Rating: 
Summary: Nice approach, flawed theology
Review: This book should have been a 50-page monograph. Instead, through repetition and at times forced humor, it swelled to 240 pages. It is fun at times, but the theology is really poor. The author thinks that earthquakes and floods are more likely to occur in a "godless" universe, discounting the whole idea of a fallen nature. In other words, Original Sin did not just corrupt man, but all of nature (after the fall God created thorns, thistles and weeds and allowed earthquakes and floods too).What most people, including this author, really mean when they say that God doesn't exist (or that there's an X percent chance of God existing) is that God isn't like them (or God is about X percent like them.) Just look at the arguments, for example - "Well, if God is good then why do children die? Children dying doesn't seem good to me, so God isn't good." If you use the author's method, you're more likely to get an indication of how much God is like you, not whether He exists.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the certain
Review: This is not a book for the certain. It will probably irritate them. If someone's looking for a book that completely endorses their hardened beliefs, atheist or theist, this not the one for them. There are hundreds of other books for that. On the other hand, if you want a balanced, impressively systematic evaluation of the evidence in a very novel setting, I think you'll enjoy Unwin's book. He argues in the end that uncertainty isn't all bad, and even provides an important spiritual element, when it comes to belief in God. I think it describes a powerful basis for religious belief that doesn't have to be rooted in complete certainty.
Rating:
Summary: A Douglas Adams for the Theists?
Review: When I finished the book I felt like I'd gotten a free lunch. I came out knowing a lot about everyone from Pascal to Heisenberg, and yet I'd felt no pain. In fact, the book was a page-turner. I read Salmon of Doubt recently and I find Unwin's humor a little reminiscent of Douglas Adams. Also, quite apart from the whole God thing, this book is a great introduction to Bayes theorem of probability. Maybe I even feel confident enough to produce my own probability of God number ... well, probably ...
Rating:
Summary: Witty, delightfully humorous, and thought provoking
Review: Would I recommend this book? -- most certainly! In fact I have purchased additional copies for my church library and for a few "no nonsense friends." Given the nature of the subject, the book is a relatively quick read: 6-8 hours more or less, depending on a reader's interest in performing a personalized assessment in parallel with the author's. The value of the book is not in its theology, but rather in the questions posed, and the structural and analytical tools provided to the reader. I especially appreciate that the author focuses on equipping inquisitive readers with a methodology for identifying, structuring, and assessing their own beliefs, and not on defending a particular position or belief. The pluralism allowed by the author's approach is indeed a welcome relief to dogmatic positions so often manned in matters of religion. Posturing and "Is" and "Is not" positioning are absent from this book. Readers are free to select and evaluate their own beliefs. The author's perspective encourages contemplation, not fortification. Thankfully, the writing is witty and at tiimes delightfully humorous. The author skillfully balances the sophisitcated logic that underlies Bayesian analytical technique (more nearly the subject of the book), with light-hearted and sometimes penetrating examples. The author's discussion implies truths imbedded in probability and decision analysis methodology. 1.) Statment of the premise has a direct effect on the analytical result: i.e., careful the question, lest the indication provided by the analysis point east rather than north. 2.) In order to be meaningful Bayesian analysis must be rigorously structured and consistently applied; there-in resides the strength of a mathematical approach. 3.) Once "premise" and "structure" are established, results of alternate determinants can be calculated with minimal effort. 4.) And finally, results of iterative analyses give rise to insights as to which determinants drive results and therefore the direction of the decision. An unexpected side benefit of the book is the interest it sparks for gaining additional understanding of the development of probabilistic thinkiing and methodology. Unwin's THE PROBABILITY OF GOD are shelved alongside Bernstein's AGAINST THE GODS, and Hacking's THE TAMING OF CHANCE: good reading all.
Rating:
Summary: Witty, delightfully humorous, and thought provoking
Review: Would I recommend this book? -- most certainly! In fact I have purchased additional copies for my church library and for a few "no nonsense friends." Given the nature of the subject, the book is a relatively quick read: 6-8 hours more or less, depending on a reader's interest in performing a personalized assessment in parallel with the author's. The value of the book is not in its theology, but rather in the questions posed, and the structural and analytical tools provided to the reader. I especially appreciate that the author focuses on equipping inquisitive readers with a methodology for identifying, structuring, and assessing their own beliefs, and not on defending a particular position or belief. The pluralism allowed by the author's approach is indeed a welcome relief to dogmatic positions so often manned in matters of religion. Posturing and "Is" and "Is not" positioning are absent from this book. Readers are free to select and evaluate their own beliefs. The author's perspective encourages contemplation, not fortification. Thankfully, the writing is witty and at tiimes delightfully humorous. The author skillfully balances the sophisitcated logic that underlies Bayesian analytical technique (more nearly the subject of the book), with light-hearted and sometimes penetrating examples. The author's discussion implies truths imbedded in probability and decision analysis methodology. 1.) Statment of the premise has a direct effect on the analytical result: i.e., careful the question, lest the indication provided by the analysis point east rather than north. 2.) In order to be meaningful Bayesian analysis must be rigorously structured and consistently applied; there-in resides the strength of a mathematical approach. 3.) Once "premise" and "structure" are established, results of alternate determinants can be calculated with minimal effort. 4.) And finally, results of iterative analyses give rise to insights as to which determinants drive results and therefore the direction of the decision. An unexpected side benefit of the book is the interest it sparks for gaining additional understanding of the development of probabilistic thinkiing and methodology. Unwin's THE PROBABILITY OF GOD are shelved alongside Bernstein's AGAINST THE GODS, and Hacking's THE TAMING OF CHANCE: good reading all.
Rating:
Summary: Witty, delightfully humorous, and thought provoking
Review: Would I recommend this book? -- most certainly! In fact I have purchased additional copies for my church library and for a few "no nonsense friends." Given the nature of the subject, the book is a relatively quick read: 6-8 hours more or less, depending on a reader's interest in performing a personalized assessment in parallel with the author's. The value of the book is not in its theology, but rather in the questions posed, and the structural and analytical tools provided to the reader. I especially appreciate that the author focuses on equipping inquisitive readers with a methodology for identifying, structuring, and assessing their own beliefs, and not on defending a particular position or belief. The pluralism allowed by the author's approach is indeed a welcome relief to dogmatic positions so often manned in matters of religion. Posturing and "Is" and "Is not" positioning are absent from this book. Readers are free to select and evaluate their own beliefs. The author's perspective encourages contemplation, not fortification. Thankfully, the writing is witty and at tiimes delightfully humorous. The author skillfully balances the sophisitcated logic that underlies Bayesian analytical technique (more nearly the subject of the book), with light-hearted and sometimes penetrating examples. The author's discussion implies truths imbedded in probability and decision analysis methodology. 1.) Statment of the premise has a direct effect on the analytical result: i.e., careful the question, lest the indication provided by the analysis point east rather than north. 2.) In order to be meaningful Bayesian analysis must be rigorously structured and consistently applied; there-in resides the strength of a mathematical approach. 3.) Once "premise" and "structure" are established, results of alternate determinants can be calculated with minimal effort. 4.) And finally, results of iterative analyses give rise to insights as to which determinants drive results and therefore the direction of the decision. An unexpected side benefit of the book is the interest it sparks for gaining additional understanding of the development of probabilistic thinkiing and methodology. Unwin's THE PROBABILITY OF GOD are shelved alongside Bernstein's AGAINST THE GODS, and Hacking's THE TAMING OF CHANCE: good reading all.
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