biology

The Selfish Genius

The Selfish Genius is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Selfish Genius rather than just read about it. In short: The Selfish Genius: How Richard Dawkins Rewrote Darwin's Legacy is a 2009 book by Fern Elsdon-Baker about the history of evolutionary theory, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. The book provides an overview of the historical and philosophical debates that have continued throughout the history of evolutionary theory, and carry on to this d…

Key takeaways

The Selfish Genius belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Selfish Genius to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Selfish Genius from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Selfish Genius: How Richard Dawkins Rewrote Darwin's Legacy is a 2009 book by Fern Elsdon-Baker about the history of evolutionary theory, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. The book provides an overview of the historical and philosophical debates that have continued throughout the history of evolutionary theory, and carry on to this day in debates surrounding the merits of gene-centric selection and group selection models. The book is particularly critical of the popular science author Richard Dawkins, claiming that he presents a brand of evolutionary theory that portrays natural selection as acting at the level of the individual gene to the exclusion of group selection models which state that it could also act at the level of organisms or species. The book also claims Dawkins embraces an outdated and prescriptive conception of evolution that actually restricts debate rather than promoting it.

Acclaim and criticism The book has provoked controversy with some online commentary claiming it is another 'flea', a term used by Dawkins to describe people who have published books about him or his ideas. An article by Fern Elsdon-Baker in New Scientist of 19 July 2009 entitled the "Dawkins Dogma" contains parts of the arguments put forward within the book. The Selfish Genius has been criticized in The Economist for failing to fully understand Dawkins' selfish gene metaphor, with the reviewer claiming Dawkins accommodates proposed alternative evolutionary mechanism Elsdon-Baker suggests within her own ideas. However a generally positive reception has been seen amongst proponents of group selection and Philip Ball wrote a largely positive review in The Times that acknowledges she is right to "call time on a Whiggish view of the history of evolution". Popular Science author Brian Clegg reviewed the book and described it as brilliantly identifying how Dawkins' views sit within the latest theories on evolution.

References

External links "Author's Webpage"

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Selfish Genius

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Selfish Genius claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Selfish Genius before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Selfish Genius ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Selfish Genius

In research: The Selfish Genius appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Selfish Genius in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Selfish Genius is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2009 non-fiction books, Books about evolution, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Selfish Genius outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Selfish Genius in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Selfish Genius means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Selfish Genius out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Selfish Genius in simple terms?

Why does The Selfish Genius matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Selfish Genius?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Selfish Genius.