If it weren't for the patron...
Dan (a.k.a. turtlestack) of Gimme Back My God! was inspired by Saint Gasoline, patron saint of intellectualism and fart jokes, and has declared a Book Re-classification Day.
Next time you're browsing for science books at your local bookstore, consider surreptitiously re-shelving what books you find perpetuating the falsehood that intelligent design is science, and place them in the religion section, where they belong.
Hemant (a.k.a. the Friendly Atheist) is somewhat dubious of this idea, and would like to know what you think, as would I.
Next time you're browsing for science books at your local bookstore, consider surreptitiously re-shelving what books you find perpetuating the falsehood that intelligent design is science, and place them in the religion section, where they belong.
Hemant (a.k.a. the Friendly Atheist) is somewhat dubious of this idea, and would like to know what you think, as would I.
8 comments:
Hmm...On the surface, it makes sense and sounds awesome, but after reading the Friendly Atheist's objections and remembering my own days as a minimum wage bookstore clerk, I have to come down on the side of "no." I think that reshelving such books is funny and subversive in principle, but in practice, it is not a point that would reach anyone else, and it really would make the bookstore employees' lives more harried than they already are. Believe me, it's bad enough just shelving books normally without having to constantly replace books to their "proper" places.
Yeah, ID books do belong in "Religion," but just moving them yourself doesn't fix the problem, and it doesn't even make that useful of a point.
That's the one thing I really don't like about it. Believe me. I can sympathize.
Any other ideas? Someone mentioned disclaimers.
Ooh, that's a good one. Has to be done right, though. A couple of options I can see: a sign, placed somewhere on the Science shelf that says something like "Warning: Books in this section written by Michal Behe and friends are not actually science but rather religion posing as science." Even better, I think, is half-sheets of paper with specific disclaimers for specific books that you then place inside those books in the hope that they won't be noticed until someone purchases the book and opens it at home.
In the comments over at the Friendly Atheist's post, Patrick has suggested a Book Turnover Day instead. Just imagine how funny the pictures will be.
I too like the idea of just flipping the books over and taking pictures and videos of it. It's subversive, fun, and best of all it doesn't really cause any issues with the bookstores or the employees.
A few of these will come in handy (second column, third row).
Patrick has confessed that it was all Tom Foss' idea to turn the books upside down. And I still don't know who brought up disclaimers.
I stopped by a major bookstore the other day to pick of Vic Stenger's new book.
I was pleased to see that Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ" and "The Case for a Creator" were shelved in the the "Religious Fiction" category. Whether that was done by an employee or a fellow godless heathen - it was amusing.
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