[HN Gopher] E.O. Wilson saw the world in a new way
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       E.O. Wilson saw the world in a new way
        
       Author : dnetesn
       Score  : 81 points
       Date   : 2022-01-06 11:06 UTC (11 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (nautil.us)
 (TXT) w3m dump (nautil.us)
        
       | visviva wrote:
       | This appears to be the author's PNAS article mentioned in the
       | story, for those who are curious:
       | https://www.pnas.org/content/72/1/143
        
       | Outdoorsman wrote:
       | You'll not waste your time reading everything you can get your
       | hands on regarding E.O.Wilson -- to include anything he wrote, or
       | anything written about him by those he influenced and mentored.
       | 
       | The man was an absolute intellectual giant, who freely shared his
       | amazing insights . . .
        
         | kaycebasques wrote:
         | If you had to pick one book though what would it be? Only one!
        
           | cortesi wrote:
           | It depends on what kind of geek you are. "The Ants" is
           | perhaps my favourite non-fiction book of all time - at the
           | time it was written it was a fair account of the total sum of
           | human knowledge of ants. It's beautifully written and
           | incredibly complete, and although it's now a bit dated, it's
           | still the best reference to ants if you're interested in
           | them. For a broader summary of Wilson's intellectual project
           | I recommend "Consilience" - a wonderful synthesis of almost
           | all his ethical and scientific interests.
        
       | thenaturalist wrote:
       | Sad to read, but a truly exceptional life lived. May he rest in
       | peace.
       | 
       | I highly recommend reading his autobiography. Even if you're not
       | biologically inclined, it opens a window into a world when
       | academia was very different from today and a brilliant mind that,
       | through systematic thinking, trailblazed some areas of biology
       | which are fields of their own today.
        
       | nabla9 wrote:
       | Be aware that Wilson's group selection theory is considered bogus
       | by most evolutionary biologists.
       | 
       | Richard Dawkins explains inclusive fitness (mainstream theory)
       | and why Wilson is wrong.
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrgqUC7ZCxQ (15 min)
        
       | ISL wrote:
       | If you're a scientist, his 'Letters to a Young Scientist' makes
       | insightful reading.
       | 
       | https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Young-Scientist-Edward-Wilson...
        
       | wintermutestwin wrote:
       | >Nearly everything distinctive about our species is a form of
       | cooperation.
       | 
       | Such a great quote. This idea is echoed in Sapiens' statement
       | that cooperation is the superpower of our species. This idea
       | undermines the oft-posited claim that greed is an intrinsic part
       | of human nature.
        
         | skulk wrote:
         | The article also contains the following quote that accommodates
         | greed into the picture. Paraphrased from memory:
         | 
         | > Selfishness beats altruism within groups, while altruistic
         | groups beat selfish groups.
         | 
         | Moving from the former to the latter is group evolution.
        
       | AlbertCory wrote:
       | A great, great man. We shall not see his like again.
       | 
       | I'm so happy I got to see him at Google. I thought [1] was the
       | video, but since that was in NYC, it couldn't have been the one I
       | was at.
       | 
       | [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf_ijizSTAE
        
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       (page generated 2022-01-06 23:01 UTC)