Dolphins, echolocation, 136
Doppler Shift, 41
Douglas, A. M., 148, (24)
Dover, G., 443, (25)
Doyle, Sir A. C., 158
Duplication of genes, 244, (1, 88)
EQ, 269, (46)
Ear
bones, 38
flaps, 45
origin, 127
Echolocation, 32–53, (38, 77)
compared with seeing, 48
Economics, 36
Eigen, M., 190, (26, 27)
Eldredge, N., punctuated equilibrium, 326–60, (29)
species as entities, 374, (30)
Electrolocation, 138
Embryology, 73, 74, 240, 415
constraints on evolution imposed by, 442, (58)
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 27, 164
Enemies, 254
Engineers, 29
Epig enesis, 415
Equilibrium, line, 300, (4, 50, 51)
Error correction, DNA, 179, (1)
Escherichia coli, 186, (70, 88)
Eukaryotes, 249, (1, 55)
Exodus, parable, 317
Exons, 246, (1)
Explanation, 19–22
Explosion, analogy, 278
failure of hydroquinone, 122
Extended phenotype, 195, (21)
Extinct animals, reconstruction of, 104
Eye
in cloud-cuckooland, 446
‘designed’, 25, (71)
gradual evolution, 107, 333
interlocking parts, 111, 407, (41)
pictured, 26
revealing flaw, 131
use and disuse, 426, (22)
Ezekiel, 182
Facial vision, 32, (38)
Fairies, unprovable non-existence of, 413
Family trees, astronomical numbers of, 387, (37)
Fashion, 308
Feedback, 278
Female choice, 285
Fibrinopeptide, 177, 390, (1)
Fish
electric, 137
flat, 129
Fisher, Sir R. A., (31)
evolution of sex, 380
founder of neo-Darwinism, 163, 432
necessity of gradualism, 329
and particulate inheritance, 160
runaway sexual selection, 283
Flowers, evolution, 89
Fool, mathematical ability of, 95, (84)
Ford, E. B., 114, (33)
Fossil
dating, 321
gaps in record, 326, (29)
genes, 247
France, A., 325
Fungus farming, 152, (90)
Galambos, R., 50, (38)
Gaps, in fossil record, 326, (29)
Gazelle, 255
Genes
of computer biomorphs, 75
cooperation, 242, 273, 353
as each others’ environments, 240, 252, (21)
for female choice, 288, (50, 51)
selectively turned on in development, 418
Genesis, 448, (7)
Genetic engineering, 104
Giraffe, 410
Globigerina ooze, 158
Globins, 248, (1)
Goldschmidt, R., 114, 329, (33)
Gondwanaland, 143, (39)
Gould, S. J.
on Darwin’s gradualism, 348, (36)
on dung-mimicking insects, 114, (quoted in 41)
five percent eye, 113, (quoted in 41)
mentioned, 391, 412
The Panda’s Thumb, 129, (34)
punctuated equilibrium, 326–60, (36)
writes off synthetic theory, 360, (35)
Gradualism, 102, 318, 324
Grafen, A., 284, 303
Grass, 258
Great Chain of Being, 370
Green beard, 294, (20, 21)
Griffin, D. R., 33, 50, (38)
Haemoglobin, 63, 177, 390, (5)
Haldane, J. B. S., 357
Hamilton, W. D.
kin selection, 294, (20)
parasites, 303, (40)
Hardy, G. H., 162, 229
Hennig, W., 392, 400, (75)
Herring, 129, 393
Hierarchy, 363, 366
Histone, 174
Hitching, F., 111, 121, (41)
Ho, M-W., 435, (41, 42)
Horses, and South American equivalents, 147
Horses, and South equivalents, 382, (78)
Hoyle, Sir F., 54, 334, (43)
Hume, D., 10, (54)
Huntington’s Chorea, 434
Huxley, J.
clade, 396
force locomotif, 18
sexual selection, 285
Hydroquinone, fails to blow up author, 122
Hypo, crystals, 214, (14)
Hyracotherium, 324
Improbability assessment, 231
Information technology, 159
Ingredients, needed for life, 182
Insects, computer, 85, 87
lost and regained, 91
as selecting agents, 89
Intermediates, evolutionary, 371
Introns, 246, (1)
Island-hopping languages, 310, (15)
Isolation, reproductive, 339, (59)
Jamming, problem for bats, 45
Jenkin, F., 160, (quoted in 44)
Jerison, H., 269, (46)
Johannsen, W., 431
Kimura, M., 429, 444, (47)
Kin selection, 294, (20)
Koala, 378
Koestler, A., 54, 412
Lamarck, J-B., 407
Lamarckism, 80, 405, (22)
Land, M., 120, (49)
Lande, R., 284–303, (4, 50, 51)
Language, evolution, 310, 368, (15)
Latimeria, 351, (80)
Laurasia, 143, (39)
Leigh, E. G., 379, (52)
Library analogy, 362, 368
Life
cycle in clay, 220
origin, 197–237, (13, 14, 26, 69)
unique on Earth?, 202
in universe, 202, 234, (17)
Light, generated by animals, 31
Lightning, fails to strike author, 227
Linkage disequilibrium, 290, (50, 51)
Loch Ness Monster, 413
Locomotive, 18
Loudness, problem for bats, 37
Luck, measuring, 201
Lung, half a, 122, (41)
Lyell, Sir C., 355
Lysenko, T. D., 412, (53)
Machine, honorary living thing, 4
Macromutation, 328
Mammals, convergent evolution, 142–51, (92)
Margulis, L., 249, (55)
Marsupials, 145, (92)
Maynard Smith, J., 111
Mayr, E.
