What Do Our Genes Reveal About Our Past? w/ Richard Dawkins

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Science, Physics, Natural Sciences

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2024

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What do our genes reveal about our past? Richard Dawkins, one of the world’s most influential and thought-provoking scientists, explored the most profound principles of evolutionary history in his new book, The Genetic Book of the Dead. Dawkins is a renowned evolutionary biologist, zoologist, and author. He is also a prominent figure in New Atheism alongside Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens and is well known for his criticisms of creationism and intelligent design. I had the extraordinary privilege of discussing his new book in our two-part interview. In addition to judging his book, we explored the evolution of sex drive and aesthetic appreciation, genetics, the intersection of theoretical and experimental science, the potential of artificial intelligence, and more. Tune in to learn about genes from one of the most prominent evolutionary biologists of our time! P.S. Don’t forget to check out part one of our interview: https://youtu.be/BdiOFaMUASU Key Takeaways: 00:00 Intro 01:30 Judging a book by its cover 06:01 Do genes die? 07:53 Can genes predict the future? 11:26 The extended phenotype 22:42 The hypothetical scientist of the future 28:53 A colony of symbiotic vertical viruses 32:51 Final exit to the future 36:10 What evolutionary purpose does music serve? 43:25 The palimpsest 49:38 AI, pain, and evolutionary processes 56:25 Outro Additional resources: ➡️ Learn more about Richard Dawkins: ✖️ Twitter: https://x.com/RichardDawkins/ 💻 Website: https://richarddawkinstour.com/ ➡️ Join Richard Dawkins and me in Canada on October 6, 2014 https://admitone.com/events/richard-dawkins-vancouver-9488912 ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://x.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/ 🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast ✨ Member's only playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUMOmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Why does this peculiar desert lizard have such intricate patterns on its back?
0:04.0	And what does it tell you about its long dead relatives?
0:07.2	Today we have the extraordinary privilege of exploring these topics and more
0:10.9	with one of our greatest living treasures, Richard Dawkins, one of the world's most influential and thought-provoking scientists.
0:18.0	Richard is a renowned evolutionary biologist, zoologist, and author, a prominent figure in the new atheism along the other so-called
0:26.4	horseman of the apocalypse, Paskas, Sam Harris, and the late great Daniel Dennett.
0:31.7	He's well-known criticism of
0:33.1	creationism and intelligent design. In our wildly ranging
0:36.4	conversation we explore the evolution of sex drive and
0:39.3	the aesthetic appreciation of genetics as well as the way genetics intersect in theoretical and
0:45.2	experimental science. We talk about the potential evolutionary outcomes of
0:48.9	artificial intelligence as it augments humanity. We talk about what it's like to be a scientist and a scholar with a career ranging over 50 years.
0:58.0	And we encounter along our journey some of the greatest figures in all of science. I know you're going to love this episode, so let's go.
1:12.1	Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
1:18.6	Open the pod bay doors now.
1:20.5	Would you do us a favor of doing what you're never supposed to do, which is to judge the book by its covers?
1:26.0	Tell us the name, choice, the subtitle, and cover art.
1:30.0	Well, here, can you see the book there or is yeah is that visible yes okay yeah
1:37.2	that's the front cover and that's the back cover it's called the Genetic Book of the Dead. It's a kind of play on the Egyptian
1:47.8	books of the dead, which were books that were buried with important people in ancient Egypt
1:54.8	and as a sort of guide book to guide them into the afterlife.
1:58.8	The connection is pretty tenuous, but I suppose you could say that the genes are
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Brian Keating, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Brian Keating and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.