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Title: Expert wanders off
Review: The first 3/4 of this book are really excellent and engaging. The last 1/4 is another case of an expert launching himself into outer philosophy space.This happens to a lot of authors. Here, Ridley spends many chapters relating good science and drawing good conclusions, but near the end the scientific basis for his claims falls slowly away and you are left reading more and more stuff that is less and less supportable. The line is not clearly drawn, so the reader is unguided. That is a shame, because a good scientist should be absolutely perspicacious in delineating this.The book is well written, and I'd be delighted to spend time with this author. But you needs to build a defensive attitude and keep your critical thinker cap firmly in place.
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