critic of mathematical genetics, 111
speciation, 341, 346, 353, (59)
unkind to physical scientists, 160, (61)
Melanin, 409
Meme, 225, (20)
Mendel, G., 159, 431
Metabolic rate, 150, 270
Microscope analogy (Fisher), 329, (31)
Mimicry, 114, (33, 86)
Miracle, 197, 226, 451
Missile, 263
Mitochondria, 249
Model, computer, 48
Molecular clock, 349, 385, (37)
Molecular drive, 443
Monkey, typing, 66, 201
Montefiore, H., 54–59, (63)
Morgan, T. H., 431
Morris, D., 78
Mutagens, 434
Mutation, 184, (57)
in biomorph model, 76
in Hamlet model, 68
macro, 328
pressure, 434
randomness, meaning of, 433
rate of, 177
smallness of, 101
Mutationism, 431
Myotis (bat), 35
Nagel, T., 47, (65)
Nautilus, 119, (49)
Nelson, G., 402, (67)
Neo-Darwinism, 163, 339
Nesting, 362, 367
Neutral theory,
385, 429, 444, (47, 74)
New Testament, 165
Noah, 344
Numerical taxonomy, 396, (81)
Octopus, 133
O’Donald, P., 303, (68)
Organic chemistry, 212
Orgel, L., 189, (26, 69, 70)
Origin of life, 197–237, (13, 14, 17, 26, 27, 69)
Overlap, pulse, as problem for bats, 39, (77)
Palaeontology, 320, (29)
Paley, W., 7, 24, 29, 53, (71)
Parasites, and sexual selection, 303, (40)
Parsimony, 387
Particulate inheritance, 160, (57)
Peacock, 283
Pebbly beach analogy, 61
Phenotype, 173, 222, (21, 57)
Philosophy, woolly, ancient, 401
Phyleticism, 391
Physics
laws of, 17
simplicity, 5
Pinhole camera, 119
Plate tectonics, 142, (39)
Platnick, N., 402, (67)
Police, speed traps, 43
Pop music, 312
Popper, Sir K., 54
Porcupine, 382
Potter, S., 90
Power, gene, 183
indirectness of, 192
Preformationism, 415, (57)
Progress, 253, 257
Prokaryotes, 249, (55, 88)
Proofreading, DNA, 179, (1)
Protoplasm, 158
Punctuationism, 317–60, (29, 36, 56, 74)
and species concept, 374
Queen, Red, 260, (87)
RNA, 164
test-tube evolution, 188, (70)
ROM, 165
DNA as, 166
Radio, extraterrestrial, 236, (6)
Rattray-Taylor, G., 54
Recipe, theory of embryology, 415
Recursion, 73, 173, (12)
Red Queen Effect, 260, (87)
Reductionism, hierarchical, 21
Replicator, 183, (20, 21)
Retina, back to front, 132
Ridley, M., 400, 403, (75)
Risk assessment, 231
Rousettus (bat), 33, 39, 135, (77)
Runaway sexual selection, 283, 302, (4, 31, 50, 51)
Sabretooth, and marsupial equivalent, 149, (78)
Saltation, 328, 344, 348
creation as ultimate, 354
Saunders, P., 435, (42)
quoted, 435, (41)
Selection
artificial, 81, 352
natural, 86
sexual, 284
single step and cumulative, 64, 199, 450
species, 376
Send/receive radar, 38
Sex
riddle of, 380, (31, 85)
roles, 287, (85)
Shakespeare, W., 66, 90
Shaw, G. B., 411
Shrew, speciation, 339
Sideways transmission of genes, 173
Silicon, 212
Simulation, 49, 87
Size, narrow human consciousness of, 228, (64)
Smilodon (sabretooth), 149
Snakes
origin of venom, 127
vertebral numbers, 335
Snow, C. P., 132
Social Darwinism, 358
Solar System, 62
Sonar, 30–53, (38, 77)
Soup, primeval, 210, (69)
South American fauna, 142, (78)
Space, mathematical, 94, 104, 449
Speciation, 337, 346, 350, (59, 74)
Species
as entities, 374, (30, 56, 74)
selection, 376, (21)
Speciesism, 162, 372, (79)
Spectrum, of improbabilities, 228
Spider web, 56
Spiegelman, S., 187, (82)
Squid, 393
Stasis, 318, 345, 346, 351, 354
Statue, waving hand, 226
Stebbins, G. L., 345, (83)
Stickiness, 185
Stopwatches, 322
Strangeness filter, 46
Succession, ecological, 377
Tadarida (bat), 39
Takeover, genetic, 224, (13, 14)
Tasmania, 148
Taxonomy, 361, see also classification, (60, 75, 81)
importance exaggerated, 402
schools of, 391
Teamwork, among genes, 243, (21)
Termites, 151, (90)
Test-tube, evolution in, 188, (27, 70)
Thermodynamics, second law of, 132
Thermostat analogy, 299
Thompson, S. P., 95, (84)
Thylacinus (marsupial ‘wolf’), 148, 382, (24)
Thylacosmilus, (Marsupial ‘sabretooth’), 149, (78)
Timescales, 231, (91)
Toad, midwife, 413
Transport, 309
Trees, arms race in forest, 261
Trend, 309
Triangle, 96
Typist analogy, 175
Ultrasound, 33, (77)
Use and disuse, 408, 426
Utilitarian optimum, 292
Van Valen, L., 260, (87)
Variable speedism, 350
Vavilov, N. I., 413
Vertical transmission of genes, 173
Virus, 186
Vision, graduated defectiveness, 112
Watch
Paley’s, 8, (71)
stop, 322
Watt steam governor, 278
Weapons, 263
