't even demonstrate that random mutations and natural selection are responsible for all the complex specified information we see all around us. So don't ask only what Darwin didn't know; ask also what Darwinists still don't know.
The real problem is that universities have been "programmed" with the wrong "software" ever since the historical emergence of "scientist anti-metaphysical positivism".
How can universities detect design if they were "programmed" not to do so? The main reason why all scientific disciplines agree with evolution is because they cannot but agree with evolution. They have no choice. The "system" doesn't allow any other option. This is not a scientific problem: it is a systemic problem.
Most modern universities have excluded arguments based on design and teleology a priori, as non scientific. Because of that, their "systemic code" can only detect random, natural and accidental causes and processes. Agreement with evolution has been pre-programmed into the system, and as the saying goes: garbage in, garbage out....
That's why I am not really impressed with the argument according to which all disciplines of science agree that evolution took place. That should not be considered a valid argument in favour of evolution, since that "conclusion" is really nothing more than the assumption from which they start reasoning in the first place and from which they approach the facts. No alternative assumptions or interpretations are allowed, no matter how well they are able to explain and predict.
This means that all current certainties about evolution are nothing more than circular reasoning. In fact, that translates in to the methodologies and arguments of all the scientific disciplines: when they deal with evolution they do so in terms of tautology and fallacy. We see that in geology, palaeontology, biology, genetics, chemistry, astrophysics, etc.
The conclusion in favour of evolution is necessary, because the assumption of evolution is mandatory. In "scientific" circles evolution is not so much a matter of chance, but a matter of necessity.
The Dover trial on evolution and intelligent design is a good example: if scientists dismiss design arguments a priori as non scientific, it should be no surprise to anyone that evolution becomes the only game in town. Evolution becomes "scientific" by definition and design becomes "religious" by decree.
If evidence of creation and intelligent design is ruled out, the only option is naturalistic evolution. The same is true in a court of law: if all evidence of criminal intent is ruled out as non-legal, than the court will have to conclude that an accident took place and was responsible for the existing dead body. What a surprise!! All the "circumstantial evidence", all the "coincidences" and all the "patterns" that might lead a judge to an inference of intent beyond reasonable doubt were not presented nor assessed in court. They were dismissed a priori as non-legal, as irrelevant from the point of view of the "code" of the legal system.
That's why evidence of design and creation has to come from those who work outside the system, that is, outside the mainstream "pre-programmed" naturalist "scientific" circles. That's why we observe the creation and evolution of many creationist and intelligent design web sites, publications and other materials.
The same phenomenon is true about the legal system. If the judges in a court arbitrarily rule out relevant evidence in a case, it is for the press, who works outside of the legal system, to try to denounce cases of gross miscarriage of justice.
That's what creationists and design theorists are doing when they put forward evidence of creation and design in nature and try to persuade those who are willing to open their minds to other kinds of arguments, and demonstrate that the observed evidence fits much better within a creationist and design model. Evidence of design in nature is not hard to find, because, as even atheist Richard Dawkins admits, it is simply overwhelming.
Of course, creationists and intelligent design theorists will have a hard time convincing mainstream scientists, because they are pre-programmed to listen and recognize only those arguments that don't allow for design and teleology. The problem is not about the quality and quantity of the evidence of design. The problem is that, no matter how good or how much, design evidence is simply ruled out as inadmissible. The current scientific paradigm is one sided from the start.
Creationism and intelligent design are being judged by the court of science without "due process" rights. When a court is not independent and impartial in a given question, the best way to solve the problem and get a fair hearing is to do away with it and replace it altogether. The only way out is to break the naturalistic "code" and reprogram the "systemic code" by which science defines itself. That's why many have been saying, even outside creationist circles, that we need a new kind of science.Read more ›
The author, a medical doctor, in this book recounts his conversion from a Darwinist to an Intelligent Design advocate. He also goes into detail about his indoctrination into Darwinism in school and why he began to doubt Darwinism in later life (as have more and more intellectuals today). What Darwin Didn't Know is an excellent, very readable, work about how little Darwin knew about biology, especially cell biology, because so little was known when he lived and worked. If he lived today in a nonDarwinian world, his theory would have difficulty getting published in a mainline journal. For example, in the middle 1800s cells were thought to be simple globs of protoplasm that served as mere building blocks of a body much like bricks are used to construct a house. Now we realize that cells are the most complex machine in the known universe that can live on their own in the right environment. Over 200 very different types are known. Much of the book is on human anatomy and physiology and why our modern knowledge has proven Darwinism wrong. As I teach Human Anatomy and Physiology at the college level, I found the book fascinating and found much insight to enrich my classes. This book is also an excellent introduction to anatomy and physiology that covers all 10 organ systems plus cell biology. I wish I had a book like this when I was an undergraduate (or even a graduate student in medical school). My first text was boring, to say the least. Students today are fortunate to have such excellent material as this available.
There is no proof of the theory of evolution; nor is there proof of Intelligent Design. You'll have to ask someone else. There is proof however of intellectual terrorism and slander by P.Z. Myers, and some of his more vocal followers, all over the internet.
