Growing up in the Universe
To start off part one, 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. To contrast ease of reproduction with the difficulty of becoming an ancestor, Dawkins uses the example of paper folding to explain exponential growth. Dawkins then tells the audience that exponential growth does not generally happen in the real world - natural factors come into play which control the population numbers, meaning that only an elite group of organisms will actually become distant ancestors. To be in this elite group, the organism must "have what it takes" to survive and pass on their genes to offspring.
Ep1 - Waking Up In The UniverseOxford professor Richard Dawkins presents a series of lectures on life, the universe, and our place in it. With brilliance and clarity, Dawkins unravels an educational gem that will mesmerize young and old alike. Illuminating demonstrations, wildlife, virtual reality, and special guests (including Douglas Adams) all combine to make this collection a timeless classic.
In the beginning of the first episode, Dawkins discusses the amazing capabilities of the human body and contrasts these with the limited capabilities of computers and other man-made machines.
Ep2 - Designed And Designoid ObjectsThe second lecture is about the design. The nature can create objects which look like designed but this is just a coincidence of laws of physics. Then Dawkins illustrates the designoids which have complicated structures than designed objects.
Ep3 - Climbing Mount ImprobableIn the third episode Dawkins introduces a stick insect and uses a "key and lock" analogy to describe the relation between a thorn bug (key) and a bird (lock) which misses it. He makes a demonstration for the famous monkey typing the complete works of Shakespeare.
Ep4 - The Ultraviolet GardenThis episode opens with a story of a little girl who thinks that flowers are for making the world beauty and helping the bees to make honey for us. This illustrates our anthropocentric view of life. Also there is a special guest of this episode: Douglas Adams! He reads a passage from his novel and later Dawkins tries to
Ep5 - The Genesis Of Purpose The last episode is focusing on how the brain understands our enviroment and universe. Dawkins makes a demonstration with a digger wasp and grasshopper on a model for ethologist Niko Tinbergen's experiment.
