I suppose the bigger the target the greater the temptation to take aim. The latest is entitled: "The Accidental Creationist: Why Stephen Jay Gould is Bad for Evolution," an essay by Robert Wright in the December 13, 1999 issue of The New Yorker magazine. Wright argues that Gould is unintentionally aiding and abetting the Creationist cause. Wright notes:
"Gould also performs a more subtle service for creationists. Having bolstered their caricature of Darwinism as implausible, he bolsters their caricature of it as an atheist plot. He depicts evolution as something that can't possibly reflect a higher purpose, and thus can't provide a the sort of spiritual consolation most people are after. Even Gould's recent book 'Rock of Ages,' which claims to reconcile science and religion, draws this moral from the story of evolution: we live in a universe that is 'indifferent to our suffering.'"(56).
The New Yorker is not online, so there is no URL to which I can refer you to for the entire text. You'll have to resort to the hard-copy.
Robert Wright has a book due out in January 2000 with Pantheon with the title "Non-Zero: The Logic of Human Destiny". The 544-page book uses the logic of game theory to challenge the conventional view that biological evolution and human history are aimless.
Maybe I'm being a little overly concerned but since we have CPAN coming to film this Sunday's Skeptics Society event at Caltech, I want to remind everyone in the area about our CONFERENCE ON CARL SAGAN AND THE END OF THE WORLD
On Sunday, December 12, from 1-5pm, the Skeptics Society is hosting a big end of the world conference that will i and Keay Davidson. Here is a brief synopsis followed by a longer descriptive one:
1. Apocalypse When?: The Millennium, the End of the World, and Y2K, featuring Dr. Stephen O'Leary from USC, Alex Heard, Executive Editor of Wired Magazine, and Jon Fullinwider, Y2K compliance expert for Los Angeles County. 1:00-3:00pm
2. Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos, a CSPAN Book TV special featuring Sagan's two biographers--William Poundstone, author of Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos and Keay Davidson, author of Carl Sagan: A Life 3:30-4:30 This event will be taped by CSPAN for their Book TV series.
Both events hosted by Michael Shermer
Baxter Lecture Hall, California Institute of Technology
No advance tickets sold. First come seating. The hall will open at noon.
Out of towners can stay at the Pasadena Hilton Hotel. 150 So. Los Robles, Pasadena, CA. 800/445-8667 or 626/577-1000. A shuttle service will take you to Caltech or you can walk the one kilometer.
Apocalypse When?
A Half-Day Symposium on Y2K, the Millennium, and the End of the World
By now everyone has heard the debate about when the millennium really ends December 31, 1999 or 2000 (technically it's the latter because the first century only had 99 years so 100, 200 ... 2000 are the official ending years of each century, and 1000 and 2000 are the official ending years of each millennium). But everyone is gearing up for 1999 as the final year of the century and millennium, with planned events ranging from $2000 a night rooms in Las Vegas hotels over the final weekend (three-night minimum), to militia/end-times groups holed up in bomb shelters armed to the teeth awaiting the apocalyptic end of the world.
What will actually happen? Skeptics know that no biblical disaster will befall the planet, but what about Y2K? Are Americans as prepared as we should be? What about foreign countries who have no Y2K compliance codes in place? Even if computers don't bomb, will their owners explode in a mass hysteria of runs on banks and supermarkets? Will gun-toting extremists fire on a neighbor coming to borrow a cup of sugar? Will religious fanatics hasten the apocalypse through terrorist bombings here and abroad in volatile areas like Israel? What should each of us do in preparation? Should we stockpile cash, food, and water (if, for no other reason, because everyone else is doing it and we don't want to be left empty handed)?
To answer these questions, and more, we've assembled a panel of experts to give us the inside track on what is going on in the world of millennial, cult, and Y2K studies, and to offer their thoughts on the meaning of the millennium.
Dr. Stephen O'Leary
Professor, University of Southern California, Co-Founder, Center for Millennial Studies, Author of Arguing the Apocalypse Millennial Cults, Apocalyptic Fears, and Extremist Reactions to Y2K
Stephen O'Leary, one of the world's leading experts on apocalyptic and millennial groups, will present his 20 years of research, including his latest project of surveying thousands of millennial web cites.
Jon W. Fullinwider
Chief Information Officer, Los Angeles County, Y2K Compliance Expert Preparing for Y2K: What Has Been Done, What You Should Do
Jon Fullinwider, the Y2K compliance expert for Los Angeles County, will present what we know and do not know about what might or might not happen when the clock rolls over at midnight, December 31, and what his office is advising people to do for proper preparation.
Alex Heard
Editor, Wired Magazine, Author, Apocalypse Pretty Soon Travels in End-Time America: The Lighter Side of the Millennium
Alex Heard, an award-winning writer for Wired, Outside, Slate, the New Republic, and the New York Times Magazine, will present the lighter side of the groups he personally met and interviewed in his research for his book on the apocalypse.
Sunday, January 16, 2000, 2:00pm
Dr. Robert Zubrin
ENTERING SPACE: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization
Baxter Lecture Hall
Sunday, February 13, 2000, 2:00pm
Dr. Jan Harold Brunvand
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE: The Amazing World of Urban Legends
Baxter Lecture Hall