From: Jim Choate <ravage@ssz.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 11:55:10 +0800
To: cypherpunks@ssz.com (Cypherpunks Distributed Remailer)
Subject: The Sovereign Individual - ignorant authors
Message-ID: <199710100412.XAA20204@einstein.ssz.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text



Hi,

Finaly getting back to reading some more of the book [1], Chpt. 9 in
particular.

This chapter deals with various aspects of social issues (eg rise of
national languages) and how they led to the growth of nationalism in
general. Toward the end of the chapter (pp. 265 in the hardback) these
idiots (don't know a better term) actualy have the audactity to claim that
Stephen Jay Gould is a neo-creationist, in short they claim that Gould holds
there is a 'higher power' (ie transcendance) directing evolution and the
impact of inhereted traits on society.

The author of this section has apparently never read a word that Gould has
written. Gould is known as a leading supporter of Punctuated Equilibria and
its various spawn, and with Ernst Meyr lead the battle against creationist
theories and others of that ilk. Gould and Meyr's theories flatly reject
transcendance as a force in evolutionary theory. Considering that no
supporter of transcendance in evolutionary theory has ever succesfuly
weathered a reasoned attack I simply stand in awe of the authors expectation
of the readers ignorance.

The more I read of this book the less respect I have for either author.
I previously recommended this book as an intellectual challenge at least,
I retract that recommendation. Don't waste your money on this drivel from
a couple of snake oil salesmen who continously contradict themselves and
pose flawed theory after flawed theory.



    ____________________________________________________________________
   |                                                                    |
   |    The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there   |
   |    be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves.       |
   |                                                                    |
   |                                       -Alan Greenspan-             |
   |                                                                    | 
   |            _____                             The Armadillo Group   |
   |         ,::////;::-.                           Austin, Tx. USA     |
   |        /:'///// ``::>/|/                     http:// www.ssz.com/  |
   |      .',  ||||    `/( e\                                           |
   |  -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'-                         Jim Choate       |
   |                                                 ravage@ssz.com     |
   |                                                  512-451-7087      |
   |____________________________________________________________________|


[1]

The Sovereign Individual: How to survive and thrive during the collapse
                          of the welfare state
J.D. Davidson, Lord W. Rees-Mogg
ISBN 0-684-81007-7