Climbing Mount Improbable

What Hacker News says

1. strangattractorSep 2023
   The central dogma of biology is DNA -> RNA -> Proteins. The details are very interesting but maybe not so much for a 12 year old. Understanding the roles this plays in the functioning of the cell (the big picture) might be interesting at that age IMHO. So you have Biochemistry which deals with the chemical reactions and pathways and Cell Biology which deals with how these Proteins function in a living organism.

   Not exactly textbook but a bigger picture of the role DNA plays in evolution. I enjoyed them and they definitely inspire a desire to understand more.

   Climbing Mount Improbable - Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins

   Physics A Brief History of Time. - Stephen Hawkins

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2. da39a3eeJul 2021
   Dawkins has an excellent chapter/essay on the fig/wasp relationship. At the end of Climbing Mount Improbable I believe.
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3. redvenomNov 2020
   Well, there are documented cases of evolution happening during our lifetimes.

   But I would say as a mathematical process, pretty likely once you have the basic ingredients. Richard Dawkins has written some good popular science books like 'Climbing Mount Improbable' that talks about evolution in this light. His 'Selfish Gene' is also an excellent read. It is slightly more technical but definitely understandable without an immense technical background.

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4. singingfishOct 2019
   The selfish gene is a great book. I read it when it was about 15 and it really resonated with me.

   Except the last chapter about f$%#ing memes. Hated it. It was like taking the core idea of the book and providing a cumbersome over-extended metaphor about ideas. So the colloquial meme is just as bad because it constantly reminds me of the original shit-house idea.

   Climbing Mount Improbable was good, but I can't rate Dawkins' later work. The Extended Phenotype I found impenetrable, and I've tried reading it a few times. The God stuff ... omg, just please stop shouting about your Daddy issues.

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5. jamesrcoleMay 2017
   Describing how evolution works, and why it is completely blind, is not something for the size constraints of a HN comment. I'd recommend books like Dawkin's "The Blind Watchmaker" or "Climbing Mount Improbable", or Dennett's "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" for good, readable descriptions.
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6. bootloadNov 2007
   Dawkins gives another viewpoint in his book, "Climbing Mount Improbable" with his explanation of the evolution of the eye. You can read an extract here ~ http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/writings/climbingmountim...

   For the Dr Who fans out there Lala Ward did the Illustrations ~ http://www.richardwho.com/collections/collection15.asp

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