Richard Milton (author): Difference between revisions

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
I agree with Wellsworth, how is this all relevant? Take it to the talk page
→‎Non-Fiction: Liveintheforests misrepresented the source, adding an url so people can check to see if I've got it right
Line 54: Line 54:


Popular science book ''The Facts of Life: Shattering the myth of Darwinism''.<ref name="shattering_book">{{cite book | title= The Facts of Life: Shattering the myth of Darwinism| first= Richard | last= Milton |ISBN=978-0892818846 |publisher=Park Street Press |date=1992}}</ref> (published in the United States under the title ''Shattering the Myths of Darwinism'' 1997) is a re-evaluation of the Darwinist evolutionary mechanism of the natural selection of genetic mutations. It reports on research in many field by professional scientists that cast doubt on accepted ideas, which it describes as having become a dogma. In the book Milton was supportive of alternative evolutionary mechanisms such as [[lamarckian]] [[inheritance of acquired characteristics]], he ruled out chance as a factor in evolution, he was supportive of the evolutionary theories of [[Wilhelm Reich]] and [[Rupert Sheldrake]], the [[hopeful monster]] theory of [[Richard Goldschmidt]] and [[panspermia]] of [[Fred Hoyle]] which he claimed were all anti-Darwinian evolutionary theories and are more reliable than [[Neo-Darwinian]] [[natural selection]] and random [[mutations]].<ref>ThirdWay Apr 1993 Milton's book reviewed by Douglas Spanner p. 30</ref><ref>Review of Miltons book in the Journal of Creation, 12(2):158–160, August 1998 by Carl Wieland</ref> Milton also claimed in the book that the earth may be as young as 175,000 years old, based on the amount of [[helium]] in the [[atmosphere]].<ref>Milton, Facts of Life, pp. 62 - 65 </ref>
Popular science book ''The Facts of Life: Shattering the myth of Darwinism''.<ref name="shattering_book">{{cite book | title= The Facts of Life: Shattering the myth of Darwinism| first= Richard | last= Milton |ISBN=978-0892818846 |publisher=Park Street Press |date=1992}}</ref> (published in the United States under the title ''Shattering the Myths of Darwinism'' 1997) is a re-evaluation of the Darwinist evolutionary mechanism of the natural selection of genetic mutations. It reports on research in many field by professional scientists that cast doubt on accepted ideas, which it describes as having become a dogma. In the book Milton was supportive of alternative evolutionary mechanisms such as [[lamarckian]] [[inheritance of acquired characteristics]], he ruled out chance as a factor in evolution, he was supportive of the evolutionary theories of [[Wilhelm Reich]] and [[Rupert Sheldrake]], the [[hopeful monster]] theory of [[Richard Goldschmidt]] and [[panspermia]] of [[Fred Hoyle]] which he claimed were all anti-Darwinian evolutionary theories and are more reliable than [[Neo-Darwinian]] [[natural selection]] and random [[mutations]].<ref>ThirdWay Apr 1993 Milton's book reviewed by Douglas Spanner p. 30</ref><ref>Review of Miltons book in the Journal of Creation, 12(2):158–160, August 1998 by Carl Wieland</ref> Milton also claimed in the book that the earth may be as young as 175,000 years old, based on the amount of [[helium]] in the [[atmosphere]].<ref>Milton, Facts of Life, pp. 62 - 65 </ref>
In a review in [[Third Way Magazine]] Douglas Spanner, while suggesting that it should be taken seriously by orthodox Darwinism, was dubious about his attempts to dispute tradtional methods of estimating the earth's age and said "on matters of biological importance he can be off-course at times".<ref>Spanner, Douglas ''ThirdWay'' Apr 1993 Douglas spanner [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wi_tmG-bE6UC&pg=PA30&dq=RIchard+milton&hl=en&ei=88jaTYW0Oc-z8QOqyuWDBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=RIchard%20milton&f=false]</ref>
Douglas Spanner writing a review of Milton's book in the [[Third Way Magazine]] positively reviewed the book and claimed it was the third book in a series of books by [[scientific]] [[journalists]] who have challenged [[Neo-Darwinism]], the other two being books by [[J. Francis Hitching]] and [[Gordon Rattray Taylor]].<ref>ThirdWay Apr 1993 Douglas spanner </ref>


===Fiction===
===Fiction===

Revision as of 21:01, 23 May 2011

Richard Milton
Born1943
London
Occupationwriter and journalist
NationalityBritish
CitizenshipBritish
PeriodContemporary
GenreFiction and non fiction
SubjectControversies

Richard Milton (born 1943) is a British journalist and writer who deals with often highly controversial subjects.

