The Not-So-Intelligent Designer: Why Evolution Explains the Human Body and Intelligent Design Does Not

by Abby Hafer

Overview

Why do men's testicles hang outside the body? Why does our appendix sometimes explode and kill us? And who does the Designer like better, anyway—us or squid? These and other questions are addressed in The Not-So-Intelligent Designer: Why Evolution Explains the Human Body and Intelligent Design Does Not. Dr. Abby Hafer argues that the human body has many faulty design features that would never have been the choice of an intelligent creator. She also points out that there are other animals that got better body parts, which makes the Designer look a bit strange; discusses the history and politics of Intelligent Design and creationism; reveals animals that shouldn't exist according to Intelligent Design; and disposes of the idea of irreducible complexity. Her points are illustrated with pictures, wit, and erudition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620329412
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	11/04/2015
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Dr. Abby Hafer has a doctorate in zoology from Oxford University. She is a Senior Lecturer who teaches human anatomy and physiology at Curry College. She gives frequent public lectures on why evolution is true and Intelligent Design/Creationism is not.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements xi

Chapter 1 Introduction, or, Why Testicles Matter 1

Chapter 2 Bad Design-Men's Testicles 3

Chapter 3 What Is Intelligent Design, and What Does It Have to Do With Men's Testicles? 5

Chapter 4 Testicles, Part II 13

Chapter 5 Why Evolution Explains the Human Body Better than Intelligent Design Does 16

Chapter 6 Intelligent Design According to Its Believers: Is Intelligent Design the Same as Creationism, and Is Intelligent Design Religion? 17

Chapter 7 The Infamous Wedge Strategy 29

Chapter 8 Why Denying Evolution Can Get You into Trouble and Cause Mass Hunger, Too 33

Chapter 9 What Science Is 36

Chapter 10 Why Accepting Science and Evolution Can Lead to Better Values for All Humankind 42

Chapter 11 Bad Design-the Birth Canal 45

Chapter 12 The Handy-Dandy Intelligent Design Refuter, Part 1 53

Chapter 13 Intelligent Design Requires a Leap of Faith 63

Chapter 14 Animals That Shouldn't Exist According to Intelligent Design 65

Chapter 15 Bad Design-the Human Throat 71

Chapter 16 The Handy-Dandy Intelligent Design Refuter, Part 2 74

Chapter 17 Irreducible Complexity, the Design Inference, and Geological Formations 81

Chapter 18 Irreducible Complexity and Blood Clotting 91

Chapter 19 Bad Design-the Human Blood Clotting System: It Led to the Communist Russian Revolution 97

Chapter 20 Irreducible Complexity, Flagella, and Cilia 100

Chapter 21 Irreducible Complexity and the Human Eye 103

Chapter 22 Bad Design-the Human Eye 111

Chapter 23 Why Denying Science is Bad for You, and Bad for Your Neighbors, Too 116

Chapter 24 Why Kewara in Heaven Makes No Difference to Human behavior, but Good Institutions Do 121

Chapter 25 Bad Design-Our Biochemical Pathways: If Cats Don't Die of Scurvy, Then Why Do We? 126

Chapter 26 Why Does Intelligent Design Act So Much Like the Tobacco Lobby? 136

Chapter 27 Bad Design-Our Teeth, or, Why Is This Animal Smiling? 144

Chapter 28 The Discovery Institute Hasn't Discovered Anything (Sort of Like the Tobacco Institute) 151

Chapter 29 The Publishing Scandal that Rocked the Discovery Institute 157

Chapter 30 Bad Design-Sharks Get More Reproductive Options, Too 162

Chapter 31 Exploding the Cambrian Explosion 164

Chapter 32 Why William Dembski's "Information Theory" Isn't Very Informative 167

Chapter 33 Bad Design-the Human Genome 171

Chapter 34 Bad Design-the Human Appendix 177

Chapter 35 Evolution: The Greatest Indisputably True Story Ever Told 182

Appendix 1 The Phylogeny of Mammalian Testicles 187

Appendix 2 The American Association for the Advancement of Science's Statement on Intelligent Design 190

Appendix 3 The Life Cycle of the Immortal Jellyfish 192

Appendix 4 Credits and Notes for Illustrations and Photographs 194

Index 217

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Where has this book been all my life? This work by Dr. Hafer systematically overturns the arguments of the intelligent design movement with wit and plain language. As a pastor, I appreciate Hafer's contribution to clarity in our public discourse, both scientific and political. Her intention may be to restore science to its rightful place, but she has also done the faith community a favor, liberating it from a silly and unnecessary controversy."
—Julia Tipton Rendon, Crossroads United Church of Christ, Indianola, IA

"For an adequate account of the world, we must take a sober look at life as it really is. Hafer shows that things are a whole lot messier and makeshift than what some intelligent design theories would incline us to believe. This book has the potential not only to alter the political terrain in wars over evolution and creationism but also to prompt believers like me to rethink how we should talk about God as Creator."
—Thomas Jay Oord, author of Divine Grace and Emerging Creation

"I've been dreaming of a politically edgy treatment of intelligent design and here it is at last. Abby Hafer is acutely intelligent and wonderfully witty. Read this book and laugh your way to clarity and wisdom."
—Wesley J. Wildman, Boston University, Boston, MA

