1. Comment #389009 by j.mills on June 18, 2009 at 5:10 pm

Crikey, an embarrassment of riches on the front page these days! Slow down, I haven't finished being happy from the last lecture yet! :)

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2. Comment #389012 by HappyPrimate on June 18, 2009 at 5:15 pm

This is terrific. Thanks so much!

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3. Comment #389024 by Big City on June 18, 2009 at 5:47 pm

These are great! Thanks a lot, Richard and Josh.

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4. Comment #389038 by Gnomeyhead on June 18, 2009 at 6:42 pm

I'm feeling especially giddy tonight so I am going to go ahead and say that you look lovely in these videos Richard. Great content as always!

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5. Comment #389058 by Dow on June 18, 2009 at 7:27 pm

Yes! I've been waiting for this for quite sometime now. Many thanks. :)

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6. Comment #389065 by richardnankai on June 18, 2009 at 7:58 pm

Mr. Dawkins,

May I ask for a favour? In China, we cannot access youtube.com so we cannot see all of your videos. Would you please make seeds for bittorrent download?

Richard, an atheist in China
richardnankai@gmail.com

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7. Comment #389081 by admin on June 18, 2009 at 10:08 pm

richardnankai,
Quicktime versions will be posted soon.

Josh

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8. Comment #389099 by Grant N on June 19, 2009 at 1:12 am

Dr. Dawkins,

Always refreshing.
Steadfastly honest.
Sincerely inspiring.

We are the lucky ones, Richard, to be alive and be basking in your enlightenment.

Josh,

Awesome work on the site and the videos. Appreciate your efforts.

Grant

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9. Comment #389146 by dubjim on June 19, 2009 at 4:56 am

Dawkins brilliant as usual, cannot get enough.

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10. Comment #389159 by Philip1978 on June 19, 2009 at 5:19 am

I had the great honour of seeing that lecture in Oxford and I thought it really was an excellent one.

Not only did I get to see a man who I have great respect for give a very thought provoking lecture but I also got to spend some quality time with some of the posters on this site.

It was truly great to be part of such a special night, thank you Josh for putting this up and bravo to Richard for doing such a good job on the Charles Simony Chair.

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11. Comment #389318 by ina.j on June 19, 2009 at 11:33 am

Guys, with all my huge respect for prof. Dawkins - the words of speach are by Charles Symonyi.

Btw - what do you think of next holder of the Symonyi's Professorship? (Apologies, forgot the name).

I have read a few interviews with him. As I listened to the speach read by Dawkins... Well, the candidate is a bit of 'deviation from the program', as per Symonyi.

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12. Comment #389324 by Koldtoft on June 19, 2009 at 11:51 am

wounderfull

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13. Comment #389387 by Gregg Townsend on June 19, 2009 at 2:24 pm

Just this Tuesday past, at the side of her sick bed as she lay recovering from surgery, I read this same passage to my wife at her request.

Now I wish that I'd have had this recording to play for her. It is so much richer to hear from Richard's own mouth.

Thank you!

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14. Comment #389394 by Corylus on June 19, 2009 at 2:47 pm

Simonyi is a very smart man indeed to have written that manifesto.

Not 'begruding flexibility' I find really impressive - absent are any rigid prescriptions about what he personally wants.

Obviously not about ego for this man.

---

Gregg, I hope your SWMBO is getting over whatever she had to deal with.

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15. Comment #389395 by Steve Zara on June 19, 2009 at 2:49 pm

Comment #389387 by Gregg Townsend

My very best wishes to you and your wife.

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16. Comment #389397 by Gregg Townsend on June 19, 2009 at 2:54 pm

Thanks you two! April is improving daily and is getting around great. We expect a full recovery within mere weeks thanks to the wonder of modern medical science!

Corylus,

April has graduated to SWMBA status! :D

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17. Comment #389398 by Steve Zara on June 19, 2009 at 3:04 pm

Magnificent. Awe-inspiring, beautiful and poetic. There is no finer example of science writing that illustrates how a purely materialistic view of reality can lead to a sense of wonder that is far beyond anything that a sad and parochial religious view can provide.

But, as I am who I am, I still have some feeling that there is something wrong with it. There is still some sort of solipsistic anthropic aspect to the idea that we should as individuals feel blessed to exist. But this is the most minor of quibbles. This speech illustrates why Richard is not just one of our finest scientists, but one of our finest scientific writers. In fact, one of the finest writers in any subject.

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18. Comment #389407 by j.mills on June 19, 2009 at 3:31 pm

I share your quibble, Steve - RD's point is the same as Dr Manhattan's ephiphany in Watchmen, that any given individual is extremely unlikely. But then, every week someone does win the lottery. It's not like we're all waiting in Judaism's Hall of Souls, hoping to be born into a body: there are no unlucky people who didn't get conceived. (Can a sperm be unlucky?)

But such concerns seem pedantic against the inspiring writing. :)

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19. Comment #389412 by Steve Zara on June 19, 2009 at 5:03 pm

Comment #389407 by j.mills

there are no unlucky people who didn't get conceived.

Precisely.

But such concerns seem pedantic against the inspiring writing. :)

But my role here is to be pedantic. I am the mischievous fairy[sic]. I am the good-fellow who enjoys pucking up discussions.

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20. Comment #389431 by chuckgoecke on June 19, 2009 at 7:51 pm

The introduction to "Unweaving the Rainbow" sent chills up my spine. I think I might have to copy Richard, and have it said at my funeral, unless I think of anything more profound in the mean time, which is highly unlikely.

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21. Comment #389503 by AfraidToDie on June 20, 2009 at 4:24 am

I must continually try and remember RD's intro to Unweaving the Rainbow to properly motivate me each day. That with a good cup of coffee should be a great start to each sunrise!

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22. Comment #389508 by Naturalist1 on June 20, 2009 at 4:54 am

Gregg...best wishes to your wife for a speedy recovery...I have been there myself in the last 5 months. This experience has given me cause to consider my own eulogy and conclude that these passages from Richard's book will be included. I must also say my recovery time gave me opportunity to re-read many great works by Richard, Hitch and others...can't get enough of it. I also note that your picture includes a fishing rod...excellent...as I can be found on a trout stream enjoying those environments at every opportunity.
As for the videos...simply wonderful....

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23. Comment #389519 by AfraidToDie on June 20, 2009 at 5:55 am

22. Comment #389508 by Naturalist1: .. This experience has given me cause to consider my own eulogy,,

I’m confident most of us have considered what we would like said as a eulogy. However, this thought process is quite strange, and implies we might be around to witness the reaction or that it might have some intrinsic value for those who remain. Perhaps it is just a psychological mechanism that somehow keeps us from facing the nothingness we rationally know must be so? Perhaps it is our last gasp effort to pass along a meme of our essence or prior existence?

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24. Comment #389624 by Fizzle on June 20, 2009 at 12:01 pm

Thank you, Richard and Josh. As touching as it was to read the passage itself, hearing Prof. Dawkins' well-honed read was even better.

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