His books have been published widely in Britain and abroad. Non fiction books include Popular History: Best of Enemies [1]; Business Book: Bad Company [2] and Scientific Controversies: The Facts of Life [3]and Alternative Science [4]). He has also had one novel published: Dead Secret[5].

Books

Non-Fiction

His most recent book is the popular history: Best of Enemies: Britain and Germany – 100 years of Truth and Lies [1] which examines the role of propaganda in Anglo-German relations in the two World Wars, and seeks to show that many of the features of Nazism began as British ideas.

His business book Bad Company [2] , investigates the antisocial behaviour of large corporations and suggests that companies can behave like people. It is a compendium of corporate PR and marketing disasters from recent decades, resulting from self-defeating behaviour by multinational companies that Milton says would be described as insane if committed by an individual. He suggests that there is a “corporate unconscious” which, under stress, reveals the true nature of the organisation through pathological behaviour.

Popular science book Forbidden Science:Suppressed Research That Could Change Our Lives (1994)[6] (published in the United States under the title Alternative Science:Challenging the Myths of the Scientific Establishment[4]), traces through the history of science a phenomenon in which good science is sometimes lumped with bad science by ‘skeptics’ because it deals with taboo subjects.

Popular science book The Facts of Life: Shattering the myth of Darwinism.[3] (published in the United States under the title Shattering the Myths of Darwinism 1997) is a re-evaluation of the Darwinist evolutionary mechanism of the natural selection of genetic mutations. It reports on research in many field by professional scientists that cast doubt on accepted ideas, which it describes as having become a dogma. In the book Milton was supportive of alternative evolutionary mechanisms such as lamarckian inheritance of acquired characteristics, he ruled out chance as a factor in evolution, he was supportive of the evolutionary theories of Wilhelm Reich and Rupert Sheldrake, the hopeful monster theory of Richard Goldschmidt and panspermia of Fred Hoyle which he claimed were all anti-Darwinian evolutionary theories and are more reliable than Neo-Darwinian natural selection and random mutations.[7][8] Milton also claimed in the book that the earth may be as young as 175,000 years old, based on the amount of helium in the atmosphere.[9] In a review in Third Way Magazine Douglas Spanner, while suggesting that it should be taken seriously by orthodox Darwinism, was dubious about his attempts to dispute tradtional methods of estimating the earth's age and said "on matters of biological importance he can be off-course at times".[10]

Fiction

Milton has also published a novel, Dead Secret a paranormal mystery Thriller.[5], whose central character is a scientific rationalist and skeptic who encounters what appears to be real paranormal phenomena that dramatically change his world view.

Websites

Richard Milton founded and ran the now-defunct Alternative Science website - can still be viewed at archive.com[11]

In this website, Milton reports on many controversial scientific fields including Cold fusion; Alternative medical concepts, such as bioenergy, homeopathy and iridology; Paranormal phenomena, such as psychokinesis and remote viewing and the evidence for the luminiferous ether, which is ignored because it contradicts the theory of relativity.


He has also has founded and maintains two reference websites - one on the early history of Portable Typewriters [12] and another on Stone Age Tools [13]


Controversies arising from Milton's work

His books, especially those on scientific controversies, have given rise to heated debate. To his critics Milton is a contrarian who engages in controversy for its own sake, while to his supporters he is a writer unafraid to tackle uncomfortable subjects and orthodoxies that have become dogmas. Milton is controversial in the field of evolution as has he is a Neo-Lamarckian who has supported the experiments of Paul Kammerer[14]

The Facts of Life aroused intense controversy and was met with both high praise and intense criticism. Reviewing it in New Statesman, Oxford evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins who described it as "twaddle that betrays, on almost every page, complete and total pig-ignorance of the subject at hand".[15] ]. Writing in The Sunday Times, science correspondent Neville Hodgkinson said, "The world of science faces the biggest challenge yet to one of its most basic beliefs: Charles Darwin's theory of evolution." and described the book as "An authoritative compilation of scientific findings."[16]

Milton's claims have been criticised as pseudoscience by philosophy professor Robert Carroll.[17] Carroll made the criticisms after his ‘Skeptics Dictionary” was reviewed by Milton[18], pointing out that many of its ‘skeptical’ entries resulted from Carroll’s lack of scientific knowledge.

