Dawkins Lecture - The Genesis of Purpose (Royal Institution Christmas Lectures for Children)

In this excerpt Richard discusses what might have happened to bring about the rapid growth of human intelligence and ingenuity, and the 'bugs' in the operating system of our minds which we still have to live with.

This was one of the televised Royal Institution Christmas Lectures for Children, from the early nineties. I am sure I caught this first time around - I would have been 16 or 17. These lectures are a wonderful annual TV event, as you can see, it's actually pretty challenging although it's made engaging for kids.

I love his last statement - especially in the context of a Christmas lecture!

Category:

Education

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• Evolution
• Richard
• Dawkins
• Royal
• Institute
• of
• the
• Brain
• Mind
• Superstition
• Religion
• Hallucination
• Homo
• Erectus
• Christmas
• Noel
• NAtivity
• Christianity
• Atheism
• Christianty

[windogmassey1]

Of course all this lecture is backed up by fact...wait...acually it isnt! Keep to science not religion.

[sonnymon]

This was made thirty years ago. In those days British children could understand clearly spoken English. Pity it went out of fashion.

[dogblessamerica]

But I think these lectures are still going! I think now, as when this lecture was broadcast, there is a hardcore of kids who are hungry for this sort of stuff, and are able to keep up. Nerds like us, in other words!

[dogblessamerica]

He is quite clear about what he is referring to as 'facts' and what is conjecture based on those facts.

[davidstalker]

i think these small children are probably a little more savvy than you perhaps give them credit for!

[93simonk]

@windogmassey1 did you watch the lecture, or just see the word genesis' in the title?

[redshiftexperiment]

this is a great clip. there was a clip that was part of this same series, in which he describes some of the possible explanations of how wings developed in birds and eyes developed over time. I saw that once and really thought it was a great explanation put simply.

[yatter1]

I think his message is secondary, it´s his choice of clothing which is more important, obviously, I´m not alone.

[smichael61]

@datalal624 Monkeys will infallibly make bad fashion choices.

[goodtimes0000]

reminds me of being off school in the christmas holidays, bored out of my mind because i'd completed horace goes skiing.

[MEEG0L]

dawkins foh life

[datalal624]

It's a pity Dr. Dawkins' usual tasteful choices for shirts and ties didn't apply in this video. That shirt-and-tie combo looks just dreadful! (but then again, this was done in 1991, and many bad fashion choices were made by all back then! lol)

But the lecture was well done. I love this Xmas lecture series he did. :-)