In his book, The Presence of the Past. Morphic Resonance & the Habits of Nature, Rupert Sheldrake presents a valuable review of the science, religion, and philosophy of origins and change, and he gives us a promising twist on the theory of evolution. He makes field theory and the all-pervading power of habit come alive in our minds and in our views of nature. But his repetitiveness and his repeated lists of examples and possibilities makes reading his book similar to watching someone beat a senseless dog.