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After reading some of Dennett's writing i sort of feel like it was unfair to call Mayr authoritative. Compared to Mayr, Dennett does the word much more justice. one particular quote that is very undiplomatic: "to put it bluntly but fairly, anyone today who doubts that the variety of life on this planet was produced by a process of evolution is simply ignorant--inexcusably ignoranin a would where three out of four people have learned to read and write" (46).

Though his tone is indeed condescending I can't help but feel like its still an effective way to write. He is very polarized in his thoughts concerning the evolution vs creationism tug a war. However, in a strange way it was rather refreshing to read someone who puts himself out there, who takes a stance, who takes a risk at being utterly wrong by being so irrevocably adamant in his views--for there is always a possibility that our observations will someday serva a different story other than evolution. He doesnt stand in the safety zone of indecision or ambivalence as Mary sometimes did.

Also, I find the process of speciation very interesting;such an adumbrant process it is. The qualities that scientists ahve been using to demarcate between different species are not very clear or consistent. There is almost an element of abitrariness in deciding which collection of variations gets to be its own species or remains simply as a variation. interbreeding, production of fertile offspring, similar genetic makeup, similar morphology--those are some of the things are come into playin naming species. But even with such points on species checklist there are so many exceptions and inconsistencies. Does nature have a checklist that we just havent figured out yet or is the demarcation of species simply a human construct?