progress

Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives
$27.95
In Denialism, Michael Specter takes an excellent look at an important subject. We tend to think that people get truth, unvarnished and untainted, from science. But no. From Vioxx to vaccines, what we think is true is not. Not because we are fooled by science. Instead, we fool ourselves.

Specter did his research on topics like organic foods, vitamins and supplements, and race and disease. That he is a staff writer on The New Yorker magazine shows -- he writes well on these topics. What he says is important and convincing. He deserves praise for that. (Although his style rubs me wrong. He writes himself into the book by using "I" a lot. Fine for a magazine article, at book-length that became annoying to me.)

My main complaint with the book? Specter goes too far in labeling denialism as the villain. He trots out the specter (sorry) of holocaust deniers -- those poor deluded souls -- and then finds similar deniers of facts from various fields of science. Denialism in science, he says, is threatening our society.

I don't buy that. Through the ages societies have struggled to cope with what science told them. We are no different. In the developed world, science's role has never been stronger. We could do better at sorting out fact from fiction. But overall, we're pretty good at it.

In spite of its faults, Denialism made me think. That made, for me, the book worth reading.

wpa
$14.98
I have been buying music back to the days when Keith Moon was alive. I have heard so many trends in music that things are beginning to return. Now having said that I know that becoming jaded is an easy thing. So when I heard that Glen Phillips was teaming up with the members of Nickle Creek I was going to hear a Bluegrass kind of thing. Was I ready for this now in an age of American Idol mediocrity? It turns out I was starved for it. Give this cd a listen. With the help of some muscian's musicains the Watkins Phillips and co have turned out a fine album of genuine music that Taylor Swift and rest of the country pop idols would do well to listen to. And go see them live I was fortunate to see them live and they were inspiring.

The Pilgrim's Progress (Dover Thrift Editions)
$3.50
While a very interesting book, it is also a very scary one. It gives one a glimpse into the fundamentalist mind. I suggest reading this if for any reason just to see how crazy religion can make someone. Think for yourself.

Pilgrims Progress in Today's English
$9.99
This book was recommended to our congregation by our senior pastor. I had heard about it for years but had not read it. So when I saw this edition in Today's English I thought that it would be a winner and it was. It arrived very quickly and in excellent condition.