Richard Milton (author)
Encyclopedia
Richard Milton is a British
journalist
and writer
who deals with often highly controversial subjects. Milton, an engineer
by training, has published on the topics of popular history
, business, scientific controversies and alternative science
and has published a novel.
. Milton also claimed in his book that the earth may be as young as 175,000 years old, based on the amount of helium
in the atmosphere
.
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 traditional methods of estimating the earth's age and said "on matters of biological importance he can be off-course at times".
as he is a neo-Lamarckian who has supported the experiments of Paul Kammerer
.
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
described it as "twaddle that betrays, on almost every page, complete and total pig-ignorance of the subject at hand".
Milton's claims have been criticised as pseudoscience
by philosophy professor Robert Carroll
. Milton 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. Milton's "Best of Enemies" [Page 167] quotes David Irving as a source on Hitler, despite the fact that Irving was jailed for Holocaust denial, and is no longer generally regarded as a reliable source by Holocaust scholars.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and writer
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who deals with often highly controversial subjects. Milton, an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
by training, has published on the topics of popular history
Popular history
Popular history is a broad and somewhat ill-defined genre of historiography that takes a popular approach, aims at a wide readership, and usually emphasizes narrative, personality and vivid detail over scholarly analysis...
, business, scientific controversies and alternative science
Fringe science
Fringe science is scientific inquiry in an established field of study that departs significantly from mainstream or orthodox theories, and is classified in the "fringes" of a credible mainstream academic discipline....
and has published a novel.
Books
Popular science book The Facts of Life: Shattering the myth of Darwinism, is a re-evaluation of the Darwinist evolutionary mechanism of the natural selection of genetic mutations. It reports on research in many fields 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. Milton has criticised neo-DarwinismNeo-Darwinism
Neo-Darwinism is the 'modern synthesis' of Darwinian evolution through natural selection with Mendelian genetics, the latter being a set of primary tenets specifying that evolution involves the transmission of characteristics from parent to child through the mechanism of genetic transfer, rather...
. Milton also claimed in his book that the earth may be as young as 175,000 years old, based on the amount of helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
in the atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
.
In a review in Third Way Magazine
Third Way Magazine
Third Way Magazine is a UK current-affairs magazine written from a Christian perspective. It is distinctively biblical, fairly highbrow and culturally aware...
Douglas Spanner, while suggesting that it should be taken seriously by orthodox Darwinism, was dubious about his attempts to dispute traditional methods of estimating the earth's age and said "on matters of biological importance he can be off-course at times".
Controversy
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 evolutionEvolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
as he is a neo-Lamarckian who has supported the experiments of Paul Kammerer
Paul Kammerer
Paul Kammerer was an Austrian biologist who studied and advocated the now abandoned Lamarckian theory of inheritance – the notion that organisms may pass to their offspring characteristics they have acquired in their lifetime...
.
The Facts of Life aroused intense controversy and was met with both high praise and intense criticism. Reviewing it in New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
described it as "twaddle that betrays, on almost every page, complete and total pig-ignorance of the subject at hand".
Milton's claims have been criticised as pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
by philosophy professor Robert Carroll
Robert Todd Carroll
Robert Todd Carroll , Ph.D., is an American writer and academic. Carroll has written several books and skeptical essays but achieved notability by publishing the Skeptic's Dictionary online in 1994.-Early life and education:...
. Milton appeared on The Mysterious Origins of Man
The Mysterious Origins of Man
The Mysterious Origins of Man was a television special that originally aired on NBC on February 25, 1996. Hosted by Charlton Heston, the program argued that mankind has lived on the Earth for tens of millions of years, and that mainstream scientists have suppressed the fossil evidence for this...
, 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. Milton's "Best of Enemies" [Page 167] quotes David Irving as a source on Hitler, despite the fact that Irving was jailed for Holocaust denial, and is no longer generally regarded as a reliable source by Holocaust scholars.
Non-fiction
-
- published as Il Mystero Della Vita, Editoriale Armenia, 1993 (Italy)
- published by Sinkosha Publishing, 1995 (Japan)
- published as O Mythos tou Darwinismou 1996 (Greece), Park Street Press, 1997 (US Hardback, US Paperback)
- published by Forepace Publishing, 1997 (Thailand)
- published as Verbotene Wissenschaften, Zweitausendeins, 1996 (Germany)
External links
- Debate on fossil hominid evidence between Richard Milton and Jim Foley, TalkOrigins ArchiveTalkOrigins ArchiveThe TalkOrigins Archive is a website that presents mainstream science perspectives on the antievolution claims of young-earth, old-earth, and "intelligent design" creationists...