[AndrewC]

Anyone with experience of creationist quote-mining knows this phenomenon quite well.

Is that why PH keeps posting that link to the Sciam article that has Hardison's joke in it? This article doesn't mention creationists.

I would bet the vast majority of the scientists who do not read the source material are Darwininians. I would have said exclusively, but I suppose random chance would allow a few attentive Darwininians. It would also seem that natural selection favors the non-reading Darwininian. It makes for more interesting just-so stories.

[f.Christian]

Evolution...slight of hand/mind---spin/allusion!

[scripter]

A cunning statistical study has exposed scientists as sloppy reporters. When they write up their work and cite other people's papers, most do not bother to read the original.

If true that's really scary. Say it ain't so!