Foresight: How the Chemistry of Life Reveals Planning and Purpose

by Marcos Eberlin

Learn about jumping insects with real gears, and the ingenious technology behind a power-punching shrimp. Enter the strange world of carnivorous plants. And check out a microscopic protein machine in a bird’s eye that may work as a GPS device by harnessing quantum entanglement. Join renowned Brazilian scientist Marcos Eberlin as he uncovers a myriad of artful solutions to major engineering challenges in chemistry and biology, solutions that point beyond blind evolution to the workings of an attribute unique to minds—foresight. Marcos N. Eberlin is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Campinas. After postdoctoral work at Purdue, he founded the Thomson Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, growing it into a highly distinguished lab and supervising some 200 graduate and post-doctoral students, scientists who today work as researchers and professionals all around the globe. Winner of the prestigious Thomson Medal (2016) and the former president of the International Mass Spectrometry Foundation, Eberlin is recognized worldwide as one of the most productive mass spectrometrists ever, having published close to 1,000 scientific articles.

Genres: Science, Intelligent Design, Nonfiction

174 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2019

Reviews

[Erin Waymel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinatingly overwhelming.
This book zeros in to the tiniest functions of enzymes in cells and then zooms out to the makeup of earths atmosphere to effectively portray the vast number of factors that are perfectly coordinated to support and sustain life and reveal the compelling argument for design of life and the universe.

This book definitely forced me to draw back on my chemistry and physiology courses in college and went beyond what I learned there. There are portions that get pretty technical and might be daunting to read to a science limited audience. But even reading through the technical descriptions garners amazement at the sophistication, elegance, and complexity of the worlds design.

Some of his arguments do feel a little rushed or not fully flushed out as he hurries from one topic to the next. I kept thinking there would be a little more explanation of some of his topics but then he had jumped on to another. However, the examples he uses in this book left me in renewed and deepened awe of the brilliance of the worlds design and function. It is also humbling to read about just the few extraordinary examples contained in this book and consider the depth of knowledge we lack and are only just beginning to uncover in the universe. It’s almost mind numbing to sit and ponder the multitude of diverse laws and intricate essential details that in perfectly fine tuned precision support the fragility of life. The ending concluding chapter again felt hurried but overall I was left wishing there were more and more chapters to read to keep learning about our beautiful and superbly designed world.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this book was an interesting read, cataloging aspects of biology that indicate teleology, or having the end goal in mind. Eberlin's examples are compelling, and his book fits within the library of intelligent design books. Intelligent design books tend to begin with a philosophical premise that design in nature is not only possible but detectable. (This is different from creationism which begins with a theological premise that a particular God created.)

I gave this book 4 stars, but I do so with two caveats:

I have a background in chemistry, so the science was not too hefty for me, but it might be a bit overly detailed for people without a science background. He does a good job of letting the reader know when the next portion is technical and where to skip ahead if you don't want all the nitty gritty details.

Second, this isn't beautiful science writing and there is no narrative arc. This book is much more textbook-like because it is making a case for the evidence of foresight (or design) in various aspects of chemistry and biology. The writing isn't poetic or eloquent, but it is clear and straightforward. The intention is to instruct, not to tell a story. I prefer eloquent narrative non-fiction and almost gave this book 3 stars just for that. However, I appreciated that everything was written in a clear manner without relying on scientific jargon, so I went with 4.

I would recommend this to people with a science background. I think they would enjoy reading about phospholipids and insect joints.

[Michael Harwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a very disappointing book. It starts at an elementary level, but then instead of getting more detailed and complex, it actually gets simpler! By the end of the book, the author is so vague, describing senses without getting into the science at all - because rotting things smell bad to us, that shows that our sense of smell was created with purpose and foresight. You don't need a PhD to come up with this!

This book is a waste of time. It introduced me to a couple of new things: ladderane and aquaporins. Now you know, and you can go off and research them on your own.

[Michael A. Simmons, Sr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent example of evolution vs ID

Oberlin presents a compelling case for ID vs evolution. He demolishes the evo folks with his critical question of how did evolution create the miraculous forms of life? Demonstrating the why is the easy part but the evo folks are clueless explaining the how.

[John Rossitto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightfully Technical

The author opens one’s eyes to many magnificent designs which can only assume intellectual design with forethought. An observation on my part would suggest that theGod of the Bible has foreseen the events the past and future and has planned for them. This is within His character. Great are you Lord.

[Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in origins of life arguments you need to read this.

[Rocky Woolery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an interesting and complex world we live in, from the simplest of organisms to the atmosphere the we need to live!

[Parthasarathi Kar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book with detailed explanation

[Ken Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing is not an adequate word for what this book describes. For example, consider the flagellum motor, a microscopic nanomachine that helps many lowly bacteria find food. It requires millions of atoms to be perfectly arranged so as to actually form a so-called molecular motor that appears to have rotors, shafts, O-rings, junctions, a propeller, and even a clutch. It’s all true. And the scientist who wrote this book asks a simple question: How could such an ingeniously and sequentially arranged complex cellular structure that operates in such a highly synchronized fashion have evolved one blind, random mutation at a time? And he asks that question about one fascinating example after another so as to suggest that the world we live in must have involved foresight and planning to exist. Too many complex life forms required multiple aspects of their structure, that mutually depend on each other to function, to all become operational at once in order to exist. Marcos Eberlin has a terrific ability to explain extraordinarily complex aspects of our world in a way that I not only found readable, but also highly compelling.