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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 576.5 EAN: 9780199291151 Edition: 3 ISBN: 0199291152 Label: Oxford University Press, USA Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 384 Publication Date: May 25, 2006 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Studio: Oxford University Press, USA Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel's work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that "our" genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven't thought of evolution in the same way since. Why are there miles and miles of "unused" DNA within each of our bodies? Why should a bee give up its own chance to reproduce to help raise her sisters and brothers? With a prophet's clarity, Dawkins told us the answers from the perspective of molecules competing for limited space and resources to produce more of their own kind. Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, he paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution. He also introduced the concept of self-reproducing ideas, or memes, which (seemingly) use humans exclusively for their propagation. If we are puppets, he says, at least we can try to understand our strings. --Rob Lightner Product Description: Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands of readers to rethink their beliefs about life. In his internationally bestselling, now classic volume, The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains how the selfish gene can also be a subtle gene. The world of the selfish gene revolves around savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit, and yet, Dawkins argues, acts of apparent altruism do exist in nature. Bees, for example, will commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, and birds will risk their lives to warn the flock of an approaching hawk. This 30th anniversary edition of Dawkins' fascinating book retains all original material, including the two enlightening chapters added in the second edition. In a new Introduction the author presents his thoughts thirty years after the publication of his first and most famous book, while the inclusion of the two-page original Foreword by brilliant American scientist Robert Trivers shows the enthusiastic reaction of the scientific community at that time. This edition is a celebration of a remarkable exposition of evolutionary thought, a work that has been widely hailed for its stylistic brilliance and deep scientific insights, and that continues to stimulate whole new areas of research today. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Dissecting "The Selfish Gene""The Selfish Gene" is Richard Dawkins masterpiece, and admiration for the scope and detail of his exploration of animal life has been world wide. His gift of analysis and synthesis is like a giant microscope givng an entrance into an area of knowledge never revealed before. He outdistances Charles Darwin in his penetration into animal life, animal behavior, and the biological mechanisms that influence and sometimes determines behavior. As a scientific study and exposition, it has ... Read More Rating: - Life is a watch too complex to createNo, this isn't an Ayn Rand book urging you to be more selfish. I consider The Selfish Gene to still be one of the cornerstones of Evolutionary Dynamics theory, particularly in its extension of biological dynamics into the non-biological world. Memetics really took general evolutionary theory past a threshold for information and soft sciences. I found its concepts to be invaluable for one of my grad papers on international systems where I made further extrapolations from both biology ... Read More Rating:  - Un libro indispensable en nuestra biblioteca. Dado que mi "review" de este libro no es nada original comparado con las que ya se han escrito, la escribo en español. Este libro también se ha traducido en Español, aunque la que yo compré es la edición del trigésimo aniversario en inglés. La edición a la que aquí se hace referencia. El libro de Dawkings escrito hace ya 30 años, es vigente y creo que es un libro indispensable en la biblioteca personal. Un best seller en su lenguaje de origen me parece que es poco conocido en países hispanoparlantes, ... Read More Rating: - If you read one book on evolution...If you want to learn about evolution, this is the first book you should read. If you think you know evolution, this is the book you need to read. Rating: - Why take an interest in science? Why should we care about Darwin's Theory of Evolution? Is it a bad thing that around half of the American population doesn't accept it? Simply put, evolution is arguably the greatest attempt to answer some of the eternal epistemological questions such as why are we, the nature of morality, and what we are. From a biological perspective, it actually answers what we are and explains how all this beautiful and complex life arouse in a very simple and gradual process. The Selfish Gene is a ... Read More |
