Book Review: The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins

I enjoyed reading this book. It was written in the late 80’s by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. It is a detailed description of how evolution works with many examples. It also goes into various 1980’s computer models of evolution, which is kind of entertaining to read in 2009. There are some direct refutations of creationist counter arguments that are very much old news to anyone who has read anything about this debate.

Evolution is the cornerstone of modern biology. Its fundamental premises are not really even questioned anymore by biologists that are doing scientifically sound and rigorous research. Sure there are still points of disagreement and areas that still need to be researched, but that is the way science works. It works by pushing back the darkness and sorting out what we see. As the evidence comes in, we change our theories and premises. This is what is cool about science. It thrives on the complex and the unknown.

The religious arguments against evolution are such a distraction. As new evidence comes to light that refutes the written word of a bronze-age civilization, the religiously dogmatic scramble to either retrofit it into their belief system or to outright refute it. This is so far outside of the way I see the world that it is hard for me to understand how someone can feel comfortable doing this. It truly blows my mind.

Anyway, this was a good book, but there are other, more contemporary books on the topic.