Join us for the first virtual book club gathering of 2023 as we discuss Richard O. Prum’s Pulitzer Prize finalist book, The Evolution of Beauty. Prum, a professor of ornithology at Yale, offers vivid examples of tropical avian plumage and mating displays as evidence of Darwin’s oft-overlooked theory of sexual selection as a driving force of evolution. Give yourself some time to read this 560 page book before joining our program. 

From pulitzer.org:

“A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences–what Darwin termed “the taste for the beautiful”–create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world. In the great halls of science, dogma holds that Darwin’s theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life: which species thrive, which wither away to extinction, and what features each evolves. But can adaptation by natural selection really account for everything we see in nature?

Yale University ornithologist Richard Prum–reviving Darwin’s own views–thinks not…To explain this, he dusts off Darwin’s long-neglected theory of sexual selection in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons–for the mere pleasure of it–is an independent engine of evolutionary change.

The Evolution of Beauty presents a unique scientific vision for how nature’s splendor contributes to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves.”

Date: Sunday, January 29, 2023

Time: 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Venue: Details will be mailed to registrants.

REGISTER HERE

Space is limited; reservations required.

Free (donations appreciated).

Cancellations notified via email.

Questions? Email programs@friendsofchinacamp.org or call (415) 456-0766.