Arguing fiercely that the perfection of the human body is the result of improbable mutation, a prominent Darwinian uses the metaphor of a climb up Mount Improbable to illustrate how natural perfection is due to the unending journey of DNA through time. Tour.
Climbing Mount Improbable
β Scribed by Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward
- Publisher
- W. W. Norton & Company
- Year
- 1997
- Tongue
- English
- Leaves
- 352
- Category
- Library
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
β¦ Synopsis
A brilliant book celebrating improbability as the engine that drives life, by the acclaimed author of The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker.The human eye is so complex and works so precisely that surely, one might believe, its current shape and function must be the product of design. How could such an intricate object have come about by chance? Tackling this subjectβin writing that the New York Times called "a masterpiece"βRichard Dawkins builds a carefully reasoned and lovingly illustrated argument for evolutionary adaptation as the mechanism for life on earth. The metaphor of Mount Improbable represents the combination of perfection and improbability that is epitomized in the seemingly "designed" complexity of living things. Dawkins skillfully guides the reader on a breathtaking journey through the mountain's passes and up its many peaks to demonstrate that following the improbable path to perfection takes time. Evocative illustrations accompany Dawkins's eloquent descriptions of extraordinary adaptations such as the teeming populations of figs, the intricate silken world of spiders, and the evolution of wings on the bodies of flightless animals. And through it all runs the thread of DNA, the molecule of life, responsible for its own destiny on an unending pilgrimage through time. Climbing Mount Improbable is a book of great impact and skill, written by the most prominent Darwinian of our age.
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Arguing fiercely that the perfection of the human body is the result of improbable mutation, a prominent Darwinian uses the metaphor of a climb up Mount Improbable to illustrate how natural perfection is due to the unending journey of DNA through time. Tour.
A brilliant book celebrating improbability as the engine that drives life, by the acclaimed author of The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker.The human eye is so complex and works so precisely that surely, one might believe, its current shape and function must be the product of design. How could s
How could such an intricate object as the human eye - so complex and so precise - have come about by chance? In this masterful piece of popular science, Richard Dawkins builds a powerful and carefully reasoned argument for evolutionary adapatation as the force behind all life on earth. The metaphor