Red Pill Read (Episode -3) : The Selfish Gene

<p>Did you know that you were born selfish? I’m not the one stating this but The Selfish Gene book is. The Selfish Gene by prof. Richard Dawkins is one of the finest books ever written in the popular science genre. This book has sold over a million copies and has been translated into more than 25 languages.</p> <p>The assumption The Selfish Gene makes is that every living entity including us is a vessel, which is referred to as the <em>survival machine</em> and these survival machines are guided by the selfish genes that inhabit them.</p> <p>Why selfish genes? Because according to the Selfish gene theory a predominant quality for a gene to thrive and get successfully passed down to the next generation is ruthless selfishness. And this selfishness is not just limited to the genetic level, it also influences the behavior of the individual as well.</p> <p>Prof. Richard Dawkins is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He was the first Charles Simonyi professor of public understanding of science at Oxford. One of his biggest contributions to evolutionary biology is the gene-centered view of evolution. Apart from the Selfish gene, some of the other best-sellers by Richard Dawkins include <em>The God Delusion</em>, <em>The Blind Watchmaker</em>, and <em>The Greatest Show on Earth</em>.</p> <p>The Selfish Gene takes us through the gene’s-eye view of nature and it shares the journey of a gene right from the Primeval soup/Primordial soup where the first replicating molecules were born and how they developed a protective coat around themselves (aka the survival machine) and how these survival machines evolved into complex beings like ourself.</p> <p>The book uses beautiful metaphors and analogies to help the reader understand how genes operate. One of my favorite metaphors used in the book is the comparison between the genes to that of an architect’s plan.</p> <p>Reading this book also reminded me of some of the concepts that I learned in my biology class back in school, like the different kinds of cell divisions, th