The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition--with a new Introduction by the… (original 1976; edition 2006)

In my quest to read a bit more non-fiction, I think reading up on Dawkins is a wise choice. He claims to be aiming his books -- or at least this one -- at three audiences: the layman, the expert and the student. Well, I'm somewhere between layman and student, since I have a pretty good level of knowledge about the stuff, but I'm not formally learning it. The Selfish Gene was easy and even enjoyable to read, with things explained in as simple a way as possible, and sometimes formulated in a handful of ways or with several examples, to help expand on his point.

The Selfish Gene has a lot of material in it that was already discussed in similar or identical terms in The Ancestor's Tale, but goes rather more into depth about it. The title is misleading, since Dawkins doesn't actually believe that genes are self-aware. His language isn't all that confusing, once you read past the title, though. He makes it fairly clear when his words should be taken as more metaphorical than accurate.

I found his section on memes pretty interesting -- hadn't known that he'd coined the word. People misinterpret that section, too, suggesting that memes are self-aware and actually want to survive. He suggests something more along the lines of natural selection, making memes actually very similar to genes.

I suppose I'd have to read around more in the field to know how much I agree with Dawkins. For someone with my level of knowledge, he gives a pretty clear and accurate argument -- but then, of course, I don't have the knowledge to dispute him. ( )

how genes determine more of our life than we think; not behaviour so much as our propensity toward behaviours - what is possible

I thought he was on much solider ground with genetics than with memetics. Dawkins doesn't go farther than using memes as a metaphor in this (as I understood it) -- others have run with it and turned them into something as supernatural as Sheldrake's morphic fields. Would be interesting for someone to trace the lineage of the idea and how it changed over time. ( )

I know that you're all swooning now and sitting in awe of how incredibly well read I am, but let's just all settle down a minute so that I can tell you what I thought of this. Because really, that's why we're here. ;)

Overall, I thought that this was really interesting. I like Dawkins already after listening to The God Delusion (although I liked that one much more than this one). I think The Selfish Gene is intriguing and plausible and actually makes a lot of sense. It was really interesting to learn about the different possibilities for design and evolution, and to see the cause and effect of different variations of a gene. I liked the risk and reward concept as well... It all makes a lot of sense to think of things in this kind of philosophical way -- Everything we are and will be is a carefully honed creation of time and trial and error and cause and effect. It kinda makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Where this one fell a little flat was in the reading and the very last quarter of the book. The reading was pretty good. I'd give it a B- overall. Lalla Ward and Richard Dawkins alternate reading this one, and mostly do a good job with the tone and pacing and all that. But there are times when it was just plain distracting, too. Lalla Ward speaks very proper British, e-nun-cee-a-ting her words and speaking very crisply and clearly, almost to the detriment of what she's actually saying, when all I can focus on is her pronunciation. Even when it's not WAY strange pronunciations like "hah-reem" instead of "hare-em" for "harem", her pronunciation just gets in the way, and at times just sounds a little school teacherish.

Richard read all his own end notes immediately after the section in which they pertained, and sometimes he sounded almost bored and sad. And other times he sounded very pompous and critical of others. At one point in an end note, he went on a little tirade about computer programmers creating computer viruses, which has nothing at all to do with the point of this book.

Which brings me to the last quarter of the book, in which he goes off on a statistical and odds game ramble for AGES. Explaining different types of betting and games of chance, and possible outcomes and options depending on whether one plays this way or that way... Sort of relevant to genes, but not really new, in that he'd already illustrated the odds and possible outcomes of genes ending up one way or another, and the cooperation of genes with another to improve odds or to effect a desired outcome, etc. Kinda glazed my eyes over a bit in this section because it was just a rehash of information already provided, and in a much less relevant and interesting (to me) way.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. I feel like I learned something, and that's why I read it. Could have been a bit better in the execution department, but I can't complain too much.

You may resume swooning now. :D ( )

Interesting to say the least. I added this book to my reading list because of the impact the author has had on society…including the word ‘meme’!! The concepts that Dawkin’s lays out are so simple that anyone can follow but that is why he is blasted by many on the political right. He takes out all of the conscious decisions out of what ‘the body’ does and breaks it down to the base action/reaction.
It takes all of what we, animal and plant, are and determines that we are nothing but ‘vehicles’ for genes. Let’s be honest if we take out all consciousness out of the situation…he is right!
Amazing insight and creative way of making his points by looking to nature, game strategy, and the pure logic to demonstrate how and why altruistic and selfishness can, at times, be one in the same.
I’ll be reading more of Dawkin’s soon. ( )