• .

  • Natural selection is best conceived of as a "substrate neutral algorithm." Seen in this way, it begins to act as a sort of "universal acid" whose unsettling implications cannot be contained. The book is uneven--the stuff about memes is unconvincing. But it was a worthwhile read for the concepts of s ... Continue

    Natural selection is best conceived of as a "substrate neutral algorithm." Seen in this way, it begins to act as a sort of "universal acid" whose unsettling implications cannot be contained. The book is uneven--the stuff about memes is unconvincing. But it was a worthwhile read for the concepts of skyhook and crane alone.

    

    Is this helpful?

• ― Leebeck said on Feb 28, 2008 | Add your feedback

In a book that is both groundbreaking and accessible, Daniel C. Dennett, whom Chet Raymo of The Boston Globe calls "one of the most provocative thinkers on the planet," focuses his unerringly logical mind on the theory of natural selection, showing how Darwin's great idea transforms and illuminates our traditional view of humanity's place in the universe. Dennett vividly describes the theory itself and then extends Darwin's vision with impeccable arguments to their often surprising conclusions, challenging the views of some of the most famous scientists of our day.

Groups with this in collection

Philosophy of Biology & Theoretical Biology (生物哲學&理論生物學) (27)

• evolutionphilosophynonfictionscienceBiology