Richard Dawkins at MSU, The Aftermath (Part I)

Update - You can download the lecture here.

Fresh from the drive out of Lansing, Michigan, I am happy to say that I have personally met the man who personifies my passion for biology as well as religion, Richard Dawkins. 

I believe that it will be most prudent on my behalf to split this topic into two posts: the first, mostly due to technical aspects of editing audio from the event, will be limited to the actual event as experienced by me, a fan of sorts. The second, will detail the actual lecture as per the ideas presented, as well as an accompanying audio recording of the event (lets hope there a legion of lawyers won't pursue me for this one) made by me. 

The venue at which this lecture was held, the Wharton Center of Michigan State University, was oddly hard to find. I am glad to have been accompanied by my GPS on this little trip, because I would have otherwise surely been lost multiple times. It is odd to have a small map of where to go with no actual physical address to arrive at, only an intersection. Regardless of this hurdle, I arrived early with little harm to my spirits, I wish I could say the same thing for my car's tires, which took an extensive beating whilst trying to dodge the multitudes of cavernous potholes that littered most every piece of road I took.

I was greeted at the event by a read of my blog! Harold F., who contacted me in response to my website and recently supplied a picture of an atheist bus campaign rebuttal sign was kind and generous in his welcome. He also was kind enough to take the picture shown above when the time came. I am grateful, thank you!

The lecture did not disappoint in that it was not a regurgitation of all things Dawkins, but instead present novel ideas in the understanding of human behaviour and evolutionary drives as related to the subversion of purpose. I will explain at greater length the actual lecture in my next post along with the audio recording of the event. The lecture was followed by a relatively brisk written question and answer session that included a few well posed inquiries from audience members. Dawkins was not intellectually strained with the questions asked, but at least he did take a few moments to pause and ponder on how to reply best to a few of them. 

After the lecture and questioning, the Wharton hall was quickly evacuated to form a line in the hallways in hopes of getting books signed and pictures taken. I was amongst the people that plopped in around the halfway mark and waited patiently for my opportunity to meet the man. I was not star-struck in any sense of the word, the man is easily accessible and kind; as kind as someone can be when greeted by a mob of people, no matter how orderly, trying to shake his hand, get him to sign a book, and to take a picture. I shook his hand, asked him to sign a book, making a slight ass of myself by stating that my name is Konstantine spelled with a K, upon-which time Dr. Dawkins informed me he only signs his name rather than personalized autographs.

Overall the event was great and definitely worth every single one of the potholes I encountered until getting back onto Canadian soil. Check back tomorrow for the audio of the event as well as accompanying information on the lecture.