No Santa Claus in the Dawkins household

John Horgan is a science writer for Scientific American and an atheist, so you would expect him to like Richard Dawkins and his new book. But Horgan says:

Dawkins addresses this issue [the problem of beauty] in Climbing Mount Improbable. He recalls driving with his six-year-old daughter when she pointed out all the "pretty" wildflowers in a field. When Dawkins asked what she thought wildflowers are for, she replied, "To make the world pretty, and to help the bees make honey for us." Dawkins -- bless his rational heart! -- writes: "I was touched by this, and sorry I had to tell her it wasn't so." I actually laughed reading this passage. No Santa Claus in the Dawkins household!

I like his six-year-old daughter's explanation better.