An Evening with Professor Richard Dawkins

On March 7, Master Nick Rawlins and Lalla Ward hosted a discussion with esteemed evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. The talk took place at the Lee Hysan Concert Hall, and was open to the broader CUHK community and the public. Lalla Ward and Professor Dawkins took turns reading excerpts from his books, including The Blind Watchmaker, A Devil’s Chaplain, and Unweaving the Rainbow. The excerpts brought out his literary descriptions of DNA as hereditary algorithms, the speed of light travelling through the universe, and the almost unfathomable timespan of evolution. Punctuating these snippets were discussions with Professor Rawlins about the novelty of Dawkins’ ideas in The Selfish Gene and The Extended Phenotype, followed by reminiscences of his childhood at the Oundle School and his thoughts about science as taught to children today.