The Design Matrix: A Consilience of Clues

By Mike Gene

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0978631404
• ISBN13: 9780978631406
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Arbor Vitae Press
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Very nearly a top-tier ID book

No matter what you think about the ID debate, there is little doubt that a lot of smart people on both sides are writing books about it. Mike Gene (pseudonym) is no exception. When I first began reading his book and realized how inspired it was from blogs and internet chat I was fearful of a less than rigorous treatment. Happily this was not the case, and his goal (less ambitious than most) of at least making the case for the possibility of ID seemed more than accomplished. The author adopts about as humble and conciliatory a tone as can be imagined in this contentious climate, and that helps keep the read pleasant. Much of the ground he goes over had been discussed before, but he does a better job than I've encountered, at least, of showing the strong, strong similarities between man-man designed machines and the way cells work. He did a lot of word searches which were very interesting to help accentuate this similarity. They are not conclusive and not meant to be, but they make the reader pause. His design matrix idea, I guess based a bit on the explanation filter of other ID authors, didn't wow me, but it does allow the serious researcher a process to begin at least thinking of ways to have a metric for rating probability of design. As for the writing style I would rate it as very good. It's not laugh out loud funny or anything, but it's certainly not tedious and it flows well. He does a good job of reiterating his central theme that a lot of the observations depend on the observer. And again, he is very gracious and non-inflammatory about the discussion, and takes the tack of just trying to get people (re: macro-evolutionists) to at least consider the possibility of design. The weakest part of the book I thought was his explanation of how much evolution could actually be front-loaded by a designing force. It seemed awfully speculative, although I know he was just trying to explore possibilities, but even for that it seemed a little vague to me. Overall it's not a turning point work like "Black Box", but I'd seriously put it in the next level below that. It's definitely a book to add to your list if it is a topic that interests you.

Don't Bother Me With the Facts, I Just Won't Believe It

A friend of mine has an overly strong commitment to things she learned when she was growing up. "Doctors say you need to drink eight glasses of water a day" is one. I ran across a story in which a leading researcher in his field told of his attempts to track down the source of that belief. He found no medical evidence for it; it just showed up one day in some magazine, and grew. He said there was no truth to it whatever. My friend's response: "I don't believe it." She wouldn't look at the source material; she already had her facts. There's research out this week casting doubt on whether stretching before sports activities reduces injuries. I'm not going to bother telling my friend. She won't read the report, and she won't believe it. She knows we should all drink eight glasses of water a day and that stretching before exercise reduces injuries. She knows it because that's what she has always heard. I expect similar reactions from evolutionists to Mike Gene's The Design Matrix: A Consilience of Clues. Everyone in the pro-evolution, anti-Intelligent Design crowd knows that - ID is thinly disguised creationism - ID is just negative science (nothing but picking points against evolution) - ID has no positive research program - ID makes no predictions - ID relies on a "God of the gaps" approach to knowledge - ID presents no testable hypotheses - ID is dogmatically driven by people with a theological/philosophical agenda Everybody knows these things. Mike Gene shows that none of them are true. The evolutionists, I fear, are not going to read it; they're just going to say, "I don't believe it." Like my friend, they will stick with what's always been "true" for them in the past. The author says in the intro to the book that he remains anonymous so that his ideas can be evaluated for themselves, without prejudice concerning who is presenting them. It seems likely he's also carrying out some career protection, too. If he's working in a university biology department (and yes, he does know his science), it could obviously risky for him to "come out" as an ID supporter. (See his Design Matrix website for more.) The way that he supports ID is refreshingly unique, however. He doesn't argue for a conclusion of Intelligent Design at all. He argues more modestly, for a suspicion of Intelligent Design. He would have a beef with dogmatists on either side of the issue. Quite helpfully he distinguishes between the strong evidence required for conviction by a court of law, and evidence required by an investigating detective. A detective arrives on the scene with nothing but questions. His first objective is to move toward reasonable suspicions. A little hint there, a vague clue there: these things can move him toward a theory of a crime; and from there he can begin to look for more definite signs. Eventually, much further down the road, proof may come. Mike Gene believes we should recognize ID is in the developing suspicion stage: there is no hard scientific proof

