Next Book: The Selfish Gene
Added 2024-08-12 05:06:00 +0000 UTCSome people asked us to announce in advance when we were planning a joint book review and so that’s what this is.
With Richard Dawkins being a goomba online and his gearing up for a farewell US tour, we thought it would be a good time to look back on the book that originally made him famous.
This book was formative for both Matt and I in terms of inspiring an interest in evolution and science but it’s been a loooong time since either of us read it.
Will the fond memories be justified? Or will it be a depressing deconstruction of decades of fond recollections?
If interested, why not join us, and if not 🫡 carry on!
Comments
Thanks. Since starting this adventure (which really shouldn’t be as adventurous as it has been- to find out which version we're reviewing, when the project starts and when it is slated to end) I have purchased a hardcopy of the 40th Anniversary Edition which has now been sitting on my shelf since August 20th. For me, the forewards, afterwords and other material- heck, even the cover (front and back matter) add context. Sometimes that context is germane, sometimes it isn't- but making a determination about relevancy is, at least for me, a complicated endeavor. In part, that's because how I'm built but also my undergraduate BA (communication w/psych minor, heavy on theory). Since this task is undefined (at least, as of this writing and specifically for me), and I am the way that I am, narrowing things the way others can and do is- in a word- difficult. I know it's why I often avoid engaging and I suspect it's why others do the same. Weirdly, it's also why I chose my undergraduate BA and have had such a sustained interest in going further. But I'll figure it out. That said, I appreciate your reply and additional context and will take another looksie at all the comments later today to see if anything I've written about in this comment & others has changed. I recently attended a live hangout with Matt, Chris and others and there was only a cursory reference to this- so I suspect not much has changed, but some digging will help me find out for sure. (Specifically, with book on the shelf, I'm looking for dates now: start would be nice, at least a window for completion required. Some have shared- like you- that they already did the reading at some point in the past but I haven't yet seen anything scheduled for the future, such as when participants might gather to share feedback.)
Tom Yasko
2024-08-31 17:07:01 +0000 UTCI read the 30th anniversary edition, but apart from some forewords and afterwords (I think), the text of the main book is exactly the same. I think Dawkins even says this in the foreword to the 30th anniversary edition. Some of it is now dated or has proven to be wrong (such as the worries about runaway population growth), but Dawkins did not want to change the text, from what I remember.
Robert Andrews
2024-08-26 04:59:36 +0000 UTCThis book really takes off in chapter 12. Super interesting. I like Terrence McKenna lectures and he has often stated the importance of memes, ideas, and encouraging people to make art. This book brings those lectures full circle for me as the author is attempting to illustrate the lasting power of memes over genes. Thanks for the rec. I enjoyed this book and I had never heard of it.
Liz Tily
2024-08-15 15:48:36 +0000 UTCGreat choice, Dawkins was very influential for me also, both in terms of my enjoyment of science, agnosticism, and being mindful to not have heros. All great lessons.
MaxPlan
2024-08-14 23:13:48 +0000 UTCOkay- I just wrote this in reply but it’s worth posting in the main, just in case: (1) For the task at hand, which version of The Selfish Gene are we reading? (2) When does this start? and, assuming we’re going at-your-own-pace… (3) When should reading be completed? Related but separate… (at least to me) (4) What’s the schedule for the joint book review? (Sorry if this is obvious to everyone else. I’m the kind of person who needs to know- if one isn’t using 24-hour time- AM & PM and silly little things like, if I’m meeting someone for lunch- are we going to eat? Or are we just meeting? No surprise, despite a career in tech my dusty BA is in communication!)
Tom Yasko
2024-08-14 06:16:03 +0000 UTCI was just going to ask this same question: Which edition should we (those of us who haven’t read it yet) be reading? Also, due dates- or at least start & end- would help. (Admittedly, I haven’t scrolled through posts yet to see if this, too, has been asked & answered- but I’ll get there.) Fwiw, God Delusion is on my shelf, still unread since November 2013. (Year of my spinal cord injury- but I’ll get to that, too.)
Tom Yasko
2024-08-14 05:54:41 +0000 UTCWhich version will you be reading? I first learned of Dawkins through the God Delusion, the I read the Selfish Gene, the 30th anniversary edition. It was a very entertaining read and I was just amazed how interesting the subject of biology and evolution was (I did the physical sciences at uni and my memories of biology at school were fairly indifferent).
DJ Wearing
2024-08-13 18:56:01 +0000 UTCI enjoyed reading many years ago. The explanation of evolutionary stable strategies was interesting. I think he was way out with his championing of Paul Erlich’s Population Bomb, though.
