🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <j0bc0a.b01.ln@linuxsys.ii01.org>,
Robin Faichney  <robin@ii01.org> wrote:
>Swarat Chaudhuri <swarat_c@lycos.com> wrote:
>> Okay, actually I went to your webpage. Looks impressive. And though I
>> don't have a _very_ high opinion of Dawkins (he isn't quite
>> mathematical and appears to be more of a cult figure than a
>> scientist), I respect him sufficiently to consider his praise
>> valuable. And since this Christmas break is already getting
>> pathetically boring, I'll read Dennett up. :)
>
>He's a great writer as well as a great thinker.  You won't regret it.

Which, in my view, Dawkins isn't.  While my opinion is similar about
Dawkins, he IS a real scientist - unfortunately, his taste for self
publicity makes him appear less of one than he really is.  The
introduction to The Selfish Gene contains several quotes designed
to cause controversy in cases where what he says in the book is much
less contentious.

The extreme example (which is very relevant to this group) is the
way that he has dressed up the meme weebling to sound radical and
even heretical.  Well, it was once - 25+ years back - but I can't
say if he held the viewpoint then.  It is now mainstream, in principle
if not in detail.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:  nmm1@cam.ac.uk
Tel.:  +44 1223 334761    Fax:  +44 1223 334679