Taner Edis was born in Istanbul, 1967, to Turkish and American parents. After completing his undergraduate work at Bogaziçi University, he received his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University in 1994, in theoretical and computational condensed matter physics. Working in diverse areas, from atmospheric modeling with collaborators at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to the philosophy of machine intelligence, he is currently associate professor of physics at Truman State University, Kirksville, MO.
Fascinated by the plethora of supernatural and fringe science beliefs around him, and concerned about the rise of Islamist politics back in Turkey, Edis first got involved with skeptical inquiry into religious and paranormal claims during his graduate studies. He has since written numerous articles, particularly on the topic of anti-evolutionary thought, appearing in The Skeptical Inquirer, Reports of the National Center for Science Education, and Skeptic. He is a "Scientific and Technical Consultant" to the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. His writing has characteristically combined scientific rigor with an ability to reach a broad audience.
Edis's first book, The Ghost in the Universe: God in Light of Modern Science, an accessible defense of a naturalistic view of the world, was published by Prometheus Books, and received the Morris D. Forkosch award for "best humanist book of 2002." More recently, with Matt Young, he co-edited Why Intelligent Design Fails: A Scientific Critique of the New Creationism (Rutgers University Press, 2004); his Science and Nonbelief appeared in 2006.
While working on his writing, Edis also finds devious ways to get his students to understand physics, serves as a slave to two self-satisfied cats, and grumbles about his wife being away at conferences too often. He is also a great fan of science fiction, where playing fast and loose with the laws of physics is not only acceptable, but positively fun.
Taner Edis can be reached through his web site, http://www2.truman.edu/~edis
Books by Taner Edis
Why Intelligent Design Fails: A Scientific Critique of the New Creationism
by Taner Edis
ISBN: 081353433X
Price: US$ 34.17, Available worldwide on Amazon.com
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