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BlackL1ght's Book Reviews

Started by BlackL1ght, February 15, 2013, 07:29:44 PM

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BlackL1ght

Just decided to make a thread for this, since my old book thread is gone now. Anyway, when I finish a book, I'll write a review here. I'm totally open to discussion/debate on these titles as well. If you'd like to request I read a book, go ahead and do that here as well.

Rating System:

0-1: Utter shit. Poor arguments describing the ridiculous, based on ridiculous prerequisites. Does not use the proper skepticism on all topics. Uninteresting and long-winded.
2-3: Not worth reading. Better arguments, but not comprehensive. Does not use the proper skepticism on all topics. May be somewhat interesting.
4-6: Possibly worth reading. Arguments are well-constructed, but have logical fallacies. Interesting. Acceptable length.
7-9: Good. Arguments are well-constructed and somewhat specific and applicable. Contains few, if any, logical fallacies. Engrossing. Length may vary from the necessary length to long-winded.
10: Orgasm in print. If I ever give a book a 10, you must all read it immediately. Period. Other than that, like 7-9, but without fallacies, more punctual and entertaining.


Anyway, first book:


The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan

Score: 7/10

Review: Demon-haunted world (DHW) was not like a lot of the books I have read by atheist authors. At first I was skeptical, but it turned out to be a remarkable breath of fresh air from the constant confirmation of the arguments I know so well. DHW was interesting in the fact that, rather than posing an argument to any particular claim (god, young earth, aliens, etc), it was a comprehensive argument in favor of the scientific method and skeptical thinking. It stressed the importance of investigating claims, no matter how ridiculous, in order to both dismiss your own if it turns out to be false and to strengthen it if it happens to stand up against the encroaching claim.

The book was, overall, good. However, sometimes, the points that Sagan was making were lost in long (if interesting) overviews of the history of hallucination, alien abduction theories and witch "trials". This is all well and good, but Carl Sagan (although I would hardly discredit his knowledge of most things) is not a psychologist. If I wanted to read a book on the psychology of hallucination and alien abduction, I would read "The Believing Brain" by Michael Shermer or something else similar.

However, this is only to say that Carl Sagan's arguments could have been improved had he been a psychologist, not that they are weak within the book. He presents a very comprehensive argument on these items, comprising most of the book. I actually found it very fascinating, although the section on aliens seemed long, which could be explained by Carl Sagan's own desires to investigate such claims.

I was surprised at Sagan's tone when he spoke in terms of religion. He, for the most part, avoided mentioning it all together. When he did, he would qualify his criticisms as criticisms against "the misuse of religion" or some such.

One of the things that the book got me thinking about was the use of skepticism among the masses. The more I read, the more I saw that the masses are thoroughly uneducated in the practical every day applications of the scientific method. Some of the statistics he quoted on biblical literalism, alien visitation and other strange claims were astonishing.

The Verdict: The book was good, well-argued and enjoyable. However, Sagan's interest in alien abduction made that section overly long.

Worth reading? Absolutely.
Vi veri Veniversum Vivus Vici

Savior2006

Is this just for non-fiction books? Because that's what the rating criteria seems to indicate. Fiction books don't exactly have great "arguments."
It took science to do what people imagine God can do.
--ApostateLois

"The closer you are to God the further you are from the truth."
--St Giordano

BlackL1ght

Quote from: "Savior2006"Is this just for non-fiction books? Because that's what the rating criteria seems to indicate. Fiction books don't exactly have great "arguments."
Well, I read mostly non-fiction. If you feel like writing a review here though, feel free! If you come up with a scale for fiction, then I'll use it when I review the Book of Mormon :mrgreen:
Vi veri Veniversum Vivus Vici