The USN&WR blog polled people “will you read this piece of crap?” (not quite their words)

My reply:

I had to vote “yes”, although not for the reasons Comfort might hope.

I wish to use his mutilated version as a case study; Ray has admitted his ignorance about evolution, and has demonstrated it thoroughly on many occasions, yet he puts out this book. Why? Clearly, not because it is a new take on evolution; Ray is not nearly qualified, by his own admission, to take on that task. Ray’s book is a pure propaganda tool in a losing battle to prop up a bronze-age world view. As such, it has the desperate air of certain inevitable defeat, thinly papered over with bravado and bull. It is the final flurry of frenzied panic in a cornered rat.

How can anyone be persuaded by his lies? Again, the case study is telling. A population of increasingly irrelevant believers, a fringe group even within religion, is casting about for any semblance of support, like a drowning man clutches even at straws. It doesn’t matter that Ray is not merely wrong but laughably so–what is important is that he has a national audience; he has been allowed to share the stage with Eugenie Scott! He must be important!

Like 9/11 Truthers, Moon-Walk Denialists, conspiracy theorists of all stripes, even the false *appearance* of evidence is enough to feed their addiction. Quote-mining half a clause from a sentence, ignoring context, clinging to a baseless interpretation in the face of the disconfirming evidence there within the very paragraph from which they ripped their demiquote, they will not admit they are wrong so long as they can cling to a blade of grass and not fall from the face of the earth.

It is not about the evidence. It is about themselves. They are terrified of being wrong. Scientists *welcome* disconfirming evidence; it’s how we learn! Creationists, if they admitted the truth, would be forced to acknowledge that they have lived a lie, a bald-faced lie, an active and creative lie, and it has taken over their brain. Creationism does not, and cannot, learn from its mistakes. It is a house of cards; one mistake admitted and the whole thing collapses. This is why Comfort repeats his canards again and again, after having been corrected by experts time and again. He has replaced his brain with a mendacious fantasy, and to abandon it would leave him hollow.

Yes, I want a copy of Comfort’s book. I want dozens, so my students don’t have to pay for them. I promise, Ray, I will assign them to read your screed at the beginning, and we will treat it more seriously than you have.

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