The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

by Richard Dawkins
4.16 (54K)  •  2009

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Spoiler: Richard Dawkins compares evolution disbelievers to Holocaust deniers, saying that the evidence for evolution is every bit as strong as the evidence for the Holocaust. Reminding the audience that Earth is around 4.6 billion years old, he says that to condense Earth's history to a few thousand years in order to conform with religious myths is to think that the distance between New York and San Francisco is about 8 yards. He takes audience questions at the end.
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Richard Dawkins reads excerpts and answers questions
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Spoiler: Answering the question “why now?” Richard Dawkins says he felt it was time for an evolution book because too many polls show that great numbers of people don't believe in it. He adds that while people don't express disbelief in Newton's laws of motion or in gravity, the theory of evolution unfortunately falls prey to religion. He argues that we should feel free to criticize religion just as we criticize football teams, theater, and restaurants, and that holy books are not meant to be taken literally.
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Author promotes evolution as a fact in talking head format
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Spoiler: The author remarks that he wrote his other books assuming that his audience accepted evolution as a fact, as something he could mention or use as a jumping off point without having to prove it first. However, with 40% of the people in the U.S. saying they don't believe in evolution, he decided to write a book about the evidence, using the metaphor of a detective coming onto the scene of a crime after it has already happened and piecing together the facts.

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Other books by Richard Dawkins

3.90 (270K)   •   2006
4.16 (180K)   •   1976
4.09 (40K)   •   1986
4.14 (28K)   •   2004
4.05 (26K)   •   2011
4.11 (9K)   •   1982
4.01 (11K)   •   1998
3.98 (9K)   •   1995
4.11 (10K)   •   1996
3.98 (8K)   •   2003

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