Perhaps the most comprehensive layman’s book on the science of Evolution, The Greatest Show on Earth inspires a deeper understanding of life on planet Earth.
Richard Dawkins is well known for his best selling book The God Delusion where he makes a compelling case against superstitions and religion. However, in his latest book, Dawkins makes a point to set aside supernatural disagreements and focus on the point of evolution. He does so in earnest because of the outspoken creationists who mislead young minds into believing the earth is only 10,000 years old and that people rode Dinosaurs.
The Greatest Show on Earth is written in a way that chronologically flows well and makes a point to explain the various ways in which evidence is verified. Dawkins goes into great length to explain to the average person how carbon dating and zirconium dating function and the strengths and weaknesses of each dating method. He covers the many experiments and observations being done today to watch evolution take place in bacteria, dog breeds, fish and much more. Dawkins includes detailed information on fossils and lineage that connect all living things together on the tree of life.
This book is also available on iTunes in audio formate from Audible.com. Dawkins narrates the audio book, which is a great way to glean the most accurate inflection from the author himself.
Bill O’Reily makes an ass of himself, brought to you by Christianity and the Head-in-the-sand club. Richard Dawkins politely tries to get him to pry his head out of his ass and use his brain:
This hour long lecture discusses “intolerance” in a ironic and funny way. Oklahoma provides a great example Dawkins discusses how the human mind is obsessed with “purpose” for humans only. The banana clip is so sick! Ha! Then he shows how Ray comfort thinks the genetically modified modern banana was made for humans to “hold”. This is silly when we see what a natural banana looks like (with seeds).
As an ex-catholic and professionally trained musician, I substitute as organist for local catholic churches in my area. I find ample opportunity to have a good internal laugh listening to the deception and misinformation that flows from pulpits. Let me explain:
In The God Delusion, Dawkins discusses evolutionary by-products. The example he chooses to use is a moth flying into a flame as a demonstration of what we see as abject stupidity. Why would a moth deliberately fly into a flame?
This is not an example of natural selection….it is an example of natural selection gone wrong. Moths evolved to fly at night by using celestial objects as guides: Keep the light source in a certain position and you can navigate, much as we do with a compass which points north. Dawkins notes that it was not until comparatively late in evolutionary history that there was anything like artificial lights to throw off the moths. We see only the moths who get distracted by the flames. We do not see millions of moths who merrily go on their way without self-immolating themselves.
So, what is the Darwinian answer to religion? Dawkins sees it this way.
My specific hypothesis is about children. More than any other species we survive by the accumulated experience of previous generations and that experience needs to be passed on to children for their protection and well-being. Theoretically, children might learn from personal experience not to go too near a cliff-edge, not to eat untried red berries, not to swim in crocodile-infested waters. But, to say the least, there will be a selective advantage to child brains that possess the rule of thumb: believe, without question, whatever your grown-ups tell you. Obey your parents; obey the tribal elders, especially when they adopt a solemn, minatory tone. Trust your elders without question. This is a generally valuable rule for a child. But, as with the moths, it can go wrong.
Dawkins then continues:
Natural selection builds child brains with a tendency to believe whatever their parents and tribal elders tell them. Such trusting obedience is valuable for survival: the analogue of steering by the moon for a moth. But the flip side of trusting obedience is slavish gullibility. The inevitable by-produce is vulnerability to infection by mind viruses. For excellent reasons related to Darwinian survival, child brains need to trust parents and elders whom parents tell them to trust. An automatic consequence is that the truster has no way of distinguishing good advice from bad. The child cannot know that “Don’t paddle in the crocodile-infested Limpopo” is good advice but “You must sacrifice a goat at the time of the full moon, otherwise the rains will fail” is at best a waste of time and goats. Both admonitions sound equally trustworthy. Both come from a respected source and are delivered with a solemn earnestness that commands respect and demands obedience.
Recently I played an Easter Vigil service at a mega catholic church. They did the whole candle lighting bit where the entire place was dark and the only light emitted was from each person’s candle and one giant 4 foot tall candle on the altar. At this point in the service, I had started zoning out until a large moth flying about caught my attention. I watched it with intrigue having just read the part in Dawkin’s book about moths and religion. It flew in and out of a beam of artificial light that shone on the priest reading something from the altar. Then it got distracted by the giant man-sized candle on the altar. It promptly flew over to the candle and immolated itself right there in the flame. It was a very fitting display to myself and anyone else who might have known the resemblance to the moth’s suicide and the horrible side effects of religion on humanity.
The Jesuit maxim “Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man” clearly understand the net result of this principle. Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
The Greatest Show on Earth inspires a deeper understanding of life on planet Earth.
Dawkins discusses how the human mind is obsessed with “purpose” for humans only. The banana clip is so sick! Ha! Then he shows how Ray comfort thinks the genetically modified modern banana was made for humans to “hold”. This is silly when we see what a natural banana looks like (with seeds).
discusses evolutionary by-products. The example he chooses to use is a moth flying into a flame as a demonstration of what we see as abject stupidity. Why would a moth deliberately fly into a flame?
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