[.ca] God's Debris: A Thought Experiment (ISBN 0740747878)

From Amazon.com:
Scott Adams, creator of the popular comic strip "Dilbert," has written a modern-day parable about a young man and an unlikely mentor. God's Debris starts with a young deliveryman trying to hand over a package to a man with a San Francisco address. But delivering the package to this old man proves to be as difficult as trying to understand the meaning of God. "It's for you," the old man tells the narrator, gesturing to the package. "What's in the package?" the narrator asks. "It's the answer to your question." "I wasn't expecting any answers," the deliveryman admits. About this time, the narrator begins to realize that he's not dealing with a feeble-minded old man; he's dealing with a situation that could alter his life. The sincerity and metaphysical complexity of this fable will surprise those who expect comedy, but Adams is following a tradition set by such writers as Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior) and Richard Bach (Illusions). As in many parables that have come before, the deliveryman learns the meaning of life from an illusive mentor who seems to arise from a wrinkle in time. The cleverness of the God's Debris concept is original and bound to leave readers pondering some altered definitions of God, the universe, and just about everything else. --Gail Hudson

Appeals to a _very_ particular audience.:
In terms of structure, this book provides about a page or two (sometimes less) of discussion for each question that is raised. Each chapter addresses a particular topic, and contains within itself a number of subtopics in the form of questions. The language is very accessible, making for a rather light reading experience. In terms of content, the book is worthless to anyone with a grade 12 or first-year university education in the sciences or philosophy (or familiarity with the subjects at this level). It is filled with terminological, logical, and scientific errors. If you're someone who enjoys delving into the depths of scientific and philosophical scholarship, don't expect to find anything remotely scholarly or cogent in this book. If, on the other hand, you like being presented with condensed and uncharitable versions of traditional problems (the problem of evil, the problem of divine foreknowledge and human free will, etc.) and well-known arguments (Ockham's Razor, etc.) you'll probably enjoy this book. But take everything with a grain of salt: you won't be taken seriously if you were to present most of these views (those of the book) in (intelligent) conversation. Those of you who actually want to learn something -- this book will disappoint.

This book offers a new perspective:
I love this book. It's so full of thoughts and ideas that sound logical, yet many of them are entirely new and different. It's a quick read, just finished it in about two hours or so, and this is my second time reading it. What I really love about it is how it makes your brain feel alive. A young delivery man attempts to deliver a package to an old man. However, the old man seems to ignore the attempts at delivery, and instead he asks the young man a variety of questions, beginning with a question regarding a simple coin toss. He continues to probe and prod at the young man's answers to physical phenomenon, God, free will, probability, and numerous other concepts. While this book may not radically change your life, it will encourage you to think a little bit more about what you really do know, and what you don't. I particularly find this book interesting due to the physics contained within its pages. It discusses string theory and Einstein and a bit of quantum mechanics (ironically the subject of another book I'm currently reading, The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene), and it treats them in a different manner. While I'm not quite sure if the discussions of them are entirely accurate, it's interesting to see where this book compares with what I think I know. :) While I encourage people to read this book, it is not for anyone who isn't willing to read views that may be radically different from his or her own. From the introduction: "The story contains no violence, no sexual content, and no offensive language. But the ideas expressed by the characters are inappropriate for young minds. People under the age of fourteen should not read it. "The target audience for God's Debris is people who enjoy having their brains spun around inside their skulls. After a certain age most people are uncomfortable with new ideas. That certain age varies by person, but if you're over fifty-five (mentally) you probably won't enjoy this thought experiment. If you're eighty going on thirty-five, you might like it. If you're twenty-three, your odds of liking it are very good. "The story's central character has a view about God that you've probably never heard before. If you think you would be offended by a fictional character's untraditional view of God, please don't read this."

Mental Refresh:
God's Debris is an attempt to force you to hit F5 (refresh) on your beliefs. Ideas once accepted have a way of going unchallenged for years, even decades. By design, Adams makes the scope of the book broad and the subject matter universal. For each section he hopes the Old Man's explanations are compelling enough for you to wonder why you DONT believe the same and to reconsider how you came to believe what you do. You might be appalled at how wobbly the foundations of your own core beliefs are. Outside their ability to perturb, the Old Man's ideas are irrelevant. It would be a mistake to accept them wholly or to reject them based on their inaccuracies, which are intentional. An inaccurate assertion has the greatest power to stimulate a response (good messageboard "trolls" know this). If, for example, I told you that my clearly polka-dotted shirt was plaid, you'd carefully examine my shirt before telling me I was wrong. Adams wants to prompt the "carefully examine" response and perhaps make it a habit of mind for you. The absurdities in much of Adams's works relate to a failure to carefully examine ideas, to accept them based on momentum or the resonance of their elegant simplicity. In a sense, this is Adams's antidote for a world where pointy haired bosses reign. Having said the above, if you don't find the ideas novel enough to jog you into a critical thinking mode, you won't get much out of the book. This is likely the case for philosophy majors. Still, you shouldn't dismiss it out of hand. Consider it a potential gateway drug into more substantial works. I'm sure that possibility would delight Adams.

An amateur rehash:
What a waste of pages. It's an extended dialogue of the trashiest straw man sort, badly reiterating most every argument related to relgion. If you've never read anything about religion you could mistake this as profound or interesting; if you have you'll find it incredibly underinformed and badly written.

A very worthwhile read:
This book will definitely set your brain in motion. Even though it's relatively short (I finished it in about three hours, and I'm a slow reader), there's plenty in it to think about. Adams raises some good points, and then some not-so-good points, but just about everything he says makes sense on some level and forces you to look at the way you think. The story through which the whole God's Debris theory is told makes it a bit more enjoyable. Adams' writing style is likewise engaging. One recommendation, though: get the electronic form if at all possible. It's not worth the extra money for the hardcover version considering the length (or lack thereof) of the book.