Intelligent design theorist Paul Nelson argues that it is time for ID proponents to abandon the socio-political activity associated with ID and instead focus on using ID as a research guide to understand the living world. Ed Brayton, who is co-founder of Michigan Citizens for Science and The Panda’s Thumb, finds himself agreeing with Nelson:

he’s certainly right to point out that the truth or falsehood of ID and/or evolution will not be determined by a school board vote or a judicial decision, but by whether they are actually able to produce anything that helps us understand the world or not.

In general, I think he’s right when he takes his fellow IDers to task for spending so much time and energy on getting any hint of ID into science classrooms rather than focusing on research and development of their ideas.

In light of these comments, I’m struck by the timely nature of The Design Matrix. The “target audience” for this book is not skeptics of design, as I provide no powerful demonstration of design that mandates acknowledgment. Nor is the “target audience” those who wish to insert intelligent design into the public school curriculum, as the book will provide no ammunition for such an agenda.

The target audience are those people who find themselves agreeing with Nelson and Brayton. If you are sympathetic, or at least, open-minded, about Intelligent Design playing some role in biotic history, The Design Matrix was written for you. The book may not solve any problems in any immediate sense, but it does make signfiicant steps for those who want to begin thinking about Intelligent Design in postive terms.