Noted Skeptic Can't Believe His Ears

Michael Shermer, founder of The Skeptics Society, editor of Skeptic magazine, cannot believe this bullshit where people argue that evolution is a shaky theory.

Speaking at Town Hall's Science Lecture Series, he was a less-than-staid presenter, both highly enthusiastic about science as a spiritual calling and scathing in his critique of "Intelligent Design"-ers. He's a high speed talker, prone to quips and shaggy dog jokes, and it's easy to see why Penn & Teller like him.

Shermer's book is Why Darwin Matters -- Town Hall continues the Darwinathon tomorrow night at 7:30pm with David Quammen, speaking on his book, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin ($5 at the door).

Why Darwin Matters is a book that matters in its own right because Shermer responds to criticism of natural selection critically. Anyone who's heard what sounded like a good question come from the ID camp can look to Shermer to have formulated a carefully reasoned answer to the "ten most cogent" of those questions. Shermer's natural skepticism lends him credibility, as does his willingness to talk with people who are curious enough to give his arguments a hearing.

The Town Hall audience were devout believers in evolution, of course. One of the first questions in the post-talk Q&A was from a man who, honestly perplexed, wondered how, if schools were doing their job, people were still privileging religious belief over scientific fact.