Royal Institution Christmas Lectures - Season 26 / Year 1991

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Episodes

Growing Up in the Universe: Waking Up in the Universe

Year 1991Episode 160 min

Growing Up in the Universe: Waking Up in the Universe

Dawkins discusses the amazing capabilities of the human body and contrasts these with the limited capabilities of computers and other man-made machines. He uses a small totem pole (which is used in ancestor worship) to illustrate the importance of studying our ancestors to understand how we've evolved.

Growing Up in the Universe: Designed and Designoid Objects

Year 1991Episode 260 min

Growing Up in the Universe: Designed and Designoid Objects

Dawkins' second lecture of the series examines the problem of design. He presents the audience with a number of simple objects, such as rocks and crystals, and notes that these objects have been formed by simple laws of physics and are therefore not designed. He then examines some designed objects - including a microscope, an electronic calculator, a pocket watch, and a clay pot - and notes that none of these objects could have possibly come about by sheer luck.

Growing Up in the Universe: Climbing Mount Improbable

Year 1991Episode 360 min

Growing Up in the Universe: Climbing Mount Improbable

Dawkins starts the lecture coming in with a stick insect on his hand. He describes with how much details such a being imitates its environment, its almost like a key that fits a lock. He then shows another insect, namely a Leaf Insect, which basically looks exactly like a dead leaf.

Growing Up in the Universe: The Ultraviolet Garden

Year 1991Episode 460 min

Growing Up in the Universe: The Ultraviolet Garden

Dawkins begins by relating the story of asking a little girl "what she thought flowers were 'for'." Her response is anthropocentric, that flowers are there for our benefit. Dawkins points out that many people throughout history have thought that the natural world existed for our benefit, with examples from Genesis and other literature.

Growing Up in the Universe: The Genesis of Purpose

Year 1991Episode 560 min

Growing Up in the Universe: The Genesis of Purpose

Dawkins opens by talking how organisms “grow up” to understand the universe around them, which requires certain apparatus, such as a brain. But before brains can become large enough to model the universe they must develop from intermediate forms.

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