- 354 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
From the
New York Times–bestselling author of
Science in the Soul. "If any recent writing about science is poetic, it is this" (
The Wall Street Journal).
Did Sir Isaac Newton "unweave the rainbow" by reducing it to its prismatic colors, as John Keats contended? Did he, in other words, diminish beauty? Far from it, says acclaimed scientist Richard Dawkins; Newton's unweaving is the key too much of modern astronomy and to the breathtaking poetry of modern cosmology. Mysteries don't lose their poetry because they are solved: the solution often is more beautiful than the puzzle, uncovering deeper mysteries. With the wit, insight, and spellbinding prose that have made him a bestselling author, Dawkins takes up the most important and compelling topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics to language and virtual reality, combining them in a landmark statement of the human appetite for wonder.
This is the book Dawkins was meant to write: A brilliant assessment of what science is (and isn't), a tribute to science not because it is useful but because it is uplifting.
"A love letter to science, an attempt to counter the perception that science is cold and devoid of aesthetic sensibility . . . Rich with metaphor, passionate arguments, wry humor, colorful examples, and unexpected connections, Dawkins' prose can be mesmerizing." — San Francisco Chronicle
"Brilliance and wit." — The New Yorker
Did Sir Isaac Newton "unweave the rainbow" by reducing it to its prismatic colors, as John Keats contended? Did he, in other words, diminish beauty? Far from it, says acclaimed scientist Richard Dawkins; Newton's unweaving is the key too much of modern astronomy and to the breathtaking poetry of modern cosmology. Mysteries don't lose their poetry because they are solved: the solution often is more beautiful than the puzzle, uncovering deeper mysteries. With the wit, insight, and spellbinding prose that have made him a bestselling author, Dawkins takes up the most important and compelling topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics to language and virtual reality, combining them in a landmark statement of the human appetite for wonder.
This is the book Dawkins was meant to write: A brilliant assessment of what science is (and isn't), a tribute to science not because it is useful but because it is uplifting.
"A love letter to science, an attempt to counter the perception that science is cold and devoid of aesthetic sensibility . . . Rich with metaphor, passionate arguments, wry humor, colorful examples, and unexpected connections, Dawkins' prose can be mesmerizing." — San Francisco Chronicle
"Brilliance and wit." — The New Yorker
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Unweaving the Rainbow by Richard Dawkins in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Humanism in Philosophy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Index
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Numbers in parentheses refer to relevant works numbered in the bibliography.
A
Abraham 217
Adams, Douglas 29
aeroplanes, scepticism about 130–1, (20)
lack of scepticism about 138–9
Afrikaners, genetic disease 104, (11)
Akenside, Mark 38
aliens see life, extra-terrestrial
altruism, individual and gene selfishness 212, (31), (125)
angler fish 174–6, 245–6
animal as model of world 240
anteaters 242
ants 252–3, (68)
Appleyard, Bryan 37, (2)
aquatic mammals 242–5
arms race 232–3, (30), (145)
arts, spending on 5–6
Asatru Folk Assembly 19
Asimov, Isaac 27, 118, 142, (3)
asteroids, and mass extinctions 76, (1)
astrology 115–24, 185–6, (37)
astronomy 115–18, (122), (127), (128)
At Home in the Universe (S. Kauffman) 202–3, 207, (80)
Atkins, Peter, ix, 18, 30, (4)
swimming analogy for refraction, 44–5, (5)
Attneave, Fred 259, (6), (8)
Auden, W. H. 15, 199
aunt, Apthorpe’s or levitating 131
Maud 33
Australopithecus 288, 289, (90)
Aztecs 181, (54)
B
bacteria 9, (99)
and Gaia hypothesis 223–4, (97)
luminous 228
organelles 226–8, spirochaete 228, 230
bad poetry in science 180, 187, (58), (59)
barcodes x–xi, 49, 71, 81–2, 102
Barlow, Horace 257–8, (8)
bats, and sound 70, 72
and model of world 283, (31)
beauty 63–4
Bede, the Venerable 3
Bellamy, David 124
bestseller lists 291, (30)
Beyond Belief (television series) 126–7
Big Bang theory 60, (122), (135)
birds
flight control 274, (100)
keeping visual world constant 280
opening milk bottles 305, (52)
pigeons in Skinner box 162–5
sex chromosomes 236
song 79–81
birthdays, coincidence 152–4
Blackmore, Susan 302, 308, (10)
Blake, William 16–17
Blind Watchmaker, The (R. Dawkins...
Table of contents
- Title Page
- Contents
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Preface
- The Anaesthetic of Familiarity
- Drawing Room of Dukes
- Barcodes in the Stars
- Barcodes on the Air
- Barcodes at the Bar
- Hoodwink’d with Faery Fancy
- Unweaving the Uncanny
- Huge Cloudy Symbols of a High Romance
- The Selfish Cooperator
- The Genetic Book of the Dead
- Reweaving the World
- The Balloon of the Mind
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
- About the Author
- Connect with HMH
- Footnotes