Weasel, Methinks it is like a, 66
Weather, as enemy, 253
Wegener, A., 142, (39)
Weinberg, W., 162
Whales, echolocation, 135–36, (77)
Widow bird, 286, 304, (3)
Williams, G. C., 377, (89)
Willow, raining DNA, 157
Wilson, E. O., 153, (90)
Wing, half a, 125, (9, 41)
Wolf, and marsupial equivalent, 148
Wolf-whistle, bats, 40, 45
Wren, 307
Zarathustra, Also sprach, 85, 92
PRAISE FOR
THE BLIND WATCHMAKER
“He succeeds admirably in showing how natural selection allows biologists to dispense with such notions as purpose and design and he does so in a manner readily intelligible to the modern reader.”
—Michael T. Ghiselin, New York Times
“The best general account of evolution I have read in recent years. It is deep enough to be useful to biologists, yet sufficiently simple and well-written (very well-written in fact) to appeal to the same large audience that enjoyed The Selfish Gene.”
—Edward O. Wilson
“Brilliant exposition, tightly argued but kept readable by plentiful recourse to analogies and examples…. The Blind Watchmaker shows what a convincing scientific argument looks like; it is popular science at its best. An invigorating minor theme is provided by the side-sweeps that Dawkins hands out to creationists, erring colleagues, misguided interlopers from other sciences, and the media that gleefully misreport their muddleheaded musings. Highly recommended.”
—London Times
“Beautifully and superbly written…. It is completely understandable but has the cadence of impassioned speech. Every page rings of truth. It is one of the best science books—one of the best any books—I have ever read.”
—Lee Dembart, Los Angeles Times
“The secret of good science writing is that one should understand the ideas oneself: good writing comes from clear thinking…. In The Blind Watchmaker I was repeatedly astonished at the clarity with which Dawkins sees the problems…. It is abundantly clear, however, that Dawkins has not lost his sense of wonder at the natural world as he has gained intellectual understanding of it…. I wish I could write like that.”
—John Maynard Smith, New Scientist
“A lovely book, original and lively, it expounds the ins and outs of evolution with enthusiastic clarity, answering, at every point, the cavemen of creationism.”
—Isaac Asimov
“It succeeds quite brilliantly. Most particularly, again and again, it
brings home the nature and force of the central evolutionary mechanism of natural selection in a way that I have never seen or felt previously. The closest analogy I can think of is Galileo’s Dialogues which made reasonable the Copernican Revolution, and I hope I will not be thought to be pushing things to an embarrassing point if I say that Dawkins’ book can be compared to Galileo’s, not only in type but in standard.”
—Professor Michael Ruse
“I could heartily recommend The Blind Watchmaker just for the pleasure it will afford the reader who is looking for a treatment of evolution that is not only educational but fun. But the more important reason for reading Dawkins’s book is that this is his answer, in clear and often insightful terms, to the opponents of neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory.”
—Douglas J. Futumaya, Natural History
Also by Richard Dawkins
An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist
The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
The God Delusion
The Ancestor’s Tale
A Devil’s Chaplain
Unweaving the Rainbow
Climbing Mount Improbable
River Out of Eden
The Extended Phenotype
The Selfish Gene
The Blind Watchmaker
Copyright © 1996, 1987, 1986 by Richard Dawkins
Illustrations by Liz Pyle
All rights reserved.
First published as a Norton paperback 1987
Reissued in a new edition 1996, reissued 2006, 2015
Book design by Anna Oler
Production manager: Amanda Morrison
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Dawkins, Richard, 1941–
The blind watchmaker.
1. Evolution 2. Natural selection. I. Title
QH366.2.D37 1985 575 85-4960
ISBN: 978-0-393-35149-1 pbk.
ISBN: 978-0-393-35309-9 (e-book)
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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The Blind Watchmaker Page 44
