Ridley, Matt: - Matt Ridley is a British journalist and businessman, best known for his writings on science, the environment, and economics. He has written several science books, including The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature (1994), Genome (1999), The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (2010), and The Evolution of Everything: How Ideas Emerge (2015). He has been a regular contributor to The Telegraph. He has been a Conservative hereditary peer since 2013, with a seat in the House of Lords.