Another point notes that the huge blobs of stars called elliptical galaxies arent likely to host Earthlike planets, because they lack heavy elements. This ignores the growing consensus that many elliptical galaxies, and perhaps most, come from the collisions of smaller galaxies that are rich with such elements. The authors implicitly acknowledge these and other uncertainties by noting that they cannot prove their case, just as the adherents of seti cannot prove theirs. As such, Rare Earth mainly helps to frame a profound puzzle that may take decades or centuries to solve. The Triumph of Evolution and the Failure of Creationism , by Niles Eldredge.
Biologists generally hate to debate creationists.
Its not that they fear losing, but that the debates are essentially incoherent. It is no surprise that the arguments fly right past each other and no one gets convinced of anything except the dishonesty and foolishness of the other side. Eldredge makes the best of a bad situation in The Triumph of Evolution , taking the opportunity to promote his own view of how evolution works and to review the history of evolutionary biology. He also makes a plea for peace, claiming that preventing or minimizing ecological crises should be above ideological debate on the agendas of both religious fundamentalists and evolutionary biologists. He rightly questions the sense of arguing on the porch while the house burns to the ground.