Cover of Darwin's Black Box

Darwin's Black Box

by Michael J. Behe · first published 1996

4mentions
0recommended by
3HN commenters
2012–2024first – last mentioned

33% neutral67% critical

Virtually all serious scientists accept the truth of Darwin's theory of evolution. While the fight for its acceptance has been a long and difficult one, after a century the battle is over. Biologists are now confident that their remaining questions, such as how life on Earth began, or how the Cambrian explosion could have produced so many new species in such a short time, will be found to have Darwinian answers. They, like most of the rest of us, accept Darwin's theory to be true. But should we? What would happen if we found something that radically challenged the now-accepted wisdom? As Behe

Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Mentions per year

10 2007: 0 mentions2008: 0 mentions2009: 0 mentions2010: 0 mentions2011: 0 mentions2012: 1 mention2013: 0 mentions2014: 0 mentions2015: 0 mentions2016: 0 mentions2017: 0 mentions2018: 0 mentions2019: 0 mentions2020: 0 mentions2021: 1 mention2022: 0 mentions2023: 0 mentions2024: 1 mention2025: 0 mentions2026: 0 mentions200720172026

What Hacker News says

  • emil0r · Aug 28, 2012 · Mentions

    Examples from Michael Behe's book Darwin's Black Box: Blood's ability to coagulate is a cascading system with over 30 parts. Remove one part and it's fatal for the individual. How could a system like that evolve gradually over time? He lists quite a few…

    on “The Worst Argument In The World” ↗
  • kens · Mar 31, 2021 · Critical

    You recommend Behe's book; I read his earlier book "Darwin's Black Box"a while back. I found it interesting, well-written, and superficially convincing but fundamentally flawed and ultimately a waste of time.

    on “Scientists create simple synthetic cell” ↗
  • appletrotter · Apr 18, 2024 · Critical

    …biology. DNA replication, transcription, and translation are complex processes facilitated by a variety of proteins and enzymes, which themselves evolved. Regarding Prof. Michael Behe's arguments in "Darwin's Black Box," while thought-provoking, they have been widely critiqued and refuted in the scientific community. Behe's concept of "irreducible complexity" has been shown not to preclude evolutionary origins, as numerous…

  • kens · Mar 31, 2021 · Mentions

    I read "Darwin's Black Box" over 20 years ago so I can't give a lot of details. His fundamental idea was "irreducible complexity", a system that won't work if you take away any piece, such as a mousetrap. He claimed that a lot…

    on “Scientists create simple synthetic cell” ↗

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Focus search
j / k
Next / previous book
Enter
Open focused book
Esc
Close / go back
g h
Go to Home
g t
Go to Top all-time
g m
Go to Most recommended
g r
Go to Rising
g f
Go to For You
?
Show this help