"Three cheers for Abby Hafer! She did it and no one thought it could be done! She wrote a devastating critique of intelligent design that is clear, funny, scientifically accurate, and charming. Her book is a marvel of how popular science should be written. Oh, were there more scientific writers like Abby . . . "
—Michael Martin, Boston University, Boston, MA

"A delightful exploration of the quirks of our bodies that make biology so much fun, evolution so fascinating, life so explicable, and intelligent design creationism so preposterous."
—Steven Pinker, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

"The Not-So-Intelligent Designer is a much-needed work in an America where anti-intellectualism is rampant and, shockingly, even candidates for high office frequently reject evolution. Abby Hafer has that rare ability to communicate complex scientific ideas in understandable terms for non-scientists, and this book is sure to enlighten many."
—David Niose, author of Fighting Back the Right

"Hafer's book is a valuable contribution to debunking the claims of intelligent design and the notion of one or more gods intervening in the physics and biology of the real world. She writes in an engaging style that entertains as well as informs. I enthusiastically recommend it."
—Ellery Schempp, Brown University, Providence, RI

"Intelligent design creationism is a dangerously successful political ideology—they've passed laws, co-opted high school teachers, and nearly half the population identifies as creationist. The Not So Intelligent Designer is a guidebook on how intelligent design fails, from unintelligently designed testes to intelligent design's unconstitutional religious agenda."
—Zack Kopplin, organizer of the campaign to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act, Baton Rouge, LA

"Hafer's ingenious strategy for dealing with creationists/intelligent design proponents has them by the balls!"
—John W. Loftus, author of Why I Became An Atheist

"The Not-So-Intelligent Designer is a scholarly book that is accessible and intelligible to the general reader. It is especially a must read for adherents of religious traditions who embrace modern science. Hafer does a masterful job of defining science, i.e. a way of knowing characterized by the formulation of a hypothesis, the gathering of evidence, drawing of conclusions, and repeating the experiment. She shows in a compelling way that the conclusions of advocates of intelligent design are beyond the purview of science. In fact, she provides a convincing demonstration of how the battles over intelligent design are over the nature of science itself."
—Leslie A. Muray, Curry College, Milton, MA

Editorial Reviews

Where has this book been all my life? This work by Dr. Hafer systematically overturns the arguments of the intelligent design movement with wit and plain language. As a pastor, I appreciate Hafer's contribution to clarity in our public discourse, both scientific and political. Her intention may be to restore science to its rightful place, but she has also done the faith community a favor, liberating it from a silly and unnecessary controversy.
--Julia Tipton Rendon, Crossroads United Church of Christ, Indianola, IA

For an adequate account of the world, we must take a sober look at life as it really is. Hafer shows that things are a whole lot messier and makeshift than what some intelligent design theories would incline us to believe. This book has the potential not only to alter the political terrain in wars over evolution and creationism but also to prompt believers like me to rethink how we should talk about God as Creator.
--Thomas Jay Oord, author of Divine Grace and Emerging Creation

I've been dreaming of a politically edgy treatment of intelligent design and here it is at last. Abby Hafer is acutely intelligent and wonderfully witty. Read this book and laugh your way to clarity and wisdom.
--Wesley J. Wildman, Boston University, Boston, MA

Three cheers for Abby Hafer! She did it and no one thought it could be done! She wrote a devastating critique of intelligent design that is clear, funny, scientifically accurate, and charming. Her book is a marvel of how popular science should be written. Oh, were there more scientific writers like Abby . . .
--Michael Martin, Boston University, Boston, MA

A delightful exploration of the quirks of our bodies that make biology so much fun, evolution so fascinating, life so explicable, and intelligent design creationism so preposterous.
--Steven Pinker, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

The Not-So-Intelligent Designer is a much-needed work in an America where anti-intellectualism is rampant and, shockingly, even candidates for high office frequently reject evolution. Abby Hafer has that rare ability to communicate complex scientific ideas in understandable terms for non-scientists, and this book is sure to enlighten many.
--David Niose, author of Fighting Back the Right

Hafer's book is a valuable contribution to debunking the claims of intelligent design and the notion of one or more gods intervening in the physics and biology of the real world. She writes in an engaging style that entertains as well as informs. I enthusiastically recommend it.
--Ellery Schempp, Brown University, Providence, RI

Intelligent design creationism is a dangerously successful political ideology--they've passed laws, co-opted high school teachers, and nearly half the population identifies as creationist. The Not So Intelligent Designer is a guidebook on how intelligent design fails, from unintelligently designed testes to intelligent design's unconstitutional religious agenda.
--Zack Kopplin, organizer of the campaign to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act, Baton Rouge, LA

Hafer's ingenious strategy for dealing with creationists/intelligent design proponents has them by the balls!
--John W. Loftus, author of Why I Became An Atheist

The Not-So-Intelligent Designer is a scholarly book that is accessible and intelligible to the general reader. It is especially a must read for adherents of religious traditions who embrace modern science. Hafer does a masterful job of defining science, i.e. a way of knowing characterized by the formulation of a hypothesis, the gathering of evidence, drawing of conclusions, and repeating the experiment. She shows in a compelling way that the conclusions of advocates of intelligent design are beyond the purview of science. In fact, she provides a convincing demonstration of how the battles over intelligent design are over the nature of science itself.
--Leslie A. Muray, Curry College, Milton, MA

From the Publisher