Transitional Species Video: "The Salinasaur"
The Selfish Gene was an intriguing, nonfiction book about Richard Dawkin’s ideas and beliefs on the subject of evolution. In his book, Richard Dawkins builds on the theory of adaptation and natural selection. He uses the term “selfish gene” as a way of expressing the gene-centered view of evolution.
The main idea of the book is that evolution is done through genes opposed to the views focused on the organism and the group. Dawkins thinks that DNA sequences spread by creating copies of themselves inside of the genome. Dawkins supported Darwin's Theory of Evolution, specifically his theory of survival of the fittest. He believes the theory that organisms adapt through natural selection.
Another idea of Dawkins was that DNA do not specifically contribute to the reproductive success, but the organisms as a whole do. He said that the goal of all organisms is to maximize the number of their decedents. Richard Dawkins stated that you can make inferences about an organism based off of the environment that they live in. He changed the views of many scientists about evolution and natural selection.
After reading the entirety of the book, we felt indifferent about the novel. It was rather dull, and heavy with unnecessary vocabulary. While looking for extra information about his theories, we came across a book that was entitled, “Die, Selfish Gene, Die” that opposed all of Dawkins’ theories and criticised his book. Even though we didn’t exactly enjoy the book, we did not feel so negatively against it. For example, we thought the use of metaphors was a clever way to make the book easier to understand and much more interesting to read.
Over all, my group and I thought it was an enthralling read, and we learned a great deal of information about evolution, specifically Richard Dawkins' perception of it. We learned how evolution is passed down through genes, natural selection, and adaptation which is what made us and the world around us come to be.
The main idea of the book is that evolution is done through genes opposed to the views focused on the organism and the group. Dawkins thinks that DNA sequences spread by creating copies of themselves inside of the genome. Dawkins supported Darwin's Theory of Evolution, specifically his theory of survival of the fittest. He believes the theory that organisms adapt through natural selection.
Another idea of Dawkins was that DNA do not specifically contribute to the reproductive success, but the organisms as a whole do. He said that the goal of all organisms is to maximize the number of their decedents. Richard Dawkins stated that you can make inferences about an organism based off of the environment that they live in. He changed the views of many scientists about evolution and natural selection.
After reading the entirety of the book, we felt indifferent about the novel. It was rather dull, and heavy with unnecessary vocabulary. While looking for extra information about his theories, we came across a book that was entitled, “Die, Selfish Gene, Die” that opposed all of Dawkins’ theories and criticised his book. Even though we didn’t exactly enjoy the book, we did not feel so negatively against it. For example, we thought the use of metaphors was a clever way to make the book easier to understand and much more interesting to read.
Over all, my group and I thought it was an enthralling read, and we learned a great deal of information about evolution, specifically Richard Dawkins' perception of it. We learned how evolution is passed down through genes, natural selection, and adaptation which is what made us and the world around us come to be.
Evolution unit reflection
In our evolution unit, we learned about the evolutionary patterns that have shaped the world around us and the evolution of single-celled to multi-cellular organisms through various projects. We made an evolution poster, watched a series called "Your Inner Fish", created our own transitional species, and read an evolution book which we discussed in small groups upon finishing it. My favorite project would have to be the transitional species video where my group created an animal that was part-reptilian and part-bird and called it the Salinasaur. But even though that project was enjoyable, I didn't learn much from it. I feel that I learned the most about the history behind evolutionary processes from the "Inner Fish" videos. The four videos we watched really went into depth about why evolution happens and I found it quite fascinating. This unit as a whole has been very informative and now I feel like I really understand how the people around me and I came to be.