As A book reviews editor at New Scientist, I often come across so-called science books which after a few pages reveal themselves to be harbouring ulterior motives. I have learned to recognise clues that the author is pushing a religious agenda. As creationists in the US continue to lose court battles over attempts to have intelligent design taught as science in federally funded schools, their strategy has been forced to... well, evolve. That means ensuring that references to pseudoscientific concepts like ID are more heavily veiled. So I thought I'd share a few tips for spotting what may be religion in science's clothing.Summary of flags:
Scientific materialism in contrast with non-materialism -- Cartesian dualism -- "irreducibly complex" -- weird interpretations of quantum physics -- use of "darwinism" and "darwinists" in place of "evolution" and "biologists" -- describing evolution as a "blind, random, undirected process" -- calling cells "astonishingly complex molecular machines" -- wishing for "academic freedom" as code for "acceptance of creationism" -- shameless appeals to common sense -- linking cultural implications with the truth value of a theory.
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