The Evolution of Everything

Author Ridley provides a thorough discussion of how bottom-up trends, rather than top-down direction, are responsible for the evolution of everything--and he means everything. Narrator Steven Crossley reads in a precise, cultured tone that conveys the scholarship behind Ridley's expansive work. The audiobook covers examples of how this evolution of new ideas occurs in diverse fields--from literature and philosophy to many branches of science, including astronomy and, of course, biology. Given the breadth of the subject matter, Crossley is called upon to provide accurate pronunciations of names and technical terms from a variety of fields as well as quotations in a variety of languages. He delivers on those challenges, and his calm, even voice provides a perfect medium for Ridley's explanations of how new ideas evolve. E.N. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

July 6, 2015
Working from the idea that evolution is “happening all around us” and is “the best way of understanding how the human world changes, as well as the natural world,” Ridley (The Rational Optimist) looks at how numerous facets of society and nature develop and change over time. “Evolution is far more common, and far more influential, than most people recognize,” he says. The book’s primary argument is that, more often than not, there is no rational mind or organized decision-making behind the development of common concepts or widespread phenomena, but an unconscious reaction to an immense variety of factors. “The genome has no master gene, the brain has no command center, the English language has no director, the economy has no chief executive,” he states. Ridley observes this principle in culture, government, and technology. There’s a lot of information to work through, but the reasoning is sound and arguments are well-supported with historical precedent and general observation. While the premise may not sit well with everyone, Ridley provides enough evidence to support his claims and generate no shortage of debate. Agent: Peter Ginsberg, Curtis Brown.

October 1, 2015

Does the world operate according to a master blueprint, or is it far more influenced by unfolding events that cause gradual change? Science columnist Ridley (The Rational Optimist) posits the latter, explaining that all facets of human culture are driven by evolutionary change in a bottom-up ordering rather than a top-down design. The author champions the ideology of ancient Roman poet, Titus Lecretius Carus, using stanzas of his poem De Rerum Natura to segue to essays on subjects ranging from religion and government to population and technology. These revolutionary manifestos borrow narratives from science, economics, politics, and philosophy. Ridley's use of source material is vast, ranging from quoting author Sam Harris on free will in order to demonstrate the "evolutionary consequence of how the brain changed," to arguing how climate change has become a religious argument, with quotes from Nigel Lawson and French philosopher Pascal Bruckner. Despite impressive research, however, the author fails to hide his bias on certain subjects or his Libertarian beliefs, leaving the thoughtful reader wanting a bit more counterargument. VERDICT Readers of evolutionary theory, sociology, history, anthropology and philosophy shall be highly entertained by this thought-provoking read but may not evolve to Ridley's level of thinking.--Angela Forret, Clive P.L., IA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2015

A New York Times best-selling science writer with best book nods from the Los Angeles Times and the National Academies of Science--and a viscount to boot--Ridley argues that ideas aren't designed, then signed, sealed, and delivered by authoritative sources. Instead, they rise like bubbles from the bottom up, twisting and turning into view as a pattern finally emerges. Morality, culture, the economy, personality, history, God--all are endlessly evolving.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2015
Evolution, a phenomenon without an underlying plan that explains life's development, has convinced scientists, if not the general public, but authorities still debate whether Darwin's theory applies to human society. Veteran science writer Ridley (The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, 2010) investigates. According to conventional wisdom, progress in law, morals, economics, and even science itself doesn't just happen. It requires creative input through religion, legislation, political or philosophical movements, individual geniuses, or the work of deep thinkers. Not so, writes the author in this ingenious study: "Intelligent design is just as bad at explaining society as it is at explaining evolution." Over centuries, languages change in a planless process similar to natural selection, and authorities proclaim rules to little effect. Economic systems that appeared spontaneously (commerce, free markets) operate far more efficiently than top-down systems that require guidance (mercantilism, Marxism). Laws demand lawgivers-except when they don't. The admirable Anglo-American common law simply evolved. How did torture, racism, slavery, and pedophilia-all once acceptable-become immoral today despite the decline of religion in recent decades? Ridley argues that we have evolved to prefer nicer relationships. "Morality," he writes, "is an accidental by-product of the way human beings adjust their behavior towards each other as they grow up...goodness does not need to be taught, let alone associated with the superstitious belief that it would not exist but for the divine origin of an ancient Palestinian carpenter." These are fascinating essays backed by a mixture of good evidence and personal philosophy. Few readers will object to the author's contempt for intelligent design until his concluding chapters on government, when his fervent libertarianism nearly gets the better of him. Like Malcolm Gladwell, Ridley's taste for counterintuitive arguments often oversimplifies and ignores contradictory evidence, but he provides a wild ride, almost too thought-provoking to read for long stretches but difficult to put down.

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Starred review from November 1, 2015
Darwin's great realization should be called the special theory of evolution, Ridley (The Rational Optimist, 2010) says, because life isn't the only thing that evolves. In 16 chapters (capped by a brief epilogue, The Evolution of the Future ), he argues the evolution of other physical realities (the universe, genes, population), many more intangible public realities (the economy, technology, education, leadership, government, religion, money), a couple of personal realities (the mind, personality), culture, and the Internet. Each of these realms began and grows best by natural selectionno creator started it, and no planner makes it change. As an epitaph for each chapter, Ridley quotes the Roman philosopher-poet Lucretius, whose De Rerum Natura (circa 49 BCE) both preserves the thought of Epicurus and provides the agenda for modernity, from Newton to Darwin to the present. Ridley also brings in Adam Smith to complement Darwin; as Darwin advances natural selection for the life sciences, so does Smith for the social sciences. All along, Ridley shows how hard it has been for even the most definite evolutionists to fully abandon the notion of a guiding intelligence, whether divine or human. Yet that is what the hard evidence to the effect that good things come by undirected means that Ridley adduces in every chapter compels us all to do.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)