Saturday, March 26, 2016

Richard Dawkins turns 75!

Happy Birthday Richard Dawkins!


I wanted to make a post about Richard Dawkins, because not only is he one of my heroes, he's also a brilliant evolutionary biologist who does amazing work in science communication and helping the general public understand a very complicated concept. 
I've put together a list of my favorite books of his with a link to buy them, some links to my favorite clips and shows with Dawkins and a link to his foundation as well.
I ended up going on a bit of a ride in talking about how I found Dawkins's work and why I like it, so I'll put that at the bottom if anyone cares to read my word vomit.

Go learn something new today! You get bonus points if you use the phrase, "Science works, bitches" at least once today. :D

Books by Richard Dawkins:

  • An Appetite for Wonder
    • On sale for Kindle for $1.99!! 
  • The Greatest Show on Earth: Evidence for Evolution **my personal favorite
  • Magic of Reality ** also a favorite
  • The Selfish Gene
  • Ancestor's Tale
  • Out of Eden
  • The Blind Watchmaker
  • God Delusion


The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science


From the website:

Dear Friend,
The mission of the Richard Dawkins Foundation is to promote scientific literacy and a secular worldview. Some might see this as two distinct missions: 1) Teaching the value of science, and 2) Advancing secularism.
Yes, those are my foundation’s goals. You will not be surprised to learn that my personal priority is science as one of the highest and most aesthetically rewarding achievements of the human spirit.
But permit me to trace the connection between science and the other preoccupation of my foundation, the advancement of secularism. I see those goals as interrelated and mutually reinforcing.
You are well familiar with the existential challenges of global climate change and unsustainable population growth facing mankind and the planet. Of all the forces opposing an evidence-based response, religion is the most active — and it is especially strong in America.
Religious extremism not only interferes with the advance of science but with personal freedoms and human dignity, and not only in places where jihadists hold sway but in America as well, in areas such as access to contraception, LGBTQ rights and women’s equality.
Critical thinking is the real saviour of humankind. My foundation promotes respect for people who hold critical thinking as a cherished personal value and use it in day-to-day life.
The logical counter to religious extremism is people who rely on evidence to make decisions. Yet the voice of secular people is maligned in this country. Forty-five percent of Americans think you have to believe in God to be moral. Secular voices are considered immoral. They are not listened to on that basis.
We must counter this baseless hostility to allow the contributions of secular people in vital national debates to count. Making secular views and people welcome in politics and policy-making will advance human safety, security, health, achievement, prosperity and most of all, science.
Please accept my personal thanks for your interest in the foundation. If you agree with our mission, please consider becoming one of us. If you are already a member and supporter, thank you for standing with me.
My greatest hope is that together we can change society for the better.
Warmly,
Richard Dawkins


Shows, clips and various other fun things:






Word Vomit:


I was always one of those kids who was really into old dead stuff and ancient cultures. I always adored dinosaurs, ancient Egypt, mummies of all variety, fossils, and biology. I don't really remember if the theory of evolution was taught in biology or not, since I went to a Texas school there's a good chance it was lightly brushed over.
What I do know is that when I got the itch to learn more about Charles Darwin and evolution, it started a life long obsession. It didn't take long to realize how much yelling was coming from the other side, a very misinformed and delusional side of anti-science ignorance. I learned about "creationism" and people who took their religious texts as actual literal words from god and not stories. 
I had honestly never heard of that until I started looking into evolution. It blew my mind.
Naturally, this pushed me away from religion, which I didn't have a firm grasp on anyway. We were hardly a religious family, dad is a self proclaimed Catholic though he does not really practice it at all, and mom is just the vanilla "Christian" with no real labels attached. I think through my entire childhood, we went to church maybe five times.
Reading about the nonsense coming from the extreme end of the religious spectrum only widened the canyon between me and faith and pushed me closer to reason. Since it was evolution that drove me to question the shaky grounds of a belief in god, I started looking into just that: science vs religion. Naturally, you don't have to wade far into that ocean without bumping into Richard Dawkins and his work.
I remember getting my copy of The God Delusion as a gift from my then boyfriend now husband for Christmas several years later. I had been happily dancing on the heathen side of life as an anthropology major in college, diving head first into human evolution. I was no longer religious, but still had questions about the grand scheme of things. 
Now I can happily say, "I don't know" with extreme confidence. I am a proud atheist.

While Dawkins is best known for his hard stance against religion, (honestly a stance I share at this point, but that's a post for a different time) he is truly a brilliant evolutionary biology first an foremost. Beyond The God Delusion, his book The Greatest Show on Earth: Evidence for Evolution is one of my favorites. It's bright, colorful, lots of amazing pictures and easy to understand and witty dialog about just how and why evolution is true and all around us. I bought it day one, and it's still one of my treasures.
I own a copy of almost all of his work in one format or another, the newest addition being An Appetite for Wonder, which I snagged on sale. I've still yet to finish The Blind Watchmaker, as I remember it being a tad overwhelming at the time. So far, all the books I've read have been amazing works. Always informative and laced with that witty British charm we all know and love about Dr. Dawkins.

I doubt very highly that the 75 year old scientist will ever be in Texas, but I really hope one day he makes another round of book signing. He's recently had a stroke, so I know it's not going to be for some time, but I'll be heart broken if I never get to meet him.
Though, last time I met someone I admired, I didn't say a damn word. It'll probably be the same scenario if he ever was to come to my neck of the woods. I'd smile, mute, and just hold out a book to be signed. Maybe squeak out a timid "thank you" as I shuffle away.
I'm hopeless in front of my heroes. Star-struck is hardly the word. I loose all brain function.
I'm practically a blinking vegetable.

I was going to go on a bit longer, but I have to get ready for work so I'll wrap it up. If you've read through this and you're still hanging in there with me, you're probably one of my best friends who reads this as one of two of my only subscribers. Look at you being awesome.
I think my next post I'm going to talk about all the super cool dinosaur toys and models I've been pining for over the last couple months. Some really cool stuff has been released and I need a place to vent about how much I covet them.

Until then.

-M










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