Unweaving The Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder

Dawkins does a masterful job of highlighting the ways in which science should and does inspire our innate sense of wonder, of mystery and of purpose. While not an atheist myself, I read Dawkins occasionally because of his enthusiastic passion for, and knowledge of, scientific theory and law. He brings a welcome attention to, and appreciation of, the world of our five senses.The book presents a series of several interesting subjects that present ways of reconstructing the past, making comprehensible models of the present, and foreseeing possible futures. It may go without saying, but unless one has a love (or at least a curiosity) for science, this book may seem a bit tedious in the details that it presents on a multitude of topics. Of course, for the lover of science like myself, the great detail is very welcome.Here is a summary of what I feel to be the spirit of this book. This universe is a fascinating wonder, and the earth itself a rare paradise in the midst of the known universe. Sometimes it is easy to become too accustomed, and even immune, to the beauty and wonder that we see around us every day: the immense complexities, the ingenious ways in which natural laws work together, the statistical improbabilities which we see nevertheless played out before our very eyes. Sometimes it takes the poet to paint the world anew so that we see it through fresh lenses. Science, Dawkins asserts, only fuels, rather than detracts from, the poetic beauty of our world. Science does answer many long-held mysteries, but rather than stealing away the mysterious and the wonder of the universe, every answer opens up new mysteries the likes of which we had never before thought to consider. And many times, the answers are so beautiful in their detail, in a sense overwhelming to consider such a vast and perfect order, that the answers themselves inspire in us a kind of ecstatic marveling that otherwise would have been, if not impossible, certainly less rewarding if we had only a superficial understanding. Dawkins demonstrates that rather than being a killjoy, science and rational analysis take us on a continual and ever-advancing journey into the unknown mysteries of which there are no end. One of the most admirable things about the scientific method when used properly and without a biased agenda (which is perhaps rare if not impossible) is that it keeps an open mind to change its accepted theory whenever presented with conflicting evidence to the established viewpoint. That is perhaps what makes it the most exciting. It presents a way of looking at the world and, through statistical analysis, searching for the most appropriate viewpoint that fits the current data set. It is a living, transforming, advancing knowledge base that has worked wonders in our past and will continue to drive the world forward to new heights. With this book, Dawkins has helped to inspire in others that same passion that burns deep within him for discovering and lucidly exploring the magnificent world around us.

This book anticipates the storm that followed Richard Dawkins' best seller, "The God Delusion", which told us bluntly that there is no cosmic security, that there is some kind of a future in our DNA, that we are doomed to oblivion, so why not have good time while we're at it."Apparently his idea of a good time is hope in Darwinism(his version, of course), a dose of random selection, a round or two of bottled atheism, and "let's all sing in the dark, because we are all doomed anyway.He actually thinks that his Gospel of the Absence of God is something that will cheer people up. Who is he talking to, anyway? What kind of logic is behind the simple statement that "God does not exist because I say so"?We have to begin by dissolving the imaginary iceberg that he has placed between human reason and the existence of God. He has not shown in any believeable, cogent and reasoned way that his version of Darwinian evolution disproves the existence of God. He has simply created a massive smokescreen asking people to believe on his word alone.That is the crux of the question: can you demonstrate God's non-existence from evolutionary biology? In this book, written some years before "The God Delusion", but obviously anticipating it, he pulls out all stops, and there is one solid truth behind this wealth of words: atheists can be as moral, as upright, as in love with beauty and as concerned about their neighbors as anyone else. That is not the issue. The issue is: Does Darwinian evolution disprove the existence of God and the foundation of religion? The answer is No. This book anticipates "The God Delusion" by attempting to turn his roaring lion into a pussycat."The Selfish Gene" was a masterpiece of evolutionary biology - except for the End Notes, and this book is something of an extended End Note on his brand of evolutionary biology. There are golden threads throughout the book, as there are in the End Notes. But most are actually moral and ethical principles hanging on the thread of their own weight, with no intellectual or reasoned foundation, their only authority: Richard Dawkins himself. The best refutation I have found of the thesis of this book is Joyce Kilmer's "Rouge Bouquet". It is poetry and so is "Unweaving the Rainbow". But Richard Dawkins poetry does not blot out the stinging and sterile prose of "The GOd Delusion". If Richard Dawkins cannot make sense out of life, he certainly cannot make sense out of death. This book is a feeble attempt to do so.

An often poetic and always insightful Dawkins' eye view of the poetry of science.Dawkins' should however be giving his publisher several sharp raps across the knuckles for allowing this book to be transferred in to digital form with the manifold errors that litter sections of it.

Richard Dawkins demonstrates that the aesthetic appeal of the natural world is not diminished by actually understanding it. So, the rainbow is a delight to behold, as is the physics that explains it.Purveyors of mysticism, astrology and similar pseudo-science receive their inevitable approbrium. This isn't over-emphasised, although personally, I find that thinking about such nonsense to be somewhat of a trial.The chapters are largely independent, and can be read in any order. Many fields of science are covered, with a bias towards his own field. Short extracts from poetry are introduced at regular intervals - he's obviously a devotee - which many will enjoy.

Not ground-breaking, but worth the read if you're a Dawkins fan. Read The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable and River out of Eden first!

A useful book, but lacking in... afraid of the larger intuitive understanding of the Perennial Philosophy - of The Unity of Spirit.Keep trying Richard and one day the penny will drop

Didn't agree with all of it but he's an affable and entertaining companion and the pages fly by. And the desire to bridge the poetic and the scientific is a noble one. Plenty left out, however...about why poets historically disliked materialism. It's not science but reductive materialism that they reacted against, because it seemed a threat to their vocation and worldview. The rise of science has arguably been catastrophic for poetry...