Viruses of the Mind Viruses of the Mind "Viruses of the Mind" is an essay by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, first published in the book "Dennett and His Critics: Demystifying Mind" (1993). Dawkins originally wrote the essay in 1991 and delivered it as a Voltaire Lecture on 6 November 1992 at the Conway Hall Humanist Centre. The essay discusses how religion can be viewed as a meme, an idea previously expressed by Dawkins in "The Selfish Gene" (1976). Dawkins analyzes the propagation of religious ideas and behaviors as a memetic virus, analogous to how biological and computer viruses spread. The essay was later
Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle published by the National Audubon Society. "Feathers" is Hanson's second book, after "The Impenetrable Forest: My Gorilla Years in Uganda" (2008). Following a preface and introduction, "Feathers" is divided into five main parts: "Evolution" discusses the evolutionary history of feathers, "Fluff" explains the role of feathers in regulating body temperature, "Flight" discusses the origin of avian flight as well as its impact on human aviation, "Fancy" discusses the role of feathers in sexual selection and human fashion, and "Function" discusses the continuing evolution of feathers in both nature and human usage. "Feathers" begins with the 1861 discovery of the first