I am proud to announce that I have graduated from UVU with a BS in Integrated Studies with Emphasis in Computer Science and Biology! Sure, I have a few loose ends to tie up before they hand over my official degree but not having a high school graduation, yesterday was my first experience and it was an awesome feeling. Now, maybe I'll have more time to post here and talk about the audiobooks I've been reading over the past few months.
Before The Dawn by Nicholas Wade - In my opinion, a caricature of genetic determinism (and I'm not one of those "everything is plastic" people). I really wanted to like this book. I hated it. At some point I will get my thoughts together and elaborate on this.
The Moral Animal by Robert Wright - I loved this one! A great introduction to the field of Evolutionary Psychology. It was written back in '96 but still completely relevant. The reviews on Amazon complained about his philosophy at the end. I thought it was interesting. The conclusions reached by ev psych at first glance may appear to be completely nihilistic, but he pointsout how an evolutionary approach to the study of human nature can lead us to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Christ taught us to love our enemy and to serve non-kin. His teachings are in direction conflict and rebellion to the evolutionary forces that shape our motivations. I also read his "Evolution of God" book. Excellent.
The Red Queen by Matt Ridley - This is a classic. I had only read the first chapter before, I am glad it finally came out in audio so I could read the whole thing. I loved that it deals with human nature but discusses it in terms of biological contingencies that have been in place for billions of years. I really enjoyed the discussion about meiotic drive and how chromosomal shuffling evolved to deal with this issue.
