The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge
Summary (from the publisher): The New York Times bestselling author of The Rational Optimist and Genome returns with a fascinating, brilliant argument for evolution that definitively dispels a dangerous, widespread myth: that we can command and control our world.
The Evolution of Everything is about bottom-up order and its enemy, the top-down twitch—the endless fascination human beings have for design rather than evolution, for direction rather than emergence. Drawing on anecdotes from science, economics, history, politics and philosophy, Matt Ridley’s wide-ranging, highly opinionated opus demolishes conventional assumptions that major scientific and social imperatives are dictated by those on high, whether in government, business, academia, or morality. On the contrary, our most important achievements develop from the bottom up. Patterns emerge, trends evolve. Just as skeins of geese form Vs in the sky without meaning to, and termites build mud cathedrals without architects, so brains take shape without brain-makers, learning can happen without teaching and morality changes without a plan.
Although we neglect, defy and ignore them, bottom-up trends shape the world. The growth of technology, the sanitation-driven health revolution, the quadrupling of farm yields so that more land can be released for nature—these were largely emergent phenomena, as were the Internet, the mobile phone revolution, and the rise of Asia. Ridley demolishes the arguments for design and effectively makes the case for evolution in the universe, morality, genes, the economy, culture, technology, the mind, personality, population, education, history, government, God, money, and the future.
As compelling as it is controversial, authoritative as it is ambitious, Ridley’s stunning perspective will revolutionize the way we think about our world and how it works.
Review: I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins.
This book argues that evolution is happening everywhere around us and is the best way to understand how our world changes. The basis of Ridley's arguments are based on the ideas of the Roman poet Titus Lucretius Carus, who died in 49 BC. Lucretius "foreshadowed Darwin in suggesting that nature ceaselessly experiments, and those creatures that can adapt and reproduce will thrive. He was with modern philosophers and historians in suggesting that the universe was not created for or about human beings, that we are not special, and there was no Golden Age of tranquility and plenty in the distant past, but only a primitive battle for survival" (9). Ridley thus uses this argument of bottom-up evolution to explain a whole host of phenomena including: the universe, morality, life, genes, culture, the economy, technology, the mind, personality, education, population, leadership, government, religion, money, and the Internet.
Some of the "bottom up" sources of mass change cited by the author were persuasive. For example, Ridley argues that the reason that most cultures today are largely monogamous is because monogamy tends to tame "young men, improve social cohesion, balance the sex ration, reduce the crime rate, and encourage men to work rather than fight. This made such societies more productive and less destructive, so they tended to expand at the expense of other societies" (88-89). He also made some valid arguments about evolution within technology, pointing out that generally multiple people have the same invention simultaneously in several locations and most technological advances occur at the appropriate time in history, when other advances can support such as advancement. For instance, the first laptop invention coincided with computers finally being small enough to fit on a lap.
However, while I found many of his arguments persuasive, I did find his argument about religion unnecessarily abrasive (and thus unlikely to persuade anyone who disagrees with him): "God is plainly an invention of the human imagination [...] It is the expression of what Daniel Dennett calls the intentional stance, the human instinct to see purpose and agency and power in every nook or cranny of the world" (256). His main argument for the "invention" of God is that every religion is manmade. I see his point, but that's simply not compelling enough to back up his argument that God is obviously a fictional invention. Seemingly due to his total atheist conviction, the author has become unable to convincingly write a chapter on the evolution of religion. I'm always frustrated by the paradox of someone demanding that their audience have an open mind who fail to realize when they themselves are displaying a very, very closed mind.
Stars: 3
The Evolution of Everything is about bottom-up order and its enemy, the top-down twitch—the endless fascination human beings have for design rather than evolution, for direction rather than emergence. Drawing on anecdotes from science, economics, history, politics and philosophy, Matt Ridley’s wide-ranging, highly opinionated opus demolishes conventional assumptions that major scientific and social imperatives are dictated by those on high, whether in government, business, academia, or morality. On the contrary, our most important achievements develop from the bottom up. Patterns emerge, trends evolve. Just as skeins of geese form Vs in the sky without meaning to, and termites build mud cathedrals without architects, so brains take shape without brain-makers, learning can happen without teaching and morality changes without a plan.
Although we neglect, defy and ignore them, bottom-up trends shape the world. The growth of technology, the sanitation-driven health revolution, the quadrupling of farm yields so that more land can be released for nature—these were largely emergent phenomena, as were the Internet, the mobile phone revolution, and the rise of Asia. Ridley demolishes the arguments for design and effectively makes the case for evolution in the universe, morality, genes, the economy, culture, technology, the mind, personality, population, education, history, government, God, money, and the future.
As compelling as it is controversial, authoritative as it is ambitious, Ridley’s stunning perspective will revolutionize the way we think about our world and how it works.
Review: I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins.
This book argues that evolution is happening everywhere around us and is the best way to understand how our world changes. The basis of Ridley's arguments are based on the ideas of the Roman poet Titus Lucretius Carus, who died in 49 BC. Lucretius "foreshadowed Darwin in suggesting that nature ceaselessly experiments, and those creatures that can adapt and reproduce will thrive. He was with modern philosophers and historians in suggesting that the universe was not created for or about human beings, that we are not special, and there was no Golden Age of tranquility and plenty in the distant past, but only a primitive battle for survival" (9). Ridley thus uses this argument of bottom-up evolution to explain a whole host of phenomena including: the universe, morality, life, genes, culture, the economy, technology, the mind, personality, education, population, leadership, government, religion, money, and the Internet.
Some of the "bottom up" sources of mass change cited by the author were persuasive. For example, Ridley argues that the reason that most cultures today are largely monogamous is because monogamy tends to tame "young men, improve social cohesion, balance the sex ration, reduce the crime rate, and encourage men to work rather than fight. This made such societies more productive and less destructive, so they tended to expand at the expense of other societies" (88-89). He also made some valid arguments about evolution within technology, pointing out that generally multiple people have the same invention simultaneously in several locations and most technological advances occur at the appropriate time in history, when other advances can support such as advancement. For instance, the first laptop invention coincided with computers finally being small enough to fit on a lap.
However, while I found many of his arguments persuasive, I did find his argument about religion unnecessarily abrasive (and thus unlikely to persuade anyone who disagrees with him): "God is plainly an invention of the human imagination [...] It is the expression of what Daniel Dennett calls the intentional stance, the human instinct to see purpose and agency and power in every nook or cranny of the world" (256). His main argument for the "invention" of God is that every religion is manmade. I see his point, but that's simply not compelling enough to back up his argument that God is obviously a fictional invention. Seemingly due to his total atheist conviction, the author has become unable to convincingly write a chapter on the evolution of religion. I'm always frustrated by the paradox of someone demanding that their audience have an open mind who fail to realize when they themselves are displaying a very, very closed mind.
Stars: 3
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