Talk:Mark Ridley (zoologist)

Citations/mix up
A citation is needed on the quote that he is honored to be mistaken for Matt Ridley. I am worried that the editor mixed this up - in the acknowledgments of The Red Queen Matt Ridley says that he is honored to be frequently mistaken for Mark Ridley. Could this be the source of the quote? Or does Mark Ridley say nearly the same thing?

Also, Mendel's Demon and The Cooperative Gene are the same book. I have edited the page to reflect that. --Jdvelasc (talk) 18:02, 29 October 2008 (UTC)


 * That would be funny if someone had mixed up a quote about them being mixed up! Richard001 (talk) 04:43, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

this list is in no discernible order. alphabetical or chronological please! Flies 1 (talk) 23:03, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Unattributed content
I think, from clues in the content, that most of this page is unattributed content from elsewhere. My guess is, mostly from publishers' advertising material. I'm afraid it will all have to come out, except for the basic verifiable facts about his life and works. Before doing this, a pause for others to respond. Macdonald-ross (talk) 09:13, 9 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I am in agreement. Is this something that you were planning on taking on as an expert in the field?  I have no expertise (stumbled across this article while doing some research), but I am happy to help clean it up.  Please let me know your thoughts.  --Jackson Peebles (talk) 04:39, 22 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm happy to let you deal with it. Ridley is a noteworthy person, but the extraneous content can't be allowed to stand. Macdonald-ross (talk) 19:54, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

✅ Jonathan A Jones (talk) 09:28, 14 July 2017 (UTC)

Inconsistencies in education
I note the following which seem to be mutually incompatible:


 * Doctoral advisor stated to be Rchard Dawkins, but degree and awarding institution stated to be Cambridge University. Dawkins has been on the staff of the Oxford Zoology department since early 1970s.
 * The link to the dissertation (dated 1987) is shown to be a D. Phil. (not Ph.D.) awarded by Oxford in 1982. A 1982 date is also more consonant with the subjects age.
 * No evidence evinced for his education at Cambridge. I suspect this may have been his undergraduate degree, but can't find a citation.

In summary, Ridley clearly obtained a D.Phil from Oxford in 1982. This suggests a BA in 1979, and an MA in 1982/3 but it's not clear which university awarded the degree. Semudobia (talk) 13:10, 30 January 2016 (UTC)

Total re-write
I deleted the last section of this page that was title "Conclusion". There is no "conclusion" to have in this type of page. I'm also very concerned about the level of writing that appears in this article. There are a lot of basic grammatical errors, personal/subjective judgments, incoherent sentences, etc. on this page. The "contributions" section is just a mess. I think it would be best if someone were to take it upon themselves to re-write this page from scratch. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bonusball (talk • contribs) 04:31, 2 December 2016 (UTC)


 * I have trimmed vast swathes of puffery; it's still not great but it's a step at least. Jonathan A Jones (talk) 09:29, 14 July 2017 (UTC)