WSJ is afraid of dragons, but they make an interesting point ... In an age of abysmal science literacy, with fantastical technological distractions a mere mouse-click away, what does the museum's decision to focus on make-believe monsters tell us about this venerable institution? In a culture where old-fashioned fantasy has been replaced by the television and video-game industries, and scientists create real human-animal chimeras for experimentation, perhaps there is something reassuring about exhibiting the quaint beliefs of previous eras. It reinforces the conviction that ours is a more sophisticated and scientifically literate age. It flatters our belief that the rational study of the natural world and its inhabitants will somehow inoculate us against the all-too-human urge to exploit nature and one another. But this is wishful thinking on par with a belief in unicorns. ... Most people are unaware of the museum's eugenic past; and officials there understandably are in no hurry to enlighten them. For decades the museum hosted international eugenics congresses and joint sessions of the Eugenics Research Association and the American Eugenics Society.
I wonder what Richard Dawkins and Michael Behe think about this exhibit. For now, I'll have to be content to know what Michael Behe thinks of Dawkins: I believe his new book follows much less from his data than from his premises, and yet I admire his determination. Concerning the big questions, the Bible advises us to be hot or cold but not lukewarm. Whatever the merit of his ideas, Richard Dawkins is not lukewarm.
Of course, that was before Dawkins reviewed Behe's new book: I had expected to be as irritated by Michael Behe’s second book as by his first. I had not expected to feel sorry for him.
I'm just waiting for this to descend into farce: Vicious name-calling has accompanied these events, much of which is chronicled on both men’s Web pages. Mr. Finkelstein has called Mr. Dershowitz a "raving maniac," "hoodlum" and "evil." On normanfinkelstein.com there is a recent Finkelstein article titled "Should Alan Dershowitz Target Himself for Assassination?" On Mr. Dershowitz’s Web site (alandershowitz.com), he has had students compile lists of "The Most Despicable Things Finkelstein Has Said," "The 10 Stupidest Things Finkelstein Has Said," and so on.
Bleak Mythology | 