Intelligent Design: A Preliminary Study

This is probably the first book on Intelligent Design, on either side, to which I've given five stars. I'm not sure it's a brilliant book, and it's certainly not a satisfying one: "Mike Gene" hardly even pretends to begin to answer the main question, whether there is good evidence for purposeful, conscious design in the biosphere. In fact, Design Matrix is best understood by analogy to C. S. Lewis' Miracles: A Preliminary Study, in which Lewis discusses the philosophy of miracles for most the book, then looks briefly at a few examples once he has explained why he thinks they're possible, in theory. There's a big chunk of philosophy here, too. (Though also enough science both to persuade me that Mike knows what he's talking about, and to illustrate basic concepts.) It is only at the end that he feeds a few critters into his "Design Matrix," for a taste test, nothing more. The Design Matrix is a preliminary study to a full and fair-minded scientific study of the evidence for design in biology. Unlike Lewis, Mike does not so much interogate the theoretical rationality of "miracles," (or rather intelligent intervention) as prepare a methodology for finding it. He seeks to place the question of ID on a really scientific footing -- which of course makes this primarily an exercise in the philosophy of science. This he does quite well. Mike cites a broad range of mostly primary literature. His discussion of Irreducible Complexity is open-minded and illuminating. Logically, in a step-by-step manner, he takes us down different evolutionary pathways, showing dead-ends, detours, and "go" signs. He should win fair-minded readers on both sides over with his even-handed discussion -- if (I am tempted to add) there are any. There's lots of good stuff in the book, but two things I don't miss are hype and hysteria. Once the jihadists find this volume, they will no doubt find nits to pick (harder hunting than usual), and issue fatwas, anathamas, and excommunications. Don't buy it. Mike is competent, underspoken, careful, fair, informed, and very much worth reading. Some parts of the book are a bit technical, but he also adds a touch of whimsy from time to time. He shows what an open mind might look like, studying biological forms in the light of design. The question seems broader and more open when he is done. This book is a challenge to pat answers on both sides. Still, this is a preliminary, and it can be frustrating to talk methodology when the real question is substance. I look forward to more filling entrees in the future. But this is a thought-provoking and mouth-watering hors d'oevre. Author, The Truth Behind the New Atheism

A Fresh New Look at An Old Debate

The ID debate is one of the most polarized and ugly fights you'll ever come across, and Mike is well aware of the difficulty he faces even being heard. He makes it clear from the beginning that he does not believe Intelligent Design is science, does not think it should be taught in the public schools, and does not deny evolution. He simply has no interest in the political side of ID. Rather, he is interested in the insights that telic thinking may bring to looking at the origin of life. He is interested in the beginnings of an investigation. Mike deftly reframes the debate away from the traditional template, which focuses on either disproving evolution (thus establishing design) or showing evolution to be possible (thus removing the need for design). The origin of life, after all, is not a matter of absolute certainty or mathematical law, but of history. We are not ultimately interested in what could have happened, but what we think actually did happen. Thus Mike suggests we eschew dogmatic absolutes for the attitude of a private investigator. It is certainly possible that life was designed, but what sort of clues might make us think it plausible? What sort of evidence and confirmation would convince us that it is not only plausible, but probable? It's interesting how far meekness can go in a polarized debate - be it over science, politics, philosophy, or religion. There's no shortage of bombastic apologists for both sides, railing about how only a total fool could fail to see the rightness of their position. When one person confidently boasts that the evidence for design is overwhelming and another loudly screams that it is nonexistent, most folks are inclined to avoid the whole discussion. But when Mike says the idea is interesting and invites us to take a closer look, we want to join him. Curiouser and Curiouser Having established a tone of curiosity, Mike considers the clues. At the most basic level of the cell, life looks like sophisticated nanotechnology. Though we once considered it little more than a sac of chemicals, it turns out that biology at this scale has a great deal in common with engineering, to the point where biology journals sound more like engineering publications than those of other physical sciences. Calling multiple-protein complexes "molecular machines" is more than mere metaphor. To get a faint glimpse of what he's talking about, take a look at the computer animated journey into the cell created by the Harvard Biovisions group. The core architecture of life has the complexity and organization of a modern city, all easily resting on the point of a pin. The grandeur and majesty of life on this scale never ceases to amaze me. To think of it as a bunch of chemical reactions is as misleading as considering Mont St. Michel a stack of stones, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel a series of brush strokes, or Google's search database a series of ones and zeroes. When biologists fail to develop the discipline and intuition of e

I'm Late! For a Very Important Date!

This is not a book about "what's wrong with evolutionary theory." Rather, author Mike Gene has presented some very intriguing ideas about how evolution works. He starts with an overview of arguments pro and con tracing the history of the sociopolitical debates. We are introduced to what it means to infer design in any phenomenon we might encounter in our explorations of nature. This goes right to the bone of contention, right up front. Gene presents dry scientific facts as if they were clues in a fine mystery, and this makes the chapters flow like a well-crafted novel. It becomes obvious quickly that Gene knows his biology, and crafts his tale as an enthusiastic teacher would. Clues pile up one by one to lead toward further clues which lead to... open questions. I suspect we will be hearing much more about "front-loaded evolution" from the scientific community in coming months and years. This is not a book designed to incite frenzied denouncements by either the guardians of all things Darwin or their theistic challengers. It's not a book that can definitively answer questions about whether life evolves with or without design. The way it approaches those questions, however, is a breath of much-needed fresh air in a stale 'culture war'. Gene's lively approach will have the reader eagerly chasing rabbits through an extensive warren of wonders. I would recommend The Design Matrix to curious students, interested laity, confused biology teachers, and seasoned culture warriors. It's well written, full of fascinating details, and outlines a completely accessible approach to the great mysteries of life that is neither threatening nor stifling.