Lewis Wolpert

Just finished Lewis Wolpert's Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Big disappointment. I picked it up on a whim, without knowing anything about it, so I suppose I deserved what I got. The subtitle of the book is "The Evolutionary Origins of Belief," which led me to, ahem, believe that it would be dedicated to religious beliefs specifically, and how they enhanced humans' adaptability. In other words, I assumed that the book would be about the evolutionary origins of faith. What Wolpert in fact writes about is a much more abstract and formal concept of causal belief, i.e. an idea that, when held, purports to explain to an individual, whether correctly or not, why an event happens, and thus influences the individual's actions.

I found the book dry, boring, and not really helpful in increasing my understanding of the world or human behavior. It was really a summary of what anyone with a basic knowledge of the scientific method and a general awareness of cultural differences around the world already knows. He does pay some attention to religious belief, and in a couple of places, touches upon what could be a fascinating and deeply controversial idea -- namely, that humans may be genetically predisposed towards holding religious beliefs. He does not expand on it at all, however, dismissing it with the infuriating "there is some evidence that..," but even if he did expand on it, I am sure I would not have sufficient background in genetics and biology to make a stab at understanding.