If you had the chance to pin a young earth creationist down and make them read a single affordable book on the modern theory of evolution, what would you choose? I am tempted to avoid anything that deals specifically with creationism as it would be good to get them understanding the theory of evolition as proposed positively by its proponents
For an affordable kindle version overview of the theory I am tempted to go with
i am tempted with Bergstrom’s book
Thoughts?
I wouldn’t start with evolution. I’d start with deep time. There are a couple of books by G. Brent Dalrymple, and either one should do.
Thanks John.
Out of interest, why that topic? Conceptually easier to grasp?
Yes, and also the silliest thing a YEC has to believe, with the most obvious contradictions visible in the world.
Makes sense
As 2 supporting reads, I would first recommend the best book to discuss how a few marsupial families arriving in Australia diverged into at least 3 new types of marsupial lifestyles (along with new anatomies as well): Australian carnivores, vegetarians and omnivores. One branch even changed into a mole phenotype!
[I DONT KNOW WHICH BOOK DOES THIS THE BEST.]
Secondly, there must be a book which best discusses the protozoan which engulfed a meal that included a particularly hardy algae species; it refused to be digested. And it continued to perform photosynthesis.
This became the start of a laboratory population of a microscopic hybrid which better survived periods of extended darkness AND extended perìods of food shortages.
The book that I would want them to read would be one that starts off by hammering home the need for accurate and honest weights and measurements in every context, illustrates what accurate and honest weights and measurements look like in practice (e.g. how error bars work), and then explains how young earthism fails to meet those expectations.
This is always the number one thing that I have to start off with whenever I address young earth claims. It’s the one topic that’s common to every area of science, both “operational” and “historical,” a topic that sits right at the foundation of the scientific method, but it’s also the one topic that they consistently disrespect.
Unfortunately, I don’t know of a book that does this adequately—most books that I see addressing young earthism tend to get bogged down in technical details without adequately addressing these core fundamentals. If anyone can recommend one that does, I’d be interested to know.