111016 – Swarm – Southbank, London SE1 > words
The Richard Dawkins lecture at the Southbank Centre began with Richard reading short extracts from some of his most popular books. Starting with his first book The Selfish Gene of 1976 on its 40thanniversary and working through successive equally well known and well read books up until his latest publication, Brief Candle In The Dark 2015. This was a clear and easily accessible introduction and the perfect summation of Richard’s work to date whilst simultaneously setting the ground for the following discussion. The evening rolled out to be a fascinating and stimulating glimpse into the mind of one of the 20th century’s best intellects and one of the most rewarding lectures we have attended.
I have read many of Richard Dawkins books since my days as a student. As I pull the books from my library shelves and flick through their yellowed pages I recall covering many of them with scribbles and notes, cross referencing various pages on the back covers all in preparation for various academic papers written long ago. As a designer the ideas around memetics were more influential than those of genetics but together they made a rich resource for discussion.
According to Richard Dawkins ‘The Selfish Gene’s’ sole purpose is to preserve its own replication, to pass on its DNA to the next generation that will in turn continue to replicate. The body is just a vessel that facilitates the DNA replication. Evolutionary improvements are made en route and the survival of the fittest dominates. With ‘The Extended Phenotype’ in which replicators try to out propagate each other, the phenotypic effects of the gene are no longer limited to the individual and develop an ecosystem that effects many including other organisms. The Selfish Gene understands that its dominance is not always best delivered as a sole entity and its own needs can often be better met through alliance. Many of our selection criteria could be described as above the level of the gene and at this point, as I asked as a student and still ask as an adult, at what point does cultural evolution, memetics and altruism impact on genetic evolution? It has been shown that the Indian Caste system has already existed for long enough to have an evolutionary consequence. At what point does morality and intellect deteriorate propagation and the chances of species survival and development? At what point does the memetic interfere with propagation? Our cultural and social systems, the memes that now affect our evolution, are not keeping pace with our technologies.
The Obese Leopard and Gazelle – An open letter to Richard Dawkins
Richard is renowned for tackling difficult subjects, his works, books, papers and broadcasts on Religion have rattled many a society. He brings to the open forum subjects that many politely leave aside in fear of offending and these are subjects that need to be tackled as the world is in crisis. The human Selfish Gene has been successful and in our forever more overcrowded world far too successful. So to add to Richard’s endless list of subjects that are well known and yet constantly ignored we need to talk about population. Politicians shy of it as economic growth needs forever larger markets, Religion encourages it as part of its dominance by group size, people talk around it but never confront it as their best friend or neighbour has three or more children. We are all aware that the earth has moved beyond its sustainable level of human population. We are aware of the consequences of human over population on other species that share our planet, on finite resources, on quality of life and on the environment. We know we need a global plan to reduce population and we know that getting World Governments to agree anything is notoriously difficult. But what we really need Richard is an objective list of what could be done and what would be the consequences of each action. In David Mackay’s excellent book ‘Sustainable Energy – Without The Hot Air’, David quantifies what is actually required for the planet to move to a solar economy. The book is a list of approaches that could be used to address climate change, if used together they achieve equilibrium. The list can be shuffled and re-weighted but any alteration on one component has to be balanced by additions or reductions to the others. The book is a list from which Governments could sit and pick and chose their mix to achieve a sustainable goal. Population needs an equivalent book that lists alternative approaches that can be ordered and reordered to achieve a sustainable population, a book that provides the maths.
So why should I ask Richard to take on such a book? The issue of population first needs to be addressed through education and comprehension. Comprehension needs clarity and accessibility and Richard is master of providing both. So perhaps the title of Richard Dawkins next book should be The Super Selfish Gene with the subtitle Memetic Manipulation to Consolidate Population. In nature the very idea of the obese leopard or the obese gazelle cites ridicule as nature is forever perfect. But this perfection comes at a cost as nature has little tolerance for the weak or foolish.
The Surrogate Twin