Religions also have their origins in observations and theories to explain them. Older religions used religion to explain tides, lunar phases, day and night, and the origins of the world. Newer religions avoid explanations that can be disproven.
Well, the thing about science books is that the authors write in a conversational manner, and usually write in plain language so that non-scientists can understand and appreciate the subject matter. The thing about learning science from textbooks is that most of them do not explain things very well, it is almost like a conspiracy where people in the know get together and produce only textbooks that you have to puzzle out to understand. When you first get into real chemistry or physics and so on (from textbooks), the authors seem like they are imitating VCR manual authors, presenting lots of concepts and formulae, but short on clear and lucid explanations. That is why popular science authors are a good way to go if you want to really get into science, try them first before you hit the big books.
Right, credibility is beside the point. So if I have killed over one hundred people by stabbing them each in the face 50 times, and you find someone stabbed in the face 50 times, but I say I didn't do it, would you say the same thing? Is it logically unsustainable? Absolutely. There is no evidence for that whatsoever. And what evidence there has been is almost immediately discredited. I think you are a dangerous person if you think this way. A lot of goths say Robert Smith isn't a true goth, just because he's a celebrity. They're full of shit, and themselves. Also, explain to me how he, "Doesn't understand da sciences," please.
Richard Dawkins has a new book coming out October 4 called The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Reallly True. Based on all of the pre-reviews and descriptions, it seems like an intorduction to scientific reasoning and the scientific method, for the layman crowd. I would recommend it if you are new to science, and want to learn more. He is a good author, or as good as any scientist/writer is anyway. I would also recommend Carl Sagan-Dragons of Eden as one of my personal favs.
