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The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge
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HarperCollins 2015
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Description

"Mr. Ridley's best and most important work to date...there is something profoundly democratic and egalitarian—even anti-elitist—in this bottom-up approach: Everyone can have a role in bringing about change." —Wall Street Journal

The New York Times bestselling author of The Rational Optimist and Genome returns with a fascinating argument for evolution that definitively dispels a dangerous, widespread myth: that we can command and control our world

Human society evolves. Change in technology, language, morality, and society is incremental, inexorable, gradual, and spontaneous. It follows a narrative, going from one stage to the next, and it largely happens by trial and error—a version of natural selection. Much of the human world is the result of human action but not of human design: it emerges from the interactions of millions, not from the plans of a few.

Drawing on fascinating evidence from science, economics, history, politics, and philosophy, Matt Ridley demolishes conventional assumptions that the great events and trends of our day are dictated by those on high. On the contrary, our most important achievements develop from the bottom up. The Industrial Revolution, cell phones, the rise of Asia, and the Internet were never planned; they happened. Languages emerged and evolved by a form of natural selection, as did common law. Torture, racism, slavery, and pedophilia—all once widely regarded as acceptable—are now seen as immoral despite the decline of religion in recent decades.

In this wide-ranging, erudite book, Ridley brilliantly makes the case for evolution, rather than design, as the force that has shaped much of our culture, our technology, our minds, and that even now is shaping our future.

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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
10/27/2015
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780062296023
ASIN:
B00U1T9OSO
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APA Citation (style guide)

Matt Ridley. (2015). The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Matt Ridley. 2015. The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge. HarperCollins.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Matt Ridley, The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge. HarperCollins, 2015.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Matt Ridley. The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge. HarperCollins, 2015.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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        Matt Ridley's books have sold over a million copies, been translated into 31 languages and won several awards. His books include The Red Queen, Genome, The Rational Optimist and The Evolution of Everything. His book on How Innovation Works was published in 2020, and Viral: the Search for the Origin of Covid-19, co-authored with Alina Chan, was published in 2021. He sat in the House of Lords between 2013 and 2021 and served on the science and technology select committee and the artificial intelligence select committee. He was founding chairman of the International Centre for Life in Newcastle. He created the Mind and Matter column in the Wall Street Journal in 2010, and was a columnist for the Times 2013-2018. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He lives in Northumberland.

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The Evolution of Everything
fullDescription

"Mr. Ridley's best and most important work to date...there is something profoundly democratic and egalitarian—even anti-elitist—in this bottom-up approach: Everyone can have a role in bringing about change." —Wall Street Journal

The New York Times bestselling author of The Rational Optimist and Genome returns with a fascinating argument for evolution that definitively dispels a dangerous, widespread myth: that we can command and control our world

Human society evolves. Change in technology, language, morality, and society is incremental, inexorable, gradual, and spontaneous. It follows a narrative, going from one stage to the next, and it largely happens by trial and error—a version of natural selection. Much of the human world is the result of human action but not of human design: it emerges from the interactions of millions, not from the plans of a few.

Drawing on fascinating evidence from science, economics, history, politics, and philosophy, Matt Ridley demolishes conventional assumptions that the great events and trends of our day are dictated by those on high. On the contrary, our most important achievements develop from the bottom up. The Industrial Revolution, cell phones, the rise of Asia, and the Internet were never planned; they happened. Languages emerged and evolved by a form of natural selection, as did common law. Torture, racism, slavery, and pedophilia—all once widely regarded as acceptable—are now seen as immoral despite the decline of religion in recent decades.

In this wide-ranging, erudite book, Ridley brilliantly makes the case for evolution, rather than design, as the force that has shaped much of our culture, our technology, our minds, and that even now is shaping our future.

reviews
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      • source: New York Times Book Review
      • content:

        "A highly intelligent and bracingly iconoclastic view of the world. It forces us to see life through new eyes." — New York Times Book Review

        "A compelling argument...a fascinating work...The way the book frames the argument is delightfully novel...Ridley has amassed such a weight of fascinating evidence and anecdote that the pages fly by." — The Times (Saturday Review)

        "Ridley shows how hard it has been for even the most definite evolutionists to fully abandon the notion of a guiding intelligence...Yet that is what the hard evidence...that Ridley adduces in every chapter compels us all to do." — Booklist (starred review)

