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dawkins - the selfish gene

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  • 12-08-2011 7:52pm
    #1
    alcomoholic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 112 ✭✭


    hi i recently wanted to read into evolutionary biology and purchased the origin of species, the selfish gene and the blind watchmaker.

    i started the origin of species but after a few pages it just didnt seem like a very enjoyable read. it seemed really cluttered and muddled and just wasnt very enjoyable.

    then i started the selfish gene.

    however im nearly at the end of it and the book seems to be dawkins ideology of evolution/theory of how evolution occurs at the very basic genetic level, almost like he's explaining natural selection rather than explaining the chronological changes in 'survival machines' as a result of the process of evolution.

    however i think i was more looking into something that would take me through the evolutionary chronological process from 'primeval soup' right up to homosapian.

    something along the lines that would explain the process of

    basic amino acids in primeval soup -> fish -> crocodile -> dinosaur -> monkey -> human or whatever the process is.

    is there any such book?

    thanks


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    #2
    mikhail
    Registered Users Posts: 3,863 ✭✭✭mikhail


    This sketches it out.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_human_evolution

    Towards the end of that article, it recommends another Dawkins book. The references may offer further avenues of exploration.


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    #3
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,829 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    the book you want would probably be 'life, an unauthorised biography' by richard fortey.
    he's a great writer - worth checking out his other stuff too.


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    #4
    bnt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,968 ✭✭✭✭bnt


    If the book wasn't quite to your taste, you could always hop on a plane to Edinburgh to go and see the musical. They're calling it the world's first "biomusical". :pac:

    From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch’.

    — Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut



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    #5
    Animord
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,004 ✭✭✭Animord


    The Ancestors Tale, by Dawkins is good for that - it starts with us now and goes backwards. I really enjoyed it.


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    #6
    the culture of deference
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,196 ✭✭✭the culture of deference


    Animord wrote: »
    The Ancestors Tale, by Dawkins is good for that - it starts with us now and goes backwards. I really enjoyed it.

    Yea thats a good one, nice and easy read some convoluted bits as only RD can do at times,

    compared to

    The selfish gene, is a tough read, blind watchmaker is good, there is another books called evolution by stephen baxter that tells it as a story from the start.


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    #7
    Alopex
    Closed Accounts Posts: 632 ✭✭✭Alopex


    the culture of deference wrote: »
    The selfish gene, is a tough read, blind watchmaker is good, there is another books called evolution by stephen baxter that tells it as a story from the start.

    found that myself the first time i read it. couldn't finish it. read it again a few months later and it was a much easier and more enjoyable read.

    think its a bit like learning in college. a lot of information and needs time to sink in


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    #8
    Tin Foil Hat
    Registered Users Posts: 1,663 ✭✭✭Tin Foil Hat


    Animord wrote: »
    The Ancestors Tale, by Dawkins is good for that - it starts with us now and goes backwards. I really enjoyed it.

    I second this. It's a great read.


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    #9
    Animord
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,004 ✭✭✭Animord


    I particularly liked how each time he went back a 'creature' (as it were) he starts with "This is your great x 12,000 grandparent" Made me laugh.


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    #10
    5uspect
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 10,517 Mod ✭✭✭✭5uspect


    alcomoholic wrote: »

    i started the origin of species but after a few pages it just didnt seem like a very enjoyable read. it seemed really cluttered and muddled and just wasnt very enjoyable.

    Really? I found Darwin a wonderfully lucid writer considering his ignorance of genetics.


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