The Evolution of Everything

By Matt Ridley

Categories: Business & Money

Science writer Matt Ridley argues that much of the human world is the result of human action but not human design, emerging from the bottom up rather than from the plans of a few. Ridley applies the idea of evolution, change through gradual trial and error, to technology, language, morality, law, economics and government. He points to the Industrial Revolution, the internet and common law as developments that were never planned, and he questions the belief that great events are directed by those at the top.

Recommended by 4 people

• Naval Ravikant
• Charles Koch
• Sam Harris: “They include the Red Queen, Genome, the Rational Optimist, and the Evolution of Everything.”
• Shane Parrish: “Matt Ridley is a longtime favorite. Originally a PhD zoologist, Ridley went on to write great books like The Red Queen and The Rational Optimist, and wrote for The Economist for a while. This book makes the argument for how trial-and-error style evolution occurs across a wide range of phenomena.”