The Greatest Show on Earth - Richard Dawkins

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Johnny X
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The Greatest Show on Earth - Richard Dawkins

Post by Johnny X »

Alternatively titled The Evidence for Evolution

Dawkins' huge bestseller around the world (except Turkey where it is banned) gives us the evidence for evolution (by natural selection) and answers the Creationists questions and denials. To me it is a sad fact that over 40% of Americans (with correspondingly high percentages in other countries) believe that our planet is no more than 10,000 years old and that life as we know it was created by God, to the point that moves are afoot to stop evolution being taught in schools (even as an alternative to creationism and an alternative that school children can use to make thier own minds up).

The book takes you through all the evidence we have today, far more than when Darwin originally theorised about natural selection and lays a pretty good case from the fossil record, to radio dating clocks (carbon dating etc), through embryology and molecular biology and also using continental drift to explain the evidence that we all evolved from one common ancestor something like 4 billion years ago.

If you have the slightest interest or have the slightest questions in your head on how we came to be here and how natural selection appears to underpin everything about our existence then I suggest you give this a read. 450 pages long but kept me going to the very end and feeling like I know that bit more about my origins.

ps - This is in no way designed to start a discussion about evolution versus religion, just to reccomend a good source to discover evolution. I have looked at Creationist argument in preparation for reading this book but there is little evidence from that side other than denial. I respect anyones belief in God, unfortunately I don't believe.
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kwijibo
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Re: The Greatest Show on Earth - Richard Dawkins

Post by kwijibo »

I started this the other day, but after recently reading "Why Evolution is True" by Jerry Coyne.. I'm not sure I can make it through another book on the subject so soon :) Even from the first chapter or two, it basically covers the same stuff (that should have been obvious I guess).

'Why Evolution is True' I found to be really interesting by the way. If you can stomach 2 evolution books in a row, I definitately recommend it.
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Johnny X
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Re: The Greatest Show on Earth - Richard Dawkins

Post by Johnny X »

May well give Coyne's book a whirl, although I am just re-reading another of Dawkins' books - The Selfish Gene
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Re: The Greatest Show on Earth - Richard Dawkins

Post by nutty »

Ive been reading it on and off for a few months, really heavy and I struggle with some it of from time to time, but a intresting read none the less
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