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But please continue by reading more rigorous work on evolution, or you run the risk of being badly misinformed. I suggest, at a minimum, a decent textbook. Here
by jonathansizz 10y ago
But please continue by reading more rigorous work on evolution, or you run the risk of being badly misinformed. I suggest, at a minimum, a decent textbook. Here I'd recommend Douglas Futuyma's Evolution.
Follow this up with some key works in the field, such as Gould's early critique of naive adaptationism,
The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme.
Also consider different perspectives such as the those described in following books, which take, respectively, drift- and mutation-first approaches to evolution:
The Origins of Genome Architecture, M Lynch; and
Mutation-Driven Evolution, M Nei.
Above all, know that evolution is far more complex, subtle (and interesting) than The Selfish Gene would have you believe.
- nurettin 10y agoWhat is misinformative in the selfish gene?
- jonathansizz 10y agoIt greatly oversimplifies a complex process, ignoring modern developments in the field of evolutionary biology (including the entirety of population genetics), and makes many unfounded assumptions. The Spandrels paper I referenced above explains in detail, and is a good starting point: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/205/1161/581 http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/205/1161/581 Here's a more modern critique, which I posted here a few weeks ago: http://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-016-0338-2 http://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-016...
- Nomentatus 10y agoThis is NOT modern - it's well out of date. And more of the discredited Gould.
- nurettin 10y agoLooks suspiciously marginal.
- pklausler 10y agoWhen I comply with a request to name a single book, please don't assume that I've read but a single book. Thanks!
- jonathansizz 10y agoThe problem arises with those people who read The Selfish Gene and assume they now understand all there is to know about how evolution works. I'm sure you're not one of them, but nevertheless they are quite common, well-educated and intelligent though they often are.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- Nomentatus 10y agoObsolete stuff. I groaned as I examined this - Gould, really? This is old noise, that I resented raising mere dust in University decades ago. Thankfully a lot of these old distractrations have been swept aside, since. Do read up on the Gould controversies before citing him. If you knew of them already, it would have been kinder to others to note them.