Here is a quick follow up to my post about religious books sneaking into science sections of bookstores. A very nice customer representative called me and told me that they completely agree that the book, Darwin’s Doubt should be filed under Religion and that it will be filed this way in the stores (because they can control that). If it is in Science, it is misfiled so I will bring it up with staff if I see this in their stores.
Now the annoying part. Chapters-Indigo attempted to overwrite the information the publisher sent to them (this being that Darwin’s Doubt is a science book) when filing their books online and I know they did do this because I checked in July and took this screen capture. However, the publisher, Harper Collins over rode the bookstore’s changes. Apparently publishers have this power. So, I’m going to be emailing Harper Collins Canada next. I’m sure their response, if I get one, will be tepid but this really is an outrage, especially because a Canadian bookstore recognizes that the author is being deceptive about science. I encourage everyone to ask some hard questions of Harper Collins.
However, I am very happy that Indigo-Chapters did change the filing in stores and I’m glad the staff there accept evolution. We must be doing something right in our education! Keep up the good work, Canadians and try to give Chapters-Indigo your patronage for being advocates for science and truth!
I checked the Toronto Public Library and the Peterborough Public Library. Both have Darwin’s Doubt classified as science: 576.82 MEY
The U of T Library has Darwin’s Doubt classified under science: QH325.M47 2013X
Does Harper Collins influence library classifications?
PS University of Chicago doesn’t have a copy.
What is your standard for ‘science books’?
If it is a book about a scientist and his theory… even criticism, even crappy criticism, it could easily be classified as science in a book catalog. Subject is important, not rigor.
Are you saying every book classified as science in a library or bookstore must be peer reviewed? Isn’t that what journals are for?
Before asking questions based on a poorly reasoned a priori, read the article and the one it refers to.
Lets get Lord of The Rings put into the history section.
Gotta love it, watching lowly atheists going up against the capitalist profit motive marketing juggernaut.
I have no doubt it’s classified under science because some keystroker figured that’s where it would sell better, by it’s larger browsing flow by rate.
It’s filed in science because it’s part of the Wedge Strategy. See more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge_strategy
The author is a member of the Discovery Institute.
Right, because librarians and bookstores never categorize books based on their subject matter.
That is just insanity.
It must be part of a global conspiracy, unless proven otherwise.
I see you were out for your morning troll, Ultra. Where did I write that “libraries and bookstores never categorize books based on their subject matter”? Did you even read the article you commented on?
As I said in the article, “the publisher, Harper Collins over rode the bookstore’s changes. Apparently publishers have this power.” This is what the person told me who phoned me from Chapters-Indigo. The publisher classifies this as a science book and Chapters-Indigo agrees with me, most scientists and Judge John E Jones III that Intelligent Design is religion and not science – as the judge said in his ruling in the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial: intelligent design is not science and it “cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents”.
You’re free to see Intelligent Design as science just as you can believe homeopathy is real medicine and astrology is the same as astronomy but the rest of the rational world sees it differently and book stores should be allowed to classify their materials according to reason, not the religious fantasies of a publisher.
Dover was not about mere subject classification. It was about ‘teaching’ that intelligent design is science, in a science classroom.
Classifying books is a completely different process. It involves simply dividing books based on subject matter only. A somewhat arbitrary process.
Selecting a textbook or subject for a classroom is not just about subject, its about valuing the content.
This is not a case of indoctrinating children, its about where do we put a book. A much more trivial concern.
You’re missing the point. Intelligent Design is not science. Dover ruled Intelligent Design as religion, not science. Ergo, a book on Intelligent Design is about religion not science.
It is very important where we put a book. People looking to learn about evolution, could pick up this book and think Intelligent Design is an accepted science and that evolution is controversial within science. Popular science books are written to educate the population. This book is deliberately deceptive.
If you think filing books is arbitrary and that it’s okay to label anything science, then I suppose you’d be okay with astrology appearing next to astronomy books and alchemy books appearing next to chemistry books as actually being about chemistry.
Why end with science – how about placing holocaust denial books presented as actual history next to history books about world war II, homeopathy books presented as medical books next to actual medical books.
Teach the controversy, right?
>Teach the controversy, right?
No teachers… check.
No students… check.
No school… check.
No Dover, just a choice of shelves for books to sit on. Yeah. You’re right on target.
But… wait a minute, you are right, I’m wrong, it must be a conspiracy. How do I know? Because I found evidence:
http://www.indigo.ca
Letter To A Christian Nation
by Sam Harris
Found in: Religion and Spirituality
Clearly those fundamentalist bastards at Indigo are trying to insinuate that atheism is just another religion. Sam Harris isn’t a priest or rabbi, and his book is the opposite of religion. But they insist on putting it in the Religion section. ATHEISM IS NOT A RELIGION!!!!1
We as atheists need to stand up… or sit at our desks… grab our pens and/or keyboards…and show them we mean business.
Save Sam Harris!!
Vamos!
Ultra
You have made your point; now, please stop commenting on this particular post.
Veronica Abbass
Editor-in-Chief
Canadian Atheist
Which religion exactly is Darwin’s Doubt promoting or written for? Seriously, has any of the seething atheists with too much time on their hands getting all irate about this book’s genre placement actually read it? Or is this just another blind crusade driven by a few extreme internet atheist ideologues who are calling their acolytes to action against some perceived terrible evil? Seriously, try to think objectively for a second. Out of the limited selection of genre sections available in most bookstores, where makes the most sense to put this book? The vast majority of the book is discussing paleontological discoveries, evolutionary theory/models, statistics, genetics and some philosophy, and in a very reasonable matter, even if you disagree with some of the conclusions. Even if it causes too much discomfort with “mainstream science”, there are certainly other genres more fitting for the book than “religion”, where it most definitely is out of place compared almost all other books there. I mean goodness, the way you folks carry on, you’d think you’d open up the book to see something like “Science is wrong mmkay, evolution is all wrong cause there are gaps, see. Maybe Jesus did it!” Of course, this is the way many prominent nu atheists paraphrase any sort of discussion that is at all dissenting from strict evolutionary theory, so I guess it’s business as usual…
Oy vey.
What religion exactly is Darwin’s Doubt promoting or written for? — it’s backed and written by the DI (Discovery Institute). It’s for anyone that will believe the pseudo-science inside and it’s content is pure creationism.
Skipping over the ad homs….
More ad homs…..
Still more ad homs
Ah, rhetorical question:
It belongs in religion, the vast majority of the book puts forth horribly flawed logic to support a creationist position and then makes that seem like it is science and that the scientists of the world are afraid of the truth. It is not a science book. Do yourself a favour and read Don Prothero’s review. It is important to note that Prothero is a real paleontologist, not a religionist trying to advance his creationism with the financial backing and advertisement of the DI.