Robert Andrews
2024-08-13 10:09:59 +0000 UTCFinally tried reading this a few years ago. So boring. So much flowery language and not enough of everything else.
Ema Corro
2024-08-13 00:40:50 +0000 UTCGreat! I imagine this one will be both cathartic and educational. I checked this book out from the public library twice because Douglas Adams mentioned it in interviews. But the HUGE jacket quote on the back said "It makes the reader feel like a genius" and that very visible text just made me feel like a douchebag who didn't want to be seen in public with it. So I never finished reading it before having to return it to the library.
JustTheWorstEver
2024-08-12 23:06:53 +0000 UTCGood choice! It's been a long time, and I think I enjoyed the book but I had difficulty with the tone he took when describing religion and myths. It came across as condescending and arrogant.
Aaron Holder
2024-08-12 22:56:02 +0000 UTCBin Laden has won! https://x.com/RichardDawkins/status/396956105869250561
David Noble
2024-08-12 22:32:51 +0000 UTCHe renamed it the North American tour. For good reason too
Julie
2024-08-12 20:01:03 +0000 UTCDawkins would claim The Extended Phenotype as a more scientific statement that The Selfish Gene, I think I heard him say. I expect the guys will be pushing back with the 'new biology', enamoured as they are with Kevin Mitchell.
Daniel Dunne
2024-08-12 19:42:07 +0000 UTCI googled it: “Among Italian-Americans, a goombah is a slang term for a “close friend.” When directed at Italian-Americans, a goombah can be an ethnic slur or a gangster stereotype. A goombah also refers to a mushroom-shaped enemy in the Super Mario franchise.”
Idan Ca
2024-08-12 19:23:08 +0000 UTCThis was all me!
Christopher Kavanagh
2024-08-12 17:03:40 +0000 UTC?? Do tell!
Jeanne H-B
2024-08-12 16:30:03 +0000 UTCIt's also a good friend in Italian-American slang. Not to be confused with "gooma" - a mistress or girlfriend.
Teri
2024-08-12 13:09:09 +0000 UTCIt's a Super Mario character 😁
Jake Lawrence
2024-08-12 12:10:53 +0000 UTCEvery Goomba has an origin story. Richard Dawkins’s is set in an airport security check in and stars a little pot of honey…
Ben Holland
2024-08-12 09:33:28 +0000 UTCThis book also changed the entire direction of my life, taking from paleontology into behavioral ecology. In retrospect, I think I would've enjoyed the life of a paleontologist more. I ended up leaving academia after getting my doctorate studying behavioral ecology, so maybe I should be angry at Dawkins!
Ben
2024-08-12 09:13:11 +0000 UTCWhat is a goomba?
Daniel Dunne
2024-08-12 09:11:52 +0000 UTCI remember this mainly for how it changed my view of evolution in fundamental ways. I thought it was brilliant at the time. Went on to read the God Delusion of course, which sent me on a bit of a weird super atheist route for a long time. Without that, I likely wouldn’t be listening to DTG now… so I guess we have RD to thank/blame for that.
Intergalactic Panda Wrangler
2024-08-12 09:07:19 +0000 UTCI hated it when I read it 30+ years ago. My physical science friends used to wind me up by quoting it. Incredibly irritating content for an social anthropology graduate in 1990.
Nina Davies
2024-08-12 08:48:55 +0000 UTCGood choice! Still waiting for the audio of the Dominion review 🙃. I'm a big fan of The rest is history and thought about reading it but from what I've heard of your perspective it seems like possibly a waste of time.
Erland Hvittfeldt
2024-08-12 07:13:32 +0000 UTCFun! And props to Editor Andy for this amazing illustration
Emma
2024-08-12 05:39:15 +0000 UTCLooking forward. Also Editor Andy honing his AI prompting skills for these thumbnails is 🔥
Idan Ca
2024-08-12 05:35:39 +0000 UTCI’m in. As an incredibly religious and devout atheist who has, I think, an as yet unread Dawkins book on my shelf- and as a perpetually aspiring graduate student- I think this would be good for me. So yeah, I’m in- even though I have no clue where this is going.
Tom Yasko
2024-08-12 05:32:47 +0000 UTCIve been tuning into his Poetry of Reality podcast when you guys fail to come up with new listening matter at regular enough intervals :). ... I don't always fully agree with all his takes but he's spot on about evolution and most other topics
Gavin Ryan
2024-08-12 05:24:05 +0000 UTCThis book was highly formative for me as well, can't wait!
Josh Lemer
2024-08-12 05:12:55 +0000 UTCGreat choice!
John Graham
2024-08-12 05:08:09 +0000 UTC
