The Unselfish Gene of the novel is a nod to Richard Dawkins' 1976 book, "The Selfish Gene". Among the concepts developed in Dawkins' book is a theory of how natural selection may favor self-sacrifice and other forms of altruism. The themes of altruism and small gene sets play an important role in plot and character development in The Unselfish Gene. The Unselfish Gene is what might be termed "semi-hard" science fiction. The technology described in the book is well within the limits of early 21st century technology. Some of it, such as "The Anita", an atomic-bomb powered heavy lifter space ship, was actually
Alternatives to evolution by natural selection Alternatives to evolution by natural selection Alternatives to evolution by natural selection, also described as non-Darwinian mechanisms of evolution, have been proposed by scholars investigating biology since classical times to explain signs of evolution and the relatedness of different groups of living things. The alternatives in question do not encompass religious points of view such as young or old earth creationism or intelligent design, but are limited to explanations proposed by biologists, though one was confusingly named 'theistic evolution' by Asa Gray. Where the fact of evolutionary change was accepted but the mechanism proposed by Charles Darwin, natural selection, was