Richard Dawkins and Neil deGrasse Tyson

• What did Daniel Dennet claim about evolution?

  It was the greatest idea anybody ever had
• Why did Ernest Meyers suggest it took so long to realise evolution?

  Human's have a bias to believe everything is perfect, we could not imagine there were failed species
• Why was evolution revolutionary?

  Suggests complicated things did not have to have a designer
• What are examples of humans having a bias towards perfection?

  • Einstein believing the universe had to be stable and constant
  • Copernicus believing orbits were perfect circles
• What does Dawkins emphasise about evolution?

  You have to understand that it is gradual
• What does the Blind Watchmaker say about evolution?

  Natural selection produces perfect designs through successful mutations
• What was The Blind Watchmaker a response to?

  Intelligent design
• Why did Keats criticise Newton?

  He claimed Newton took the wonder out of the rainbow when he explained it scientifically
• What book established Dawkins as one of the "4 horsemen of atheism"?

  The God Delusion
• What is an example of generations dying due to an inability to adapt to selection pressures?

  Native Americans dying because of European diseases
• Why does the anthropic principle limit human understanding?

  We are poor judges of what is important: the appendix is important in immune responses
• Does Dawkins have hope?

  He believes we have to have hope to live at all