Richard Dawkins · 336 pages
Rating: (6.8K votes)
“The facts are as follows. The total amount of DNA in different organisms is very variable, and the variation does not make obvious sense in terms of phylogeny. This is the so-called ‘C-value paradox’. ‘It seems totally implausible that the number of radically different genes needed in a salamander is 20 times that found in a man’ (Orgel & Crick 1980). It is equally implausible that salamanders on the West side of North America should need many times more DNA than congeneric salamanders on the East side.”
― Richard Dawkins, quote from The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
“The whole purpose of our search for a ‘unit of selection’ is to discover a suitable actor to play the leading role in our metaphors of purpose.”
― Richard Dawkins, quote from The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
“Adoption and contraception, like reading, mathematics, and stress-induced illness, are products of an animal that is living in an environment radically different from the one in which its genes were naturally selected.”
― Richard Dawkins, quote from The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
“To the extent that active germ-line replicators benefit from the survival of the bodies in which they sit, we may expect to see adaptations that can be interpreted as for bodily survival. A large number of adaptations are of this type. To the extent that active germ-line replicators benefit from the survival of bodies other than those in which they sit, we may expect to see ‘altruism’, parental care, etc. To the extent that active germ-line replicators benefit from the survival of the group of individuals in which they sit, over and above the two effects just mentioned, we may expect to see adaptations for the preservation of the group.”
― Richard Dawkins, quote from The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
“Why are genetic determinants thought to be any more ineluctable, or blame-absolving, than ‘environmental’ ones?”
― Richard Dawkins, quote from The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
Richard Dawkins
Born place: in Nairobi, Kenya
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“L-am cunoscut pe Ruletist. De acest lucru nu mă pot îndoi. În ciuda faptului că era imposibil ca el să existe, totuşi el a existat. Dar există un loc în lume unde imposibilul e posibil, şi anume în ficţiune, adică în literatură. Acolo legile statisticii pot fi încălcate, acolo poate apărea un om mai puternic decât hazardul. Ruletistul nu putea trăi în lume, ceea ce e un fel de a spune că lumea în care el a trăit este fictivă, este literatură. Nu am nici o îndoială, Ruletistul este un personaj. Dar atunci şi eu sunt un personaj, şi aici nu mă pot opri să nu exult de bucurie. Căci personajele nu mor niciodată, ele trăiesc de câte ori lumea lor e "citită". Dacă nu îşi va săruta niciodată iubita, păstorul pictat pe urna greacă ştie măcar că o va privi veşnic. Iată pariul şi nădejdea mea.”
― Mircea Cărtărescu, quote from Nostalgia
“His lips covered hers as he laid the gauze on her leg. Fiery pain shot through her flesh as his lips swallowed her cry, then replaced it with such amazing sensation she wanted to whimper in return. He licked her lips. He didn’t steal her kiss. He didn’t take it. He cajoled it from her.”
― Lora Leigh, quote from Elizabeth's Wolf
“A world of contradictions, wherein everything is gray and almost nothing is black and white.”
― David Sheff, quote from Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction
“Shoes really did lead the perfect life. They were polished and taken care of and not
expected to do anything more painful than occasionally step in a bit of mud or a rare puddle. She’d
wager her shoes never wished they could just disappear.”
― Karen Hawkins, quote from How to Abduct a Highland Lord
“I don't know which is worse: to be wrongfully accused or mistakenly understood.”
― Jeanette Winterson, quote from The Stone Gods
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