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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
This book, despite its age of almost 50 years, still holds up incredibly well. As an aspiring scientist it was nice to learn new things about many species, not just humans. I'd also never heard the term 'cistron' so that was a good piece of new information. It was also interesting to give a new meaning to the word 'meme' and the epilogue was actually interesting! Truly a fascinating book, Richard Dawkins should be regarded as both an excellent writer and scientist.
This book does a great job of explaining certain evolutionary concepts and genetic ideas that relate to genes and how they work. It was a little dry in places, but overall much more interesting than most other texts on the subject that I have read and a very enlightening read.
I would recommend this to anyone with a basic interest in and understanding of genetics to fill out their understanding a bit more and to see things in a different way.
I would recommend this to anyone with a basic interest in and understanding of genetics to fill out their understanding a bit more and to see things in a different way.
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
As a pr fessional philosopher this book revolutionized my thinking with a radical Darwinian model brilliantly presented A masterpiece of popular science education, controversial and inventive: the origin of the meme meme.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
The Selfish Gene is a thought-provoking and insightful exploration of evolution through the lens of gene-centered evolution. The central thesis of the book is that natural selection acts at the level of genes rather than individuals or species, which was a revolutionary perspective when it was first published in 1976.
Dawkins presents the idea that organisms are "survival machines" for their genes, which are the true units of selection. The gene, not the individual or species, is the main player in the evolutionary process. This idea might sound cold or impersonal, but Dawkins eloquently explains how complex behaviors, including cooperation and altruism, can emerge even when genes are acting primarily in their own self-interest.
What makes this book particularly engaging is Dawkins' ability to explain complicated scientific concepts in clear, accessible language. The way he uses metaphors, such as the "selfish gene," to convey difficult ideas makes the text both informative and engaging. There are moments of real elegance in how he weaves in examples from nature to support his arguments.
One of the most striking elements of the book is its exploration of evolutionary psychology and the implications it has for understanding human behavior. Dawkins doesn’t shy away from discussing the darker side of our instincts, yet he also highlights how we, as humans, are capable of transcending the selfishness of our genes through cultural evolution.
Despite the book's scientific rigor, The Selfish Gene is more than just a biology text. It challenges readers to think deeply about the nature of life and our place in the evolutionary narrative.
Recommendation:
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in biology, evolution, or even philosophy. Dawkins’ work offers a new perspective on how life works, and whether or not you agree with every point, it will undoubtedly expand your thinking. It’s especially suitable for readers looking for a blend of science and thought-provoking discussions on the nature of life and human behavior.
Best Wishes From
Author - [a:PINTU SAW|32774639|PINTU SAW|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1740471621p2/32774639.jpg]
Book - [b:NOBODY HELP YOU CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS|228750201|NOBODY HELP YOU CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS|PINTU SAW|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1741200959l/228750201._SY75_.jpg|239714278]
Dawkins presents the idea that organisms are "survival machines" for their genes, which are the true units of selection. The gene, not the individual or species, is the main player in the evolutionary process. This idea might sound cold or impersonal, but Dawkins eloquently explains how complex behaviors, including cooperation and altruism, can emerge even when genes are acting primarily in their own self-interest.
What makes this book particularly engaging is Dawkins' ability to explain complicated scientific concepts in clear, accessible language. The way he uses metaphors, such as the "selfish gene," to convey difficult ideas makes the text both informative and engaging. There are moments of real elegance in how he weaves in examples from nature to support his arguments.
One of the most striking elements of the book is its exploration of evolutionary psychology and the implications it has for understanding human behavior. Dawkins doesn’t shy away from discussing the darker side of our instincts, yet he also highlights how we, as humans, are capable of transcending the selfishness of our genes through cultural evolution.
Despite the book's scientific rigor, The Selfish Gene is more than just a biology text. It challenges readers to think deeply about the nature of life and our place in the evolutionary narrative.
Recommendation:
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in biology, evolution, or even philosophy. Dawkins’ work offers a new perspective on how life works, and whether or not you agree with every point, it will undoubtedly expand your thinking. It’s especially suitable for readers looking for a blend of science and thought-provoking discussions on the nature of life and human behavior.
