Matt

A lesson in argument from analogy, incredulity and ignorance

Revisado: 07-30-23

The book can be summed up as “we don’t yet understand how these natural systems could have evolved, and they’re pretty complex, and have loose similarities to these actually designed systems, so they must also have been designed”.

Behe’s arrogance in declaring the “discovery” of design (as opposed to it being a modern refurbishing of an older idea used to explain complexities we didn’t yet understand at the time) is laughable.

Well narrated though 👍

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Rather pick this up on paper or ebook

Revisado: 12-27-21

There really is a lot of interesting content in this book, but much of it just isn’t well suited to an audiobook format. There are some great deep dives into things like orbital mechanics where it really would make more sense to read and re-read those sections and take the time to absorb and understand the formulas and calculations. Having them quickly read to you as part of a larger exposition just isn’t very effective.

Add to this the really strange intonation and tempo of the narrator, which at times sounds like text to speech, and despite the fascinating content, this just doesn’t make for a particularly good audio book.

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Fascinating view into a doubly challenged life

Revisado: 10-20-21

Abby provides a really heartfelt and in-depth view into the challenges and joys of both living in a hyper-secluded religious community and struggling with her gender identity.

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The Narrator makes this hard to enjoy

Revisado: 08-24-21

I initially thought this may just be a bad recording, but readings of quotes within the recording by other voice actors made it clear that it is the narrator that is the problem here. His reading is just not clear.

As for the book itself, it is an interesting high level discussion around the ethics of our interactions with animals. I initially thought it had an excessive (and outdated) focus on biblical/Christian positions, but this does not continue through the entire book.

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An entertaining intro to critical thinking

Revisado: 05-04-21

If you’ve read much at all on critical thinking, you likely won’t learn nothing new here. You will however find some entertaining personal stories used to flesh those ideas out.

The one part that is refreshing, and unsurprising given the author’s very friendly and comforting approach, is her emphasis on not being an asshole. Her emphasis on not forcing her beliefs or lack thereof down other people’s throats and rather emphasizing relationships is something many skeptics (myself included) could learn from.

A note on my scoring of the the narrator: it’s not that she did a bad job, she just has some vocal tendencies that I personally found annoying, and at times made me seriously tempted to give up on the book. I wouldn’t advise against the book as a result. At very least give the trial a listen, you may find I’m just being picky :)

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Fascinating stories, writing didn't hit the mark

Revisado: 01-28-20

This book is a treasure trove of interesting facts on a wide array of insects (and a few other arthropods). I thoroughly enjoyed learning about quirky relationships between insects and other organisms like that between sloths and the moths evolved to live in their fur. There really was something new and fascinating to learn in every chapter.

That said, both the writing and narration had me on the verge of giving up multiple times. The writing style felt like it might be aimed at a teen or even preteen audience at times. The narrator had an intoxicated rather than intoxicating quality to her voice. At times I felt like a slightly tipsy aunt was reading me a strange bedtime story about fascinating little creatures she found in her garden. I can see how some may find this combination appealing and even particularly charming. It might even be the perfect book to listen to with your older children to get them excited about our amazing little companions in this world (if you don't mind the inevitable bits about bugs getting busy). But I for one found it a bit strange given the subject matter-of course, that might be the grumpy old man in me.

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