Intelligent cataloguing

I performed a very selfless, noble and altruistic act on Thursday.

I was in the disturbingly small science section of the Liverpool branch of Waterstones, when I noticed Michael Behe's imfamous book Darwin's Black Box sitting on the shelf.

Despite its misleading title, Behe's book has nothing to do with science. It is a book about so-called Intelligent Design: the latest rebranding of the age-old, discredited philosophy of Natural Theology, which attempts to show that the universe—and, in particular, living organisms—are so complex that they couldn't have come about by chance; they must have been designed by some intelligent force—or God, as the proponents of Intelligent Design don't like to admit. They're trying to get this nonsense taught in school science lessons, so admitting that Intelligent Design is just another name for Creationism wouldn't help their cause. They evidently haven't read the bit in the Bible about not bearing false witness.

For some inexplicable reason, someone at Waterstones had decided to file Behe's silly book in the science section.

So I moved it.

I took it off the shelf, walked over to the disturbingly large religion and spirituality section and filed Darwin's Black Box neatly away behind a copy of the King James Bible.

Everyone's a winner:

• any religious nut wanting to buy Behe's book will be able to find it amongst the other religious propaganda
• therefore, Behe will sell more copies of his book
• therefore Waterstones will make more money
• and precious shelf-space is freed up in the science section for genuine science books

Think of me as a good Samaritan.

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Postscript: It would appear that I am not alone, see Biologists Helping Bookstores.