Best Wishes From
Author - [a:PINTU SAW|32774639|PINTU SAW|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1740471621p2/32774639.jpg]
Book - [b:NOBODY HELP YOU CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS|228750201|NOBODY HELP YOU CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS|PINTU SAW|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1741200959l/228750201._SY75_.jpg|239714278]
Excellent, Richard Dawkins first of many books. He coined the term “meme” in this book.
5 stars for popularising some revolutionary ideas within the field of evolutionary biology
-1 star for being so insufferably smug about it
-1 star for being so insufferably smug about it
I would love to see a more fully updated version of this work, or a modern work by another author in an extremely similar vein. Despite being updated multiple times over the decades, this could clearly benefit from changes in modern sensibilities, politics, technology and biological discoveries.
I’m also not a big fan of the author’s often acerbic approach to critics. Although to be fair, he seems to have received a lot of criticism from people who never even read his work, let alone try to understand it.
However, this is a seminal work. It’s quite valuable. It gradually builds up an approachable foundation to explain how, from a purely evolutionary point of view, traits like selfishness and altruism can develop, why it’s natural to have a majority of people who are cautiously altruistic, with a smaller amount of people who try to take advantage of others. The book isn’t focused on humans, mind you: it works for all kinds of living things.
I enjoy the term “survival machines” to describe animals, plants and more. Really, it could describe any sort of self-replicating system where its inherent traits make it more or less likely to survive and reproduce.
The concept of “evolutionarily stable systems,” or ESSes, is foundational to understanding how evolution can drive behavior that could otherwise seem intelligent.
The chapter on the prisoner’s dilemma was quite fascinating. Of course I’m familiar with the game. If you only play once, the logical choice is to defect, to betray the other player. But if you play over and over, it is typically most beneficial to generally be nice and cooperative, but to retaliate against betrayal. What really interested me is the idea of simulating survival machines by using the prisoner’s dilemma, to see what strategies survive in a population long term. It’s easy then to see the relevance to living things then.
This book is foundational to everyone’s science education, and I recommend it.
I’m also not a big fan of the author’s often acerbic approach to critics. Although to be fair, he seems to have received a lot of criticism from people who never even read his work, let alone try to understand it.
However, this is a seminal work. It’s quite valuable. It gradually builds up an approachable foundation to explain how, from a purely evolutionary point of view, traits like selfishness and altruism can develop, why it’s natural to have a majority of people who are cautiously altruistic, with a smaller amount of people who try to take advantage of others. The book isn’t focused on humans, mind you: it works for all kinds of living things.
I enjoy the term “survival machines” to describe animals, plants and more. Really, it could describe any sort of self-replicating system where its inherent traits make it more or less likely to survive and reproduce.
The concept of “evolutionarily stable systems,” or ESSes, is foundational to understanding how evolution can drive behavior that could otherwise seem intelligent.
The chapter on the prisoner’s dilemma was quite fascinating. Of course I’m familiar with the game. If you only play once, the logical choice is to defect, to betray the other player. But if you play over and over, it is typically most beneficial to generally be nice and cooperative, but to retaliate against betrayal. What really interested me is the idea of simulating survival machines by using the prisoner’s dilemma, to see what strategies survive in a population long term. It’s easy then to see the relevance to living things then.
This book is foundational to everyone’s science education, and I recommend it.
This was a very fun read. It's not really flattering when a book warns you at the start that, in order to make it accessible for a layman like you, some "dumbing down" was inevitable. But despite that, this at no point felt condescending in any way. The usual concern when reading anything scientific which is written for mass consumption is that you might be easily convinced of completely wrong standings, but that didn't feel like much of an issue while reading this book. Mostly because it's biology (lol) but also because most of what the guy is saying feels like "common sense." And before you even start to be skeptical about something he proposes, he is already tearing apart his own idea and mentioning all the ways it could be wrong. It feels like a genuine exploration of a topic that some nerd was well informed about. The only main complaint is the sheer amount of examples of random animal scenarios and behaviors, most (if not all), I have already forgotten. But even that is not really a major criticism since they were there to serve a purpose.