From The Royal Institution.

In his second lecture, Richard Dawkins examines the complexity of designed and non designed objects.

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This lecture was filmed at the Ri on 2 December 1991.

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Most objects in our world can be divided into two types: simple or designed. A pebble on a beach is a simple object, smoothed and rounded by physics alone. The same is true of stars and planets. A microscope or a calculator, on the other hand, is designed. Their existence has been moulded by humans with foresight to aid the examination of specimens, or help with mathematical sums.

But there also exists another type of object which is neither simple, nor designed. These so-called ‘designoid’ objects have an internal and external complexity that makes us believe they have been exquisitely created for a specific purpose.

In his second lecture, Richard Dawkins explores the world of designoid objects. He reveals how the evolution of these beautiful creations has relied on natural selection over generations of time. Simple foundations have evolved into complex objects, like the inefficient webs once spun by spiders to the beautifully complex and efficient means of catching prey we see today.

But not everyone believes in evolution by natural selection. Creationists believe in the idea of a ‘watchmaker’ – a divine being responsible for creating everything in existence. But if there is such a being at work, why do designoid objects contain imperfections? Richard reminds us that designoid objects cannot come about by chance, but instead rely on a gradual process of selection that determines their function on Earth.

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About the 1991 CHRISTMAS LECTURES
The world-famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins presents the CHRISTMAS LECTURES on "our own growing knowledge of how life grows up in the universe."

Just as children grow up to be adults, so too does life gradually evolve on a planet over thousands of generations, to move from “nonliving simplicity” to become “living complexity”.

Combining beautiful writing with a range of illuminating demonstrations, the series featured a variety of wildlife, a virtual reality Lecture Theatre, and special guests – including the late Douglas Adams reading an excerpt from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

This video is part of our 200th anniversary project to upload all of our televised CHRISTMAS LECTURES to YouTube. Find out more about the Ri CHRISTMAS LECTURES here: https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures

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We have uploaded Richard Dawkins’ 1991 CHRISTMAS LECTURES to YouTube as part of our commitment to make all past series of the CHRISTMAS LECTURES available to everyone worldwide.

But we also want to make it clear that we consider Richard Dawkins’ more recent opinions about members of marginalised communities to be unacceptable. Although we respect everyone’s right to form opinions in scientific debate, or in their own lives, if those opinions are built upon discrimination or hostility, we reserve the right not to validate them.

Find out more about our commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. https://www.rigb.org/about-us/equity-diversity-inclusion-and-accessibility-ri

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