"The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins

I've been waiting for my booklist to hit "The Blind Watchmaker" for a long time and finally finished it. The author argues that the primary force of evolution is natural selection and not anything like creationism or mutation. Richard somewhat wrote the book as a long reply to the criticism of his previous works on evolution. "The Blind Watchmaker" has many examples and strong logic supporting the author's argument.

Out of the bat, Richard addresses the notion that if you see a stone on the road — you're sure it's natural, yet if you see a watch lying there — you know it was designed and built by an intellectual being. However, this is an oversimplification because even the stone is so complex that it might also appear designed if one looks closer. On the other hand, the human body is so misdesigned in some senses that if someone created us (the "watchmaker"), they should have been blind.

After all, why does urinating from the same place where we have our reproductive organs make sense? It doesn't. Or diseases? Blind spots in the eyes? Don't get me started.

The author supports the argument by taking the eye as an instance of "brilliant" design. He showreels all the living examples of the intermediary designs between simple photo-sensing organs and the resulting solution. We didn't get the resulting eye immediately but iteratively reached this state.

Overall, this overview of the evolutionary mechanisms clears up many misconceptions. The book might also serve to educate people who have never even considered alternatives to creationism — as intended by the author. Is this a good read? Indeed, I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to spend some time with the brilliant mind of Dawkins. I certainly enjoyed it.