Milton blames the influence of Dawkins for the rejection of an article he wrote for the Times Higher Education Supplement.[19]

Milton engaged in a lengthy email debate with the author of the "Fossil Hominids FAQ" at the TalkOrigins Archive, which is posted there in its entirety.[20]

Milton also appeared on The Mysterious Origins of Man, a television special arguing that mankind has lived on the Earth for tens of millions of years, and that mainstream scientists have suppressed supporting evidence.

Milton's claims on the age of mankind have also been criticised for scientific inaccuracy.[21]

Bibliography

  • The Facts of Life, Fourth Estate, 1992 (hardback), 1993 (paperback); published as Il Mystero Della Vita, Editoriale Armenia, 1993 (Italy); Sinkosha Publishing, 1995 (Japan)
  • Shattering the Myths of Darwinism; published as O Mythos tou Darwinismou 1996 (Greece), Park Street Press, 1997 (US Hardback, US Paperback); Forepace Publishing, 1997 (Thailand)
  • Forbidden Science, Fourth Estate, 1994 (hardback), 1995, (paperback); published as Verbotene Wissenschaften, Zweitausendeins, 1996 (Germany)
  • Alternative Science, Park Street Press, 1996, (US Paperback); Forepace Publishing, 1997 (Thailand)
  • Bad Company, Stratus, 2000, (Paperback)
  • Dead Secret, Stratus, 2000, (UK Hardback), 2001, (UK Paperback)
  • The Best of Enemies, Icon Books, 2007 (UK Hardback), 2008 (UK Paperback); Totem Books 2008, (US Hardback)

References

  1. ^ a b Milton, Richard (2007). Best of Enemies: Britain and Germany - 100 Years of Truth and Lies. Icon Books. ISBN 978-1840468281.
  2. ^ a b Milton, Richard (2000). Bad Company. House of Stratus. ISBN 978-0755101511.
  3. ^ a b Milton, Richard. The Facts of Life: Shattering the myth of Darwinism. Park Street Press. ISBN 978-0892818846. Cite error: The named reference "shattering_book" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Milton, Richard. Alternative Science: Challenging the Myths of the Scientific Establishment. Park Street Press. ISBN 978-0892816316. Cite error: The named reference "alt_sci_book" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Milton, Richard. Dead Secret. House of Stratus. ISBN 978-0755101788. Cite error: The named reference "dead_secret_book" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ Milton, Richard (1994). Forbidden Science: Suppressed Research That Could Change Our Lives. Trafalgar Square. ISBN 978-1857023022.
  7. ^ ThirdWay Apr 1993 Milton's book reviewed by Douglas Spanner p. 30
  8. ^ Review of Miltons book in the Journal of Creation, 12(2):158–160, August 1998 by Carl Wieland
  9. ^ Milton, Facts of Life, pp. 62 - 65
  10. ^ Spanner, Douglas ThirdWay Apr 1993 Douglas spanner [1]
  11. ^ "AlternativeScience.com".
  12. ^ "Portable_Typewriter_Museum".
  13. ^ "Stone_Age_Tools_Museum".
  14. ^ Milton in Forbidden Science, p. 229 discussing evidence Neo-Lamarckism
  15. ^ Dawkins, Richard (28 August 1992). "Review of Richard Milton: The Facts of Life: Shattering the myth of Darwinism". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 28 October 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  16. ^ http://www.sedin.org/propeng/shatter.htm
  17. ^ Carroll, Robert (2008). "The Alternative Science Pages of Richard Milton". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  18. ^ "Richard_Milton_reviews_'The_Skeptics_Dictionary'".
  19. ^ Milton, Richard. "Scientific Censorship and Evolution".
  20. ^ Debate on fossil hominid evidence between Richard Milton and Jim Foley, TalkOrigins Archive. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
  21. ^ Thomas, Dave (March 1996). "NBC's Origins Show". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Milton_(author)&oldid=430572293"