Rice University chemist James Tour continues his course on abiogenesis. On Episode 3, he turns to detonating some of the hype surrounding supposed progress toward understanding the origin of life from non-life. Tour got going with this 13-part series of lectures in response to a hapless critic, Dave Farina. As a correspondent quips, “I don’t know who Dave Farina is, but he’s kicked the wrong dog.” Indeed so.

There’s a process by which the hype is generated, over and over and over. From the lecture description:

In this episode, Dr. James Tour examines hyperbole surrounding origin of life claims. Beyond a mere attribution to the press for creating hype, Dr. Tour looks into the published works by researchers themselves, discovering a more proper attribution of the source. He then elaborates how this snowballs further by the press into confusion by professors and laypersons.

Watch it below now. Want more Tour? Download two free chapters from the recent Discovery Institute Press book The Mystery of Life’s Origin: The Continuing Controversy (2020). Find that here.