The Selfish Gene

“The Selfish Gene” and “The Extended Phenotype” were world altering for me. Like integral calculus, I rarely have cause to apply the concept in the domain in which it was described, but the understanding that his conveyance of the material shaped in me is something I feel in my thinking every day, more than two decades later.

on HN, 2019

Evolution is the reason we exist! Understanding how it happens and why it can lead to counterintuitive outcomes is very important.

on HN, 2019

Of all the books I read - fiction and non fiction, wonderful ideas in SF and Carl Sagan - I'd have to single out Selfish Gene, as it single-handedly changed my perspective and mental/internal framework of the universe.

on HN, 2019

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins also helped reform my world-view in certain areas. Specifically it helped dispel any lingering credibility that I might have assigned to the "irreducible complexity" argument.

on HN, 2022

I suppose if you've taken in its lessons, then it over-emphasises its point a bit, but consider that (as Pinker points out) "its main point still needs to be made 40+ years later. Most journalists, psychologists, and intellectuals commenting on natural selection still write as if it acts for the good of the group or the species, without even realizing they have said anything problematic or contentious."

on HN, 2018