Delightful survey of science, evolution and human intellect
Richard Dawkin's recent book "Unweaving the Rainbow" is a delightful review of the physics of light waves, what they have revealed to us, and more. It is presented in the style of a literary composition, intended, I believe, for those steeped in the humanities rather than the sciences. Though some of his arguments cry out for some diagrams or mathematics, it's written for layman, and contains none of those.
The book opens with a chapter on Newton's classic experiment with two prisms, in which a narrow beam of white light is broken into a rainbow-like spectrum, then recombined (with the second prism) back into its white light form. Dawkins shows how this classic experiment opened many fields of investigation, leading to our current knowledge of the composition of the stars, their distribution in space, the discovery of the unity of the electromagnetic spectrum that ranges from radio waves through gamma rays, and much more. He argues that these scientific discoveries have broadened humankind, and deserve its own poetry and music.
From there, the book describes how evolution has equipped us and other life forms with the ability to "reweave" the rainbow, making sense out of the photons passing through our retinas and striking one of a myriad of receptors, starting parallel chains of nerve impulses into the brain. We literally "see" with our brain much more than with our eyes, through an almost magical process in which edges, shapes, faces and more are reconstructed into a stable three-dimensional model of our exterior world. Sound waves are similarly sorted out through a Fourier decomposition, enabling us to understand each other's speech and to enjoy music.
Overall, Dawkin's aim is clearly to assure the literary and humanistic folks among us that scientific discoveries are not to be disdained, as the deconstructionists would have it, rather celebrated as the unique and brilliant work of a long line of geniuses. There is something very different about the scientific process. Science is not just another "faith" or "belief" to be weighed equally among all the others of the world's religious beliefs -- it is our most precious intellectual treasure.
very fast delivery!
I was very impressed by the speedy shipping/delivery of my book. However, I do have to say that I wish there was more information in the product description about the condition of the book. The description did say that there were notes and writing in the margins; I just wish I could have known that the writing was not scholarly, but the previous owner had done ridiculous things like mark out any occurrence where the author writes 'theory of evolution' and inserted 'model of evolution'...among other things. I can easily handle scholarly notes, highlighting, etc., but it is incredibly distracting to have fundamentalist opinions written throughout a book about science. Other than that, I am pleased and am enjoying the book. Thank you!
Gift!
This was a gift for a friend but Richard Dawkins books are always great to buy, of our great thinkers of our times.
Another phenomenal book by Dawkins!!
This is the fourth book I have read by Dawkins, the other three were The God Delusion, Climbing Mount Improbable, and The Greatest Show on Earth. Dawkins never seems to disappoint me. I love his writing style and his analogies are so easy to follow. Unweaving the Rainbow basically explains why science should be poetic and not some cold explanation of the world. I don't understand why people think this book is so hostile. He simply explains why things like paranormal science, the X-Files, psychics, and weird theories of evolution by fellow biologists like Gould damage science by giving an uneducated or improper view of scientific theories. Dawkins explains why he believes Gould is wrong (I tend to think Dawkins is correct) by discussing what is wrong with Goulds work. Dawkins simply states that species giving birth to other species is impossible and that it had to occur gradually. Makes sense to me. However, I digress. Overall, I found this book very informative and incredibly entertaining. Classic Dawkins. Highly recommended!
Science or Magic?
Richard Dawkins has the rare gift of turning science talk into poetry. While boasting a wide range of scientific knowledge, he inspires the reader into wonderment at how discoverable the universe just is. Anyone who is curious about all the mysteries of the universe -anyone with a mind capable of wondering- don't be satisfied with magical, less than logical explanations, he warns. Keep wondering. You might be surprised at how discoverable most things are with a little bit of scientific scrutiny.
(101 reviews)
