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The preeminent scientist Richard Dawkins is Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. Discover magazine recently dubbed him "Darwin's Rottweiler" for his fierce defense of evolution and Prospect magazine placed him among the top three public intellectuals (with Noam Chomsky and Umberto Eco) worldwide. His award-winning books include The Selfish Gene, in which he first introduced the concept of the "meme," and The Blind Watchmaker, a convincing account of neo-Darwinian theory. In The God Delusion, Dawkins asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has done society, from the Crusades to 9/11.