The Purpose of Purpose - Richard Dawkins

During Richard Dawkins' American tour in March 2009, he gave a talk titled "The Purpose of Purpose". I travelled with Richard to these cities and filmed the talks, which I've edited together here. The content of the talk remains intact, while the editing moves between the different locations and Richard's Keynote presentation.

There were Q&A sessions after each talk, which I plan on uploading soon.

- Josh Timonen
RichardDawkins.net

See more about Richard Dawkins' upcoming book "The Greatest Show on Earth" here:
http://richarddawkins.net/thegreatestshowonearth

This talk was given in Michigan, Minneapolis, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Filmed at:
University of Minnesota - Minneapolis, Minnesota
University of Oklahoma - Norman, Oklahoma
Holland Performing Arts Center - Omaha, Nebraska

Introductions by:
PZ Myers - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Barry Weaver - Norman, Oklahoma
Richard Holland - Omaha, Nebraska

Filmed and Edited by Josh Timonen
Shot on Red One #4809

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Richard Dawkins
• The Purpose of Purpose
• Evolution
• Biology
• Natural Selection
• Charles Darwin
• Purpose
• Neo-Purpose
• Archeo-Purpose
• PZ Myers

[MsPerduta]

1. Life is part of the universe.

2. Natural selection makes the living have have intention to live.

3. Evolution of life is a direct consequence of the natural laws that govern the universe.

Conclusion: Laws of physics create a purpose which is to live.

Now why spend a whole our trying to convince us that "why" is a silly question when there is a very sensible answer to it?

Thumbs down from me.

[MrSeekLoad]

@tweaker1bms CONTINUING HERE: Wen I went to school I put out to the theory to the teacher the plausibility of the "magnetic field changes" (not gravity change). Back then it was thought that to be impossible.The teacher said to me "it is only speculations and there for can't be taken seriously, and probably never will". Now we know that is not speculations but reality.That has thought me that" what we learn may not always be like true in science".It made me skeptical to "some science" not all.

[MrSeekLoad]

@tweaker1bms Also you have a point that I should "take some courses in physics and astronomy" but my time is not on my side for me (I don't have time now). Now I am at courses "computer programming and engineering" at the program for "IT business scientist and programmer" at the university. CONTINUING...

[MrSeekLoad]

@tweaker1bms You should read this:

h t t p : / / professortaboo . wordpress . c o m /tag/particle-accelerator/

h t t p : / / w w w . scienceclarified . c o m /Sp-Th/Subatomic-Particles . h t m l#b

h t t p : / / science . rank . org/pages/3095/Grand-Unified-T­heory . h t m l

DELETE the spaces

[MrSeekLoad]

@tweaker1bms I agree on may things except one,part, you said "gravity is incredibly weak in general and effects nothing at the atomic level". That is the only part you seem to be wrong. Have you ever taken a look at a particle accelerator and what happens to the particles there?

[tweaker1bms]

@MrSeekLoad Also to save a lot of hassle in the future, I ask you to please take some courses in physics and astronomy, you seem interested in it, and that passion's good, but speculation without proper knowledge of how things work leads to a lot of trouble.

[tweaker1bms]

@MrSeekLoad This combination is of factors with no evidence of existing, and if they did would still be insignificant. Gravity is incredibly weak in general and effects nothing at the atomic level. For a comparison, take a magnet and hold it over a nail and see it lift off the ground. That puny magnet has more force than that of the entire accumulative gravitational force of the earth. And there are stronger ones still. Gravity is nothing, it does not, cannot, effect isotopic decay.

[tweaker1bms]

@MrSeekLoad A super volcano will do no such thing, unless it ejects matter at a velocity sufficient to escape earth. Even so, it's speculation, and still significant in it's possible amounts of ejected matter. And I beleive no super volcano was created from the dino-killing meteor anyway.

[tweaker1bms]

@MrSeekLoad There was never a loss of mass equal to the moon in the entire span of life on the earth. Thus it would have no impact on anything evolutionary. The wobble is speculation, and one could have existed before the meteors impact. Further, the spin only minutely counteracts gravity, I calculated how much back in high school, but forgot the precise formulas, they aren't hard though you could do it yourself. Still insignificant even on our scale, let alone that of atoms.