        "This penetrating book is Mr. Ridley's best and most important work to date...there is something profoundly democratic and egalitarian-even anti-elitist-in this bottom-up approach: Everyone can have a role in bringing about change." — Wall Street Journal

        "An exceptional book: exceptionally easy to read, easy to understand, easy to appreciate...Of the many good general texts on the subject, THE EVOLUTION OF EVERYTHING emerges as the fittest to champion the case for the ubiquity of evolution." — Washington Times

        "Ridley is a provocative, occasionally pugnacious writer and his book is intriguing and artfully argued." — London Sunday Times

        "Highly readable, invariably interesting...Ridley's laudable aim is to disenthrall us of our intuitive creationism and make us see evolution at work everywhere...Ridley succeeds in spades...He possesses the rare power to see the world in a different light - one made not by great men or women but by undirected, incremental change." — New Scientist

        "An ingenious study...fascinating...thought-provoking...difficult to put down." — Kirkus, starred review

        "Impressive...Readers of evolutionary theory, sociology, history, anthropology and philosophy shall be highly entertained by this thought-provoking read." — Library Journal

        "Building on the timeless insights of Lucretius, Ridley examines how civilization inexorably organizes itself. Wrong-headed social theories, he and Lucretius agree, just get in the way." — Stewart Brand, Author, Whole Earth Discipline

      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        July 6, 2015
        Working from the idea that evolution is “happening all around us” and is “the best way of understanding how the human world changes, as well as the natural world,” Ridley (The Rational Optimist) looks at how numerous facets of society and nature develop and change over time. “Evolution is far more common, and far more influential, than most people recognize,” he says. The book’s primary argument is that, more often than not, there is no rational mind or organized decision-making behind the development of common concepts or widespread phenomena, but an unconscious reaction to an immense variety of factors. “The genome has no master gene, the brain has no command center, the English language has no director, the economy has no chief executive,” he states. Ridley observes this principle in culture, government, and technology. There’s a lot of information to work through, but the reasoning is sound and arguments are well-supported with historical precedent and general observation. While the premise may not sit well with everyone, Ridley provides enough evidence to support his claims and generate no shortage of debate. Agent: Peter Ginsberg, Curtis Brown.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        June 15, 2015

        A New York Times best-selling science writer with best book nods from the Los Angeles Times and the National Academies of Science--and a viscount to boot--Ridley argues that ideas aren't designed, then signed, sealed, and delivered by authoritative sources. Instead, they rise like bubbles from the bottom up, twisting and turning into view as a pattern finally emerges. Morality, culture, the economy, personality, history, God--all are endlessly evolving.

        Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        October 1, 2015

        Does the world operate according to a master blueprint, or is it far more influenced by unfolding events that cause gradual change? Science columnist Ridley (The Rational Optimist) posits the latter, explaining that all facets of human culture are driven by evolutionary change in a bottom-up ordering rather than a top-down design. The author champions the ideology of ancient Roman poet, Titus Lecretius Carus, using stanzas of his poem De Rerum Natura to segue to essays on subjects ranging from religion and government to population and technology. These revolutionary manifestos borrow narratives from science, economics, politics, and philosophy. Ridley's use of source material is vast, ranging from quoting author Sam Harris on free will in order to demonstrate the "evolutionary consequence of how the brain changed," to arguing how climate change has become a religious argument, with quotes from Nigel Lawson and French philosopher Pascal Bruckner. Despite impressive research, however, the author fails to hide his bias on certain subjects or his Libertarian beliefs, leaving the thoughtful reader wanting a bit more counterargument. VERDICT Readers of evolutionary theory, sociology, history, anthropology and philosophy shall be highly entertained by this thought-provoking read but may not evolve to Ridley's level of thinking.--Angela Forret, Clive P.L., IA

        Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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"Mr. Ridley's best and most important work to date...there is something profoundly democratic and egalitarian—even anti-elitist—in this bottom-up approach: Everyone can have a role in bringing about change." —Wall Street Journal

The New York Times bestselling author of The Rational Optimist and Genome returns with a fascinating argument for evolution that definitively dispels a dangerous, widespread myth: that we can command and control our world

Human society evolves. Change in technology, language, morality, and society is incremental, inexorable, gradual, and spontaneous. It follows a narrative, going from one stage to the next, and it largely happens by trial and error—a version of natural selection. Much of the human world is the result of human action but not of human design: it emerges from the interactions of millions, not from the plans of a few.

Drawing on fascinating evidence from science,...

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