The Evolution of Everything Audiobook By Matt Ridley cover art

The Evolution of Everything

How New Ideas Emerge

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Evolution of Everything

By: Matt Ridley
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.19

Buy for $25.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The New York Times best-selling author of The Rational Optimist and Genome returns with a fascinating, brilliant argument for evolution that definitively dispels a dangerous, widespread myth: that we can command and control our world.

The Evolution of Everything is about bottom-up order and its enemy, the top-down twitch - the endless fascination human beings have with design rather than evolution, with direction rather than emergence. Drawing on anecdotes from science, economics, history, politics, and philosophy, Matt Ridley's wide-ranging, highly opinionated opus demolishes conventional assumptions that major scientific and social imperatives are dictated by those on high, whether in government, business, academia, or morality. On the contrary, our most important achievements develop from the bottom up. Patterns emerge, trends evolve. Just as skeins of geese form Vs in the sky without meaning to and termites build mud cathedrals without architects, so brains take shape without brain makers, learning can happen without teaching, and morality changes without a plan.

Although we neglect, defy, and ignore them, bottom-up trends shape the world. The growth of technology, the sanitation-driven health revolution, the quadrupling of farm yields so that more land can be released for nature - these were largely emergent phenomena, as were the Internet, the mobile phone revolution, and the rise of Asia. Ridley demolishes the arguments for design and effectively makes the case for evolution in the universe, morality, genes, the economy, culture, technology, the mind, personality, population, education, history, government, God, money, and the future.

As compelling as it is controversial, authoritative as it is ambitious, Ridley's stunning perspective will revolutionize the way we think about our world and how it works.

©2015 Matt Ridley (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers
Economic History Economics History & Philosophy Philosophy Science Sociology Thought-Provoking Economic disparity Genetics Economic inequality
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup
Thorough Research • Thought-provoking Ideas • Well-narrated Performance • Fascinating Insights • Logical Consistency
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Liked the new interpretation of cause and effect. It stirred new ideas and drove me to imagine an alternate narrative. One has to be careful however to adopt a new world view based on a fast and loose explanation of much of recorded human history (i.e. religious history). Overall, this author’s identification of evolving human concepts and natural systems is fascinating.

Sometimes uses a broad brush

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The concepts explored in this book are challenges to our persistently flawed "conventional wisdom." I found it refreshing and empowering.

Everyone should read this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Even though I don't agree with everything, it's still very influential reading. I'm not sure whether I wasn't doing better with more blurred vision of the world and life :-)

Eye opening experience

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and excellently read. Though one might think the topic a dry one, the content and pace of presentation will keep your attention throughout. The theme is well stated and supported by citations, so Ridley's conclusions are reasonable. Great book.

Worth every minute.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

There is no such thing as a static system. If something has an ability to change, it will. Biological systems, organizational systems, language, and relationships all evolve. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it and it is everywhere.

Changed how I see the world

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Again, Ridley is able to produce a frank, rational view of the world and the things that affect it and shape it.

Recommend it!

Another great book from Matt Ridley

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Great content. Steven Crossley (narrator) is no Patrick Allitt (who did Great Courses Industrial Revolution).

Excellent content, decent presentation

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Some good information, but heavily influenced by his opinion. Matt Ridley is a staunch libertarian and it shows. In the midst of his opinion he loses sight of his argument--fundamentally committing some of the very errors he lambasts in the beginning of the book. He critiques the tendencies of people to attribute things to top down approaches, but proceeds to attribute all errors to top down approaches. As he would say in the beginning of the book, "skyhook." Mr. Ridley proceeds to lose sight of his original reasoning amongst his own political bias during the latter half of the book.

Strong start, disappointing finish

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This book elegantly explains the bottom up principles, which is something I allways noticed around me and this book has really explained it, and I belive that if more people were aware of this the wolrd would be a much freeier and kinder place.

Everyone should read this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

From start to finish a fascinating, well written, well narrated thought provoking tour de force. loved it.

Just awesome is all...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews