Product Description
In this innovative celebration of diversity and affirmation of individuality in animals and humans, Joan Roughgarden challenges accepted wisdom about gender identity and sexual orientation. A distinguished evolutionary biologist, Roughgarden takes on the medical establishment, the Bible, social science--and even Darwin himself. She leads the reader through a fascinating discussion of diversity in gender and sexuality among fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, including primates. Evolution's Rainbow explains how this diversity develops from the action of genes and hormones and how people come to differ from each other in all aspects of body and behavior. Roughgarden reconstructs primary science in light of feminist, gay, and transgender criticism and redefines our understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality. A new preface shows how this witty, playful, and daring book has revolutionized our understanding of sexuality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

Great Experience
The shipment came on time, was packaged very nicely and the book was in GREAT condition. I will buy from this seller again for sure. Trust worthy and dependable.
Overall, two thumbs up........:D

The gay science
Joan Roughgarden's book "Evolution's Rainbow" is something of a disappointment.

It's badly edited, written in colloquial language, and covers a lot of topics not really relevant to the subject (such as Bible interpretation). There are other problems as well. The author protests strongly against expressions such as "transvestite snake", but has no problem calling male bighorn sheep "gay"! Of course, snakes are no more into transvestism than sheep are into the California gay subculture... (I think - I admit that the world would have been a more interesting place, had they been so.) On a somewhat stranger note, I noticed the author's strong aversion to asexually reproducing organisms. Aren't they a legitimate part of the rainbow?

This is all very unfortunate, since Roughgarden does mention many salient facts and makes interesting criticisms of the current paradigms.

One controversial point is her claim that "gender" is a biological category among humans. People who are transgendered really were "born that way". The usual position among anthropologists is, of course, that gender is a socially constructed category. Since Roughgarden believes otherwise, she can compare gender among humans with gender among animals and plants (a biological category).

In her polemic against androcentric sociobiology and its theory of "parental investment" (which supposedly makes Mother Nature patriarchal and sexist), the author points out that there are pipefish in the North Sea that reverse the sociobiological scenario. Among these fish, the *males* make the largest parental investment, while the females are aggressive, fight over the males and form dominance hierarchies. Ah, poor sociobiologists! Disconfirmed by Mother as usual. There is also an entertaining chapter on homosexual behaviour among animals, including birds where male-male couples occasionally raise the young. This "gay" behaviour has been observed among Black Swans, amongst others. Gay romance, anyone? There is even a lizard in Texas which is quite literally lesbian - all members of the species are female and reproduce asexually, but they nevertheless have non-reproductive sex!

Unfortunately, the badly edited chapters of this book sometimes make the arguments of the author quite weak. Thus, Roughgarden believes that gender bias may have led researchers to confuse cooperation among birds with brood parasitism. The male birds aren't really "cuckolded" at all, but involved in a complex system of reciprocal altruism within a larger colony. Perhaps they are, but this doesn't falsify Neo-Darwinism, which has no problem with *reciprocal* altruism. This isn't sufficiently emphasized by the author, making her proposals sound more earth-shattering than they really are. They may disprove one faction of Neo-Darwinists, but not Neo-Darwinism as such. As for the "female mimics", the author believes that they cannot really fool the other males, since they aren't perfect mimics to begin with. Maybe. And then, maybe not. For instance, most small passerines recognize their own eggs, but (weirdly) don't recognize their own chicks, which explains why cuckoo eggs mimic those of the host bird, while cuckoo chicks don't have to be mimics. Since song birds have surprisingly uneven cognitive abilities, this might go for other animals as well, and can explain the existence of "female mimics". Perhaps the mimics only need to mimic some key traits? Once again, a more extensive discussion seems called for.

The frankly worst chapter in the whole book is Joan Roughgarden's attempts to interpret the Bible as pro-gay. No, Joan, it isn't. Ruth and Naomi weren't lesbians. Paul wasn't warning gay couples of the dangers of sexually transmitted disease. When the Ethiopian eunuch was quoting Isaiah, he was pointing to a passage all Christians believe is a prophecy about Jesus. He wasn't calling for transgendered activism against the powers that be! Ur-Christianity may have had some interesting ideas, but they certainly weren't pro-gay. Incidentally, the Ethiopian eunuch was Jewish, yet Roughgarden implies that Christianity was more "inclusive" than Judaism, using the baptism of this person as an example. Really?

Despite everything, "Evolution's Rainbow" was worth reading, since it does contain original and provocative angles on many questions. However, I don't think it deserves five stars. I give it three.

I wanted to like this book
I really wanted to like this book, but it has to be the most poorly written book I have read in many years. Doesn't the UC Press have editors? It's truly unbelievable. I enjoyed the case being made, but the poor argumentation and writing made it very hard to stay with or to feel sympathetic towards. It's a real shame.

Diversity and Affirmation
Roughgarden, Joan. "Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender and Sexuality in Nature and People", University of California Press, 2009.

Diversity and Affirmation

Amos Lassen

The way we think of gender and sexuality in the world of nature will probably change after reading this book. Joan Roughgarden claims that perhaps Darwinian biologists have been misguided in the way that they look at these issues. They automatically assume a gender binary in all species and that is not the case. To show this, the author brings us examples among reptiles, birds and fish. Roughgarden maintains that Darwinian sexual selection is based upon the biases of culture and this culture predicts that social evolution brings about a male who is sexually paired with a female. She challenges the accepted knowledge about gender identity and sexual orientation and in doing so takes on the Bible, the medical establishment, social science and Darwin. She gives us a creative challenge to the contemporary orthodox of sexual selection.
We get good descriptions of both sexual and gender diversity in nature and in the scientific community and Roughgarden implies that some of the traits of sexual orientation are a lot more common that we have thought. She uses her own expertise to show this to us and she does so well. She exposes the biological nonsense of homophobia and she provides us with food for thought. The book is extremely interesting and although it may seem curious to some, it has a lot in it.

Celebration of Diversity!
Absolutely amazing!I can't remember when I have enjoyed or learned more from a non-fiction book than I have from Evolution's Rainbow! I had NO IDEA how many variations of sexuality and gender appear in the natural world, which Roughgarden details in the first half of the book. In addition to review of fascinating research, the book is sprinkled with dry witticisms that made me laugh aloud!Roughgarden has methodically, thoroughly, and with great good humor shown that there is no desirable normal and that diversity deserves to be celebrated.I applaud this book!
... Read more

Product Description
Evolution makes good scientific sense. The question is whether it makes good theological sense as well. Christians who find evolution contrary to faith often do so because they focus solely on the issues of the world's design and the notion of the gradual descent of all life from a common ancestry. But that point of view overlooks the significance of the dramatic narrative going on beneath the surface. What evolution is has become more important than what it means. Haught suggests that, rather than necessarily contradicting one another, theologians and Darwinian scientists actually share an appreciation of the underlying meaning and awe-inspiring mystery of evolution. He argues for a focus on evolution as an ongoing drama and suggests that we simply cannot--indeed need not--make complete sense of it until it has fully played out.

Ultimately, when situated carefully within a biblical vision of the world as open to a God who makesall things new, evolution makes sense--scientifically and theologically. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Making Sense of Evolution
Evolution has always been a subject of interest to me. And when I read the preview of John F. Haught's book I found that he supports most of the theory and concepts I hold concerning evolution and the mysteries of God working still in His creative process. Haught's book will be one of the references I will use in my Christian teaching ministry.

Herb Rouson,Sr.,
Pastor Emeritus ... Read more

Product Description

Over the past twenty years, paleontologists have made tremendous fossil discoveries, including fossils that mark the growth of whales, manatees, and seals from land mammals and the origins of elephants, horses, and rhinos. Today there exists an amazing diversity of fossil humans, suggesting we walked upright long before we acquired large brains, and new evidence from molecules that enable scientists to decipher the tree of life as never before.

The fossil record is now one of the strongest lines of evidence for evolution. In this engaging and richly illustrated book, Donald R. Prothero weaves an entertaining though intellectually rigorous history out of the transitional forms and series that dot the fossil record. Beginning with a brief discussion of the nature of science and the "monkey business of creationism," Prothero tackles subjects ranging from flood geology and rock dating to neo-Darwinism and macroevolution. He covers the ingredients of the primordial soup, the effects of communal living, invertebrate transitions, the development of the backbone, the reign of the dinosaurs, the mammalian explosion, and the leap from chimpanzee to human. Prothero pays particular attention to the recent discovery of "missing links" that complete the fossil timeline and details the debate between biologists over the mechanisms driving the evolutionary process.

Evolution is an absorbing combination of firsthand observation, scientific discovery, and trenchant analysis. With the teaching of evolution still an issue, there couldn't be a better moment for a book clarifying the nature and value of fossil evidence. Widely recognized as a leading expert in his field, Prothero demonstrates that the transformation of life on this planet is far more awe inspiring than the narrow view of extremists.

Customer Reviews (55)

What This Reviewer Thinks And Why It Matters
If you are looking for a good overview of the history of life on this planet, you will love this book.In terms of understanding evolution, both how it works and the evidence to support it, this is one of the best, if not the best books I have read on the topic.It's filled with excellent photos and diagrams and it doesn't just tell you about evolution, it *shows* you.I used to be a young earth creationist myself, and while I encountered this book after I'd already accepted the evidence for evolution, I think this book would have certainly given me much pause had I encountered it earlier in my life.

Absolutely superb
This is by far and away one of the very best books I have ever read on the topic of evolution. Prothero has a lively and engaging writing style and he does and outstanding job of laying out the facts regarding the fossil evidence of evolution. He also does a good job of highlighting the dishonesty and hypocrisy of creationists. This book is an absolute must for anybody with an interest in evolution.

Nice book
This book arrived in very good conditions.The content is very good and very understandable even for people who don't study biology.

Best Resource Through College Level on Evolution, Loaded with New Facts, Engaging to Read
The book will not disappoint, a great writer talking about a topic of which he has intimate familiarity, and for which he has a passionate concern to get across to the reader and public in general. Filled with up to date information clearly explained with copious charts and illustrations. A must have resource for those writing on the creationist/evolution controversy, with abundant jabs at the know-nothing purveyors of ID at the Creation Research Institute (where in fact, studies have shown, no scientific research is done).

Selective evidence is not evidence at all.
It's getting more and more frustrating explaining the obvious to evolutionists.Yet, they insist on being blind to the facts.This book is a case in point.First of all, there are no life forms in the strata below the Cambrian, which proves that the fossils in the Cambrian appeared all at once without any transitional states.The author ignores this fact.Moreover, there are plenty of fossils of creatures in rock allegedly dating to 50 millions of years that we see today, such as turtles, crocodiles, insects of all kinds, horses, elephants which look just like the turtles, crocodiles, insects of all kinds, horses, elephants we see today.Apparently, they haven't changed a bit over that millions and millions of years time span.We also have fossiled human skulls (Peru), fingers and footprints (Paluxy Texas).We also have plenty of unfossiled dinosaur bones such as the ones of the Hadrosauridae and of the T-Rex bone examined by Mary Schweitzer who found fresh tissue and fresh blood in it.The author doesn't mention any of this.Dead silence on these contravening facts.The author thinks that it is absurd to think all the dogs in the world came from two dogs on Noah's ark yet he has no difficulty believing that all dogs came from a rock.If he can believe that, he should have no difficulty believing all the dogs in the world came from the two on Noah's ark.The author believes trilobites are over 500 million years old yet he ignores the fact of the fossil of the trilobite from Antelope Springs that was crushed by a human foot, with a child's foot print nearby that spot in the same Cambrian stone.The author connects unrelated species, such as birds and reptiles, and claims a lineage between the two as evidence of transitional forms.Yet, he ignores that every single one of these socalled transitional forms has been found in the same geological strata as the species they allegedly morphed from.Picking and choosing your facts is not scientific.It is chicanery.Why can't he admit that evolution is bunk and needs to be thrown in the trash can? ... Read more

Product Description
R. Todd Michael was medical director of a level-three trauma center when he had his own brush with death before being saved by the voice of an angel. In this collection of true stories from the emergency room, Dr. Michael relates his experiences with dying patients and the angels that invariably attend these critical rites of passage. Eventually he began communicating with an angel who was sent to aid us in our human evolution.

Evolution, as described in The Evolution Angel, is “a quantum leap, a jump to a completely new and higher level of being.” What exactly is that higher level of being, and how do we achieve it? The “Evolution Angel” provides fascinating lessons, wisdom, and insight into turning our human journey into one where we can not only communicate with the Spirit World, but we can access this otherworldly wisdom in our lives at any moment. Answering questions about the purpose of our lives, life after death, and the nature of our soul, this astounding book has already changed countless lives of those who have heard this in-demand speaker, or read his self-published edition that has sold thousands.

Inspirational, poignant, and wise, The Evolution Angel is a guide for everyone who wants to learn about living at the highest level, and is curious about what happens to the soul after we die. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Informative
I found information & knowledge I've been seeking. Looking forward to reading moreof Dr.Todd Michael's books.

Beautiful book!Very Helpful!
i bought this book because my youngest brother passed away recently of cancer at age 50, and I was struggling with understanding and accepting his passing.It didn't make any sense to me.I wanted a book to help me widen my understanding of death.This book was most helpful.The author was an emergency room trauma doc for years and began to talk to the souls of the people who died in his ER.He didn't really mean to, or start out with that as a goal, it just started happening one day.Some of the 500 or so deaths were untimely, some were very young, some suicides, some violent, some accidental, some just a peaceful passing. It was just the book I needed to understand my brother, to be at peace about him, and to move on.

a positive spiritual reinforcement
I greatly enjoyed reading "The Evolution Angel." It ties in with several books I have read about the afterlife. I guess a person just has to experience losing
someone close and to have an open mind about all this.It was interesting to read
and I would recommend it, especially if you would like to be a more
spiritual person.
Thank you Todd Michael.: ) arlene suzanne

Very Interesting Read
Very interessting.Alot of ideas to consider.Requires an open mind and some flexibility of doctrine, but definitely an interesting perspective!will be reading it more than once.....

Be very wary of this book
If you are a Christian and believe what is written in the Gospels you should be very wary of this book.The author may, in fact, be communing with spirits, but they are not heavenly spirits.Evil is not, as the author (or his spirit companions) claim a "myth".With the words "angel" and "physician" linked in the title many unfortunate readers may be taken in by this.Some of what the author writes may seem beneficial or comforting, which is to be expected:"For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; in so much that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matthew 24:24).I would advise any potential reader of this book to first read some of the readings of Seraphim Rose before proceeding (e.g. Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future, The Soul After Death: Contemporary "After-Death" Experiences in the Light of the Orthodox Teaching on the Afterlife ) ... Read more

Product Description
Stretching from the distant past into the remote future, from primordial Earth to the stars, Evolution is a soaring symphony of struggle, extinction, and survival; a dazzling epic that combines a dozen scientific disciplines and a cast of unforgettable characters to convey the grand drama of evolution in all its awesome majesty and rigorous beauty. Sixty-five million years ago, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, there lived a small mammal, a proto-primate of the species Purgatorius. From this humble beginning, Baxter traces the human lineage forward through time. The adventure that unfolds is a gripping odyssey governed by chance and competition, a perilous journey to an uncertain destination along a route beset by sudden and catastrophic upheavals. It is a route that ends, for most species, in stagnation or extinction. Why should humanity escape this fate?Amazon.com Review
Following up his cosmic Manifold series, Stephen Baxter peers back on a more prosaic history in the worthy yet uneven Evolution. The book is nothing less than a novelization of human evolution, a mega-Michener treatment of 65 million years starring a host of smart, furry primates representing Homo sapiens's ancestry. Each stage of our ancestry is represented by a character of progressively increasing intelligence, empathy, and brain size, who must survive predation and other perils long enough to keep the natural-selection ball rolling. While Baxter carefully follows some widely accepted theories of evolution--punctuated equilibrium, for instance--he also strays from the known in postulating air whales and sentient, tool-wielding dinosaurs. And why not? There's nothing in the fossil record to contradict his musings about those things, or about the first instances of mammalian altruism and deception, which he also lets us observe. From little Purga, a shrewlike mammal scurrying under the feet of ankylosaurs, all the way through Ultimate, the last human descendant, Baxter adds drama and a strong story arc to our past and future. But he spends too much time on details of the various prehumans' lives, which can become repetitive: fight, mate, die, ad infinitum. And readers eager for a science-fictional adventure will only find satisfaction in the posthuman chapters at the end. Despite these flaws, Evolution grips the attention with an epoch-spanning tale of the random changes that rule our genetic heritage. Recommended. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Customer Reviews (79)

horrible
I am an avid and patient reader, an I also own most of the books Mr. Baxter wrote. By far this is the worst of them, and one of the worst books I ever touched...a disgrace.

A Game of Chance
Take a walk with our ancestors (the primates) as they evolve over millions of years from Purgatorius, a small rodent like creature to a mammal that looks a lot like a lemur, then a monkey, next an ape and finally into the upright walkers like homo erectus...the neanderthals and more...

this books is science fiction...it's science faction...although Baxter says not to use it as a text book...this is a brillant look at evolution and probably my favorite science fiction book of all time.

The book begins as the comet (Devil's Tail) is about to smash into earth laying waste to every dinosaur on the planet (via firestorm and nuclear winter). It puts us center stage for one of the biggest mass extinctions in the history of our planet. The only survivors are turtles, crocodiles, sharks, some birds, rodents, and a small hominid named Purga.

Move through our evolutionary chain, as Baxter tells a story 65 million years in the making...and 500 million years beyond our present...

Beyond today
Funny, although I enjoyed Stephen Baxter's ideas of our early ancestors and how they might have lived, and hypothesized their ability to make tools and reason, I thought that his projections to be more interesting. I can't look at my town's footprint now without thinking about what kind of heavy metals and poisons are soaking into the soil--only to be present and inflicting damage for eons beyond human life. I found the ending to be realistic; resembling a martian landscape which makes geologic sense in that the mountains do degrade into flatlands over time. This story sticks with you; once you read it, you can't forget it. Our human impact on Earth becomes even more relevant.

Highly recommended
I loved this book and author. This was the first book I read by Stephen Baxter and I very impressed at how good of a writer he is.

Amazing book!!!
I love this book!It is fiction, of course, but well researched.So, what is this book?This book is the next best thing to a time machine.In fact, this is the book that I've always wanted to write myself.Now I don't have to! Yippee!Stephen did a far better job than I ever could anyway.I love history, and I love pre-history."History," the written record of human events, is all well and good.We have enormous amounts of information with which to reconstruct a narrative of human life, thought, troubles, and triumphs.Prehistory, on the other hand, is much different.We have lots of information, but the farther back in time you go the more speculative any narrative will be.I want a time machine so bad!!I want to set up a blind and watch the dinosaurs go about their day.I want to watch early primates as they branch out into different species, see them exploit different niches, and face the challenges that among one group favor the hominid way of doing things and ultimately leads to modern humans.This book gave me exactly what I wanted, lacking an actual time machine.It covers a great deal of time, 65 million years and more, in 600 or so pages.You get detailed little glimpses into the lives of our various ancestors.How they lived, how they thought, the problems they faced, etc.Speculation?Yes.Still, it's well researched and you get an honest sense of "being there."These encounters are brief due to the amount of time covered in one book.It's very well done though.There are several periods that I would love to see expanded into a stand alone novel.(Stephen, are you listening?)I am savoring this book.I am almost finished, and really look forward to seeing what the far future holds for humanity(this is fiction, remember) but I feel a real sense of dread as I near those last pages.I don't want it to end!I love books like this, and I hate books like this!Why must they end?Buy this book!!You will enjoy it! ... Read more

Product Description
Today, most colleges and universities offer evolutionary study as part of their biology curriculums. Evolution For Dummies will track a class in which evolution is taught and give an objective scientific view of the subject. This balanced guide explores the history and future of evolution, explaining the concepts and science behind it, offering case studies that support it, and comparing evolution with rival theories of creation, such as intelligent design. It also will identify the signs of evolution in the world around us and explain how this theory affects our everyday lives and the future to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Very witty and humorous...
I enjoyed reading this book. It was a page turner for any level of scientific interest.

Quick Delivery and perfect condition
The book was shipped to me in the time expected and it was in great condition.

good price and fast delivery
came really fast and was good cost value, like the set up of the book, good for one that is not familiar with evolution

This dummy learned a lot about evolution

I do not feel the need to rehash the topics that are discussed in the book. Tim Beazley, a previous commenter, already summed up some of the major topics that are covered in the book. Plus you can use the "Search inside this book" link to see which topics are covered.

Anyhow, the content in this book is very informative and easy to comprehend. Each chapter and each paragraph is extremely concise. The author gets right to the point and doesn't use any unnecessary wordiness or bore you to death with overuse of scientific jargon. It is the perfect introductory book for learning about evolutionary biology.

The author discusses the many evolutionary topics in a completely objective manner. He doesn't try to sway the reader toward atheism or faith in a higher power. He states in the beginning of the book that evolutionary biology is the theory of how organisms change over time, and makes no assumptions of the origin of life.

When I began reading this book I had only a very limited understanding of evolutionary biology. I now have a very solid grasp of the basics. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a basic understanding of evolutionary theories and evolutionary biology.

At last!A hysteria-free book about this subject.
The word "evolution" is a hot button in our society, similar in effect to terms like "abortion," "gay marriage" and "religion."Thus,finding a book on the topic that doesn't include the author getting on his or her soapbox is virtually impossible.

I have searched long and hard for a popular-level treatment of the subject that simply presented the scientific evidence for, and remaining challenges with, the theory.I have suffered from far too many rants from both militant atheists, as well as insecure believers, who use evolution as a platform to push their own metaphysical, economic or political views.Yes, I am talking about both Richard Dawkins and Ken Ham, and the rest of their buddies on the extremist ends of the spectrum.

So to me this book was a Godsend.It lays out the history, evidence, and current state of thought - period.There is a very brief reference to objections to the theory in the back, including religious ones.But there is no attempt to make evolution say things it simply cannot say, such as whether or not there is a God, an objective moral code, a non-physical reality, or any of the other perennial questions that rightly belong to the philosophers and theologians.

After reading it, my position remains essentially unchanged.It seems obvious to me that evolution occurred.Life has evolved from the simplest forms to the ones we see today over billions of years.Birds are the descendants of dinosaurs and we are the descendants of ape-like creatures.
These facts simply cannot be disputed by anyone taking a fair look at the evidence.

I still remain agnostic regarding the engines of evolution, though.It is impossible to prove that all of the steps that led to life's rise were random, or, conversely, that they weren't.However, on the whole I remain skeptical that genetic drift, chance mutations, natural selection, accidental duplications, etc. can sufficiently explain the fantastic success evolution has demonstrated in crafting life forms not only well adapted to survive, but also beautifully elegant in their bodily structures.

"Goofs" like the panda's thumb steer me away from an Intelligent Designer, as least one modeled after a human engineer.But stepping back and looking at creation as a whole still leads me to believe that there is some form of Supreme Intelligence that started it all.Perhaps it set some general parameters for creation's progression, then let the Big Bang unfold on its own.

This does not necessarily mean "God" as that Being has been conceived of by the world's religions.For all I know our universe could be a clever science project put together by a bright third grader for a science fair.Even now we may be sitting in a jar on his bookshelf with an award ribbon hanging from it.

Or we might be lying in a dusty corner of a lab, a rejected effort of some scientist who saw how we turned out and said "I can do better than that!"

Or we might be the beloved creation of an all-powerful and omniscient Father God, who has reasons for the evils and imperfections we are beset with, reasons that will lead to our ultimate well-being and happiness.

Whatever the ultimate answers to such questions are, they are beyond the domain of evolution, and for that matter all of our physical sciences. This fact in no way detracts from the intellectual brilliance of Darwin's theory, or of the many insights we have gained from it.And to those who want to discover those insights, without hysteria or bias, I highly recommend this excellent book.

... Read more

Product Description
More than eighty years after the Scopes trial, the debate over teaching evolution continues in spite of the emptiness of the creationist positions. This accessible resource, now completely revised and updated, provides an essential introduction to the ongoing dispute's many facets--the scientific evidence for evolution, the legal and educational basis for its teaching, and the various religious points of view--as well as a concise history of the evolution-creationism controversy. This second edition also contains a discussion of the legal history, updated to include the seminal case of Kitzmiller v. Dover as well as a new chapter on public opinion and media coverage. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (42)

A Way to Grasp the Essence of the Debate between Evolution and Creationism
This introduction to the current debate between Evolution and Creationism is an excellent way to grasp the essence of the subject.The book is aimed at bright high school students and college undergraduates and frankly reads like a college textbook at times(at least as I remember them from so long ago (:-)).This is not an easy read but it is so well organized and presented that I found myself completely engrossed in it.This is an excellent way to learn both sides of this debate.

Bigotry
As an agnostic who believes evolution is supported by overwhelming evidence, I am disgusted with the bigotry Ms Scott demonstrated. The attempt to equate the teleological argument with religion is astonishing, and betrays an ignorance of the non-religious possibilities and indeed origins of those ideas (e.g., deism). Absolutely disgusting.

What the controversy is really about...
The most obvious problem I find with her book is that it would be be banned from public schools and most college / university classrooms. The very organization she heads would censor it because it mentions "intelligent design" and "creationism." Most of the debate over whether or not to include these topics in science curriculum has nothing to do with the evidence given by either side; the debate is actually whether or not students in publically funded educational facilities should be informed that there are other theories concerning biologic origins that question Darwinian evolution. We have become so politically correct that we no longer resemble the society founded on the principles of freedom, (especially in the area of speech, ideas, and criticism) that declared its existence on July 4, 1776. The most incredible discoveries in all human history have been hatched in the minds of those who dared to question the established ideas in their societies. Remember that it was once believed that the Earth was flat, that the Sun orbited the Earth, the cell was a glob of jelly-like protoplasm, that flight was impossible, that "germs" caused infectious disease and surgeons refused to wash their hands between patients, and that Darwin's theory has been used to label white people has more evolved than blacks, and native Australians and American Indians. When we ban ideas that we don't agree with, we prosper discrimination and hatred in a primordial soup of biased propaganda.

Well-argued, passionate and well-researched
I had the pleasure of meeting the author this week at North Dakota State University. As a former young-earth creationist, I can safely say that Dr. Scott has an excellent understanding of creationism. She is passionate, but she does not let her passion degrade into ad hominem or strawman attacks on creationists and their claims. Seriously, if you want an author who truly understands both sides of this non-debate, seek out Dr. Scott's work! She will rake garbage "scholarship" over the coals, but it is never undeserved, immature, or irrational. Wish I could say the same for Richard Dawkins!

Losing Balance
Scott M. Kruse, in his review of EVOLUTION VS. CREATIONISM:AN INTRODUCTION, writes:"Eugenie Scott explains the nature of science: Science is guided by natural law, is explanatory by reference to law, is testable against the empirical world, is always tentative and subject to revision and is falsifiable."Almost none of this correct.Scientists rarely talk any longer in terms of natural law, testing is not always empirical, falsifiability is a confused relic from Karl Popper's philosophical work of more than a half-century past, and science is by no means "always tentative."

A huge amount of misconception owes to the widely-advertised but poorly-explained fact that the propositions of empirical science are logically contingent.That a propositions is logically contingent means only that it's NOT logically necessary, that both its truth and its falsity are logically possible.But that a proposition's falsity is logically possible does NOT entail that the proposition is ACTUALLY false or even PROBABLY false;in fact it does NOT entail even that the proposition MIGHT be false as a PRACTICAL possibility.Want an illustration?That you yourself now exist is only a contingent truth.Do you therefore DOUBT your own present existence?Do you believe it only TENTATIVELY?Are you willing to allow that, in fact, you MAY NOT now exist?How much credence are you prepared to give to purported evidence that you actually DON'T now exist?There are lots of contingent propositions about the truth of which science is not the least bit tentative.

Oh, and by the way, about the nature of science.The difference between a science and a non-science isn't to be found in some contrast between their respective subject matters but in a contrast between their respective levels of regard for the VALIDATION OF METHODOLOGY.METHODOLOGY is concerned with procedures for the systematic control of error in problem-solving.To VALIDATE a method, then, is to ascertain both:(1)the conditions under which a given problem is genuinely of the kind that the method has been designed to solve (which involves the validation of DIAGNOSTIC procedures);(2)the conditions under which the results of applying the method to problems of the appropriate kind ACTUALLY COUNT as SOLUTIONS.Accordingly, a discipline is SCIENTIFIC if, and only if, NO result is ACCEPTED AS ESTABLISHED within the discipline unless it has been obtained by way of the discipline's VALIDATED METHODOLOGY.This is why science abounds in so many studies that purport to show what everybody already knows to begin with.Even widely-accepted so-called "common knowledge" must first pass through a science's validated methodology before it can be accepted as ESTABLISHED within the disciple and thus be invoked and employed as a premise in scientific argument.

Eugenie Scott's EVOLUTION VS. CREATIONISM:AN INTRODUCTION provides a decent summary of themes in the Philosophy of Science.Scott duly emphasizes science's concern with verifiability (here to be taken in its general sense, not to be confused with the Logical Positivists' Verificationism) and its preoccupation with the natural world narrowly construed.When she contrasts the purported epistemological differences between science and religion, though, she doesn't fully explore the point that appeals to Revelation are essentially EMPIRICAL and that, in religion as in science, appeals to authority ultimately trace back to personal experience.Thus, a saint who reports having had direct communication with God appears to have the very same basis for believing in God's reality that a person who converses with a human friend has for believing in that friend's reality.Is there an important difference?Scott certainly brings in the matters of intersubjectivity, testability, replicability, etc., but her attempted epistemological contrast between science and religion still leaves a fair amount of wiggle-room and thus isn't as compelling it could be.This matter isn't incidental to the main topic of Scott's book.Quite the opposite:it's of central importance, because it pertains directly to the scientific pretensions of so-called "Creation Science".When Evolutionists reject the claims of Creation Science, they don't handle those pretensions gently:Creation science, they insist, isn't just BAD science---it isn't SCIENCE at all.

The friends of Creation Science frequently bemoan the fact that accounts of the Evolution-vs.-Creation debate lack "balance".These folks just don't get it.One doesn't encounter balanced, unbiased discussion of the controversy for the simple reason that such discussion is FORENSICALLY IMPERMISSIBLE:the epistemic postures of the opposing sides are practically incommensurable."Balance," after all, requires the participants to countenance at least the POSSIBILITY of scientific parity between the two positions.However, nobody who knows the difference between real science and merely pretend science will stultify himself by conceding even for the sake of argument that Creation Science has face validity;likewise, true believers in the Book of Genesis can't concede for an instant that the Theory of Evolution is even remotely plausible, no matter WHAT evidence is adduced in its support.Evolutionists and Creation Scientists can no more engage in dialectically balanced debate than two trees can do so.

This last point needs to be fleshed out a bit.It's one thing simply to pit the Theory of Evolution against the Book of Genesis.The two sources, of course, offer strongly incompatible stories about the origins of the universe and life on Earth.Debate about the relative credibility of these two sources has therefore been described as a war between Science and Religion---specifically, an epistemological war waged to adjudicate the balance of veridicality between scientific method, on the one hand, and revelation, the ultimate basis for religious doctrine, on the other.

So, which of the two, Science or Religion, is the more reliable source of information about the world?A plausible case can be made that the contest boils down to nothing more than a cost/benefit analysis weighing faith in scientific method against faith in revelation.It's in this context that the friends of Religion attempt to carry the day by observing that the propositions of empirical science aren't NECESSARY truths:"Scientific method leads at best to TENTATIVE BELIEF in mere CONTINGENCIES;revelation, by contrast, affords UTTER CERTAINTY about ABSOLUTE TRUTH!"Alas!It still requires an act of faith to embrace revelation as veridical, even if one accepts a strong version of the thesis that science deals only in contingency.

The friends of Religion, however, have not been content to let the contest's outcome depend on an act of faith.Questions of contingency notwithstanding, scientists often speak with the fist of authority.And because scientists manage to sound pretty convincing when they invoke the shibboleth of EVIDENCE, spewing torrents of technical discourse, citingvolumes of complex experimental data, and rehashing gouts of ultra-sophisticated mathematical analysis, it's small wonder that the layman is impressed by their pronouncements.Face it:scientists are thought to exhibit high levels of sagacity and consequently enjoy immense prestige throughout the civilized world.Many friends of Religion just can't STAND it.They fear that by responding to the technicalities of Science with talk about revelation they invite unflattering comparisons.

Thus, the friends of Religion conjure nightmarish scenarios in which the Scientist---cool, composed, invincibly sane, basking in an aura of radiant personal genius---addresses an adoring public:"I propound the hard results of the most intellectually exacting discipline, whereas my Religious opponent---observe him closely, if you will:yon incontinent buffoon who stands before you red-faced and sputtering as he savors the rich ignominy of his now-manifest feeble-mindedness---offers nothing more than a call to hysterical acts of credulity.Whom, I ask, do YOU emulate?"

Is it any wonder that the friends of Religion seek to level the playing field by concocting the notion of Creation Science?The strategy is simple enough:trot out a phalanx of apparently respectable scientists to impress upon the lay public not only that the Biblical account of creation has a BASIS IN SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE, but that the scientific foundation for the literal truth of Genesis is EVEN MORE RIGOROUSLY DEVELOPED than the one alleged for the Theory of Evolution.To this end, the purveyors of Creation Science have regaled their public with volumes and volumes of advocacy for the supposed scientific-ness of the creation story in Genesis.The authors of these volumes purport to enjoy the highest standing within the scientific community.Several of them are advertised as having Ph.D.s in demanding subjects (astrophysics, biochemistry, etc.) and as occupying positions at prestigious universities and research institutions.

An opus of Creation Scientist unfolds in three movements.First, the overture:a series of supposed-to-be-awe-inspiring "Isn't-the-Universe-Amazing?"-type rhetorical questions ("Have you ever wondered why nobody has ever determined which would win in a fight-to-the-death between a rhinoceros and a giant squid...or a school of piranhas and a colony of army ants?"), followed by a flourish of very, very general information about astronomy, physics, chemistry, and/or biology.This information, by intention, is sufficiently elementary to be digested easily by readers with no more than an eighth-grade education, but it's also supposed to be just "science-y" enough to create the impression that the author is a scientific expert.Most of the time, this initial information is quite uncontroversial and has no real bearing on the Evolution-vs.-Creation controversy (Footnote:Unaccountably, presentation of the initial science information is often riddled with mistakes---occasionally, with downright blunders).The point of introducing this information should be kept in mind, though:the intent isn't to advance debate but to establish the author's scientific bona fides.

Second movement:what purports to be a scientifically rigorous refutation of evolutionary theory.Early in the discussion it usually emerges that (surprise!) the target of the author's critique is not merely biological evolution a la Darwin but secular science's ENTIRE ACCOUNT of the origin and development of the whole Universe.This involves the author in efforts to discredit the Big Bang hypothesis, astronomers' estimates of the Universe's age, geologists' estimates of the Earth's age, and many other matters of orthodox science.Refutation of Darwin's particular views is offered as a sort of climax to the general broadside against Evolution-in-the large.Typically, the I'm-Going-To-Refute-ALL-of-Secular-Science part of a Creation Science book is JUST technical enough to lose its target audience completely while leaving the impression that the author sure knows what he's talking about.It's usually this section of a Creation Science book that REAL scientists have a field day tearing apart.

Finally, there's the Allegro Con Brio finale:the affirmative case for Genesis' account of creation.This case invariably unfolds as an elaborate theme-and-variation rehash of the Argument From Design, perhaps most famously formulated by the Cambridge scholar William Paley (1743 - 1805) in his NATURAL THEOLOGY, EVIDENCES OF THE EXISTENCE AND ATTRIBUTES OF THE DEITY, COLLECTED FROM THE APPEARANCES OF NATURE (First Edition, 1802; 12th Edition, Lincoln-Rembrandt Publishers, 1986).It's no accident, then, that Creation Science's latest incarnation has been dubbed "Intelligent Design."

The basic strategy (which could aptly be dubbed "Proof By Unanswered Rhetorical Question") was exploited by Erich Von Daniken in "Chariots of the Gods". First, you cite some (presumably surprising) fact.Next, you recount, in singularly unflattering terms, what's supposed to be the received explanation of that fact.You then ask a how-can-this-be-possible?-type question cunningly formulated to invite the tacit reply, "It CAN'T be possible!"You now promptly conclude AGAINST the received explanation and, finally, segue to your FAVORED explanation exactly as if it's OBVIOUSLY the ONLY rational alternative.Thus:"The Great Pyramid is an architectural marvel.It's supposed to have been built six thousand years ago by ignorant Egyptians using only slave labor.But how could puny, know-nothing terrestrials possibly have erected such an artifice employing only primitive Bronze Age technology?'They couldn't!'Well, if they COULDN'T, then they DIDN'T!But if TERRESTRIALS didn't build the Great Pyramid, then that leaves only ONE alternative (drum roll, please):EXTRA-terrestrials did it!Q. E. D."

Intelligent Design works in precisely the same way:"Wow!The Universe sure is a complicated place!A lot of really stupid scientists say it came about exclusively by random events and blind natural processes.But how could 'blind', random processes possibly result in anything so complex and sophisticated as, say, the human eye?['They couldn't!' screams a tiny voice from the gallery.]Well, if they COULDN'T, then they DIDN'T.But if blind Nature didn't produce the Universe, then, obviously, it required an INTELLIGENT DESIGNER!Q.E.D."See how easy it is?

The initial cite-surprising-facts stage of the Design Argument affords Creation Scientists additional opportunities to sound like real experts.Ideally, each cited fact will be so mind-numbingly complicated that readers can't help being skeptical about the received explanation offered by secular science.This, of course, sets up the all-important, putatively unanswerable "how-could...?" question and thus facilitates the very uncomplicated but crucial inferences that follow.

Time to face the music.The literature of Creation Science is an exercise in preaching to the choir:only people already predisposed to believe the Genesis account of creation are impressed by it.Sorry, but the alleged specialist in astrophysics who endorses the Genesis account of creation at the expense of Evolutionary Theory is no more a respectable scientist than a pineapple is a blue whale.The books written by these "experts" just plain stink.Virtually every page betrays its author's scientific incompetence.

Incidentally, anybody who's interested in getting a fix on what GENUINE scientific debate about evolution looks like may consult Kevin Padian, "The False Issues of Bird Origins:an Historical Perspective", in NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE ORIGIN AND EARLY EVOLUTION OF BIRDS, Jacques Gautier and Lawrence F. Gall, Editors (New Haven, Connecticut:Peabody Museum of Nature History, Yale University, December, 2001), pp. 485 - 499.And for those who'd like to see what a truly balanced, unbiased PHILOSOPHICAL discussion of Creationism looks like, consult David Sedley, CREATIONISM AND ITS CRITICS IN ANTIQUITY (The University of California Press, 2007). ... Read more

Product Description
Studies man in view of what he may become. Describes how a man must work simultaneously on his knowledge and his being to find inner unity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

The best of P.D Ouspensky
The book itself arrived in pristine condition.
This is an introduction to the "Fourth Way"

The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
This book changed my life. If you understand the condition of human life, you never want to be where you are now. Just get one and read it!!

excellent book
This book is an excellent summery of the teachings of "The Fourth Way". I would recommend it highly for anyone interested in starting "the work". It is very readable, unlike some translations of Gurdjieff's books and appeals to the serious student who is more inclined to understand with the intellectual center as opposed to emotional center.

Best Introduction to the Fourth Way
The "Fourth Way" is a term given by Gurdjieff for a special spiritual path to practiced in the world, in ordinary human society, which is not one of the three traditional ways of the fakir (yogi), monk (bhakti), or philosopher (jnana yoga), which roughly correspond to physical, emotional, and mental paths.According to these teachings, the Fourth Way is a path of energy and consciousness where a person can generate an evolutionary energy called "Do 48" through a meditation practice called "self remembering" more deliberately, rapidly, and efficiently than the other paths, which have to work harder to produce a small amount of this energy in a more indirect way.This book is based on a series of introductory lectures that Ouspensky gave in London and in other places.These lectures inspired many people in London to form a group there, many of them part of the "intelligensia" of the area, including Orage, Maurice Nicole, Kenneth Walker, and others.Many of the ideas of the Fourth Way did influence the formation of many branches of western psychology and even brain research.Gurdjieff taught, for instance, that humans were "three brained beings" and this idea became the basis of the research into the R-complex (reptilian brain), Limbic system (mammalian emotional brain), and cortex (intellectual human brain) of Restak and Macclain.Gurdjieff also made other scientific assertions that were later verified by western science.The Fourth Way is a variation of Sufi teaching that was related to the Sarmoun community.In Gurdjieff's own writings, he mentions several of his teachers.The books by Ouspensky, IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS and THE FOURTH WAY are a good systematic presentation of the teachings Gurdjieff left behind.Ouspenky had a very good memory and the accounts in the book IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS do give a flavor of how Gurdjieff taught.However, both IN SEARCH and THE FOURTH WAY are very thick books with highly condensed material which presents a fairly complete system of spiritual growth.The only essential part of the work that seems lacking in these books is the sacred dances that Gurdjieff felt were needed to create the functional fusion of the inner centers which was necessary for a more permanent state of awakened consciousness.These dances are rarely detailed in books, because this medium had not been felt adequate to properly teach them.Only in the last ten years or so have videos of those dances come out which give a feeling for this part of the Gurdjieff work.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MAN'S POSSIBLE EVOLUTION by Ouspensky is a brilliant condensation and introduction to the core ideas of the Fourth Way and presented in such a manner that I feel a person could verify the validity of most these ideas in their own immediate experience.It is a less intimidating way of entering into the whole system of Fourth Way teachings and one that does not lose sight of the practical day to day part of how we can grow into objective consciousness.

I suspect that some negative reviews of the books by Ouspensky and even Gurdjieff come from a dogmatic cult flavor behind many of the groups who practice the system.Some of the groups that me and some of my friends have encountered, indeed, do not seem healthy or balanced.One person I met worked with a teacher who did eventually commit suicide.I think part of this has to do with the writings of Ouspensky having a pessimistic flavor, teaching that man cannot 'do', and making the effort awaken feel so difficult that it is easy to get discouraged.Maurice Nicole, a student of both Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, does not have this pessimistic flavor and even held a vision that all humans might fully awaken, while Ouspensky felt only a few could "escape" mechanical human life.Gurdjieff was more optimistic as well, and mentions a blueprint for healing this world in his writings called BEELEZEBUB'S TALES where a Saint develops an initiation system that spreads across the planet until thwarted by another being.Although it seems to be talking about a past saint, Gurdjieff did confide to John Bennett that he was really talking about a possible future and that the opposition was more of a warning about what could go wrong.

While I would caution anyone about joining a Fourth Way group and would recommend that they steer clear of any group that has an authoritarian dogmatic flavor (whether Fourth Way or not), I feel the ideas of the Fourth Way are valuable and I feel worth practicing for a length of time to see what happens.THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MAN'S POSSIBLE EVOLUTON is a good place to start, to see if one has an affinity to the ideas.I had a time with this work and found the insights and growth I gained through work with this system very valuable.My preference, though, is to work with Buddhist teachings and Buddhist meditation practice.I feel the Buddhist inquiry into the illusory sense of self is a valuable remedy to "crystallizing a false sense of self" that the Fourth Way has a danger of creating as well as the Mahayana emphasis on compassion being an antidote to the danger of the work becoming overly intellectual.

Very well laid out introduction to the 4'th Way
This is a great little book that offers a surprising amount of insight into the spiriual path. The book is written before Ouspensky published his book In Search of the Miraculous, which goes into much more detail, but this book has so many little gems that it is worth every penny spent. To me Ouspensky is more accessible than reading Gurdjieff directly and gives a very good overview of the 4'th way teaching. ... Read more

Product Description

The completely revised Human Evolution Coloring Book

• Provides an authoritative, scientific background for understanding the origins of humanity
• Includes new discoveries and information essential for students of anthropology, primatology, paleontology, comparative anatomy, and genetics
• Brings together evidence from living primates, fossils, and molecular studies
• Explains the latest dating methods, including radioactive, paleomagnetic, and molecular clocks
• Surveys the world of living primates, their ecology, locomotion, diet, behavior, and life histories
• Clarifies the anatomical and behavioral similarities and differences between ourselves and our closest living relatives, the chimpanzee and the gorilla
• Resolves some long-standing mysteries about our relationship to the extinct Neanderthals

Customer Reviews (10)

Evolution Coloring Book
Good book for teaching evolution. Begins with Darwins voyage and continues through embryonic development including comparisons.
I recommend it highly so give it 5 stars if you wish.
I'll use this book throughout my teaching career.

Good
It's great for introductory study of human evolution as well as evolutionary biology in general.

I've had worse textbooks
I liked this idea of this textbook a lot. It seemed like a unique and inspiring way to go over a subject that is not very interesting to me at all. Plus, I'm not very artistic so it was nice to be able to color and not have to draw, as in most science classes. My professor is one of the contributing authors, so she was very familiar with the text, but often supplements it with other articles, pages from another text, or hand-outs. This book is a bit older, so a few things have changed, and many ideas have been fleshed out further. The coloring, which I thought would be fun, has become more cumbersome than anything else. It takes almost an hour or more to color the "plates" neatly and completely. That took pretty much all the fun out of it.

Still, I have had worse text books, and if nothing else, I'll remember this one for being unique and attempting to be fun.

Good study guide
Like most of the Science coloring books this is a great supplement to a full text and course. The material is presented in nice bite size pieces and it does cover a wide range of topics. Some people do not like the subject of the book, but that is immaterial if someone is taking a physical anthropolgy course. If you need to study, buy the book.

The Human Evolution Coloring Book
This book took a little bit longer than the other ones that i ordered, but it still got here within the time that was stated. I am happy with the books condition, Thank you! ... Read more

Product Description
"Where this book is exceptional is that the reader will not just learn how LTE works but why it works."
—Adrian Scrase, ETSI Vice-President, International Partnership Projects

LTE - The UMTS Long Term Evolution: From Theory to Practice provides the reader with a comprehensive system-level understanding of LTE, built on explanations of the theories which underlie it. The book is the product of a collaborative effort of key experts representing a wide range of companies actively participating in the development of LTE, as well as academia. This gives the book a broad, balanced and reliable perspective on this important technology. Lucid yet thorough, the book devotes particular effort to explaining the theoretical concepts in an accessible way, while retaining scientific rigour. It highlights practical implications and draws comparisons with the well-known WCDMA/HSPA standards. The authors not only pay special attention to the physical layer, giving insight into the fundamental concepts of OFDMA, SC-FDMA and MIMO, but also cover the higher protocol layers and system architecture to enable the reader to gain an overall understanding of the system.

Key Features:

• Draws on the breadth of experience of a wide range of key experts from both industry and academia, giving the book a balanced and broad perspective on LTE
• Provides a detailed description and analysis of the complete LTE system, especially the ground-breaking new physical layer
• Offers a solid treatment of the underlying advances in fundamental communications and information theory on which LTE is based
• Addresses practical issues and implementation challenges related to the deployment of LTE as a cellular system
• Includes an accompanying website containing a complete list of acronyms related to LTE, with a brief description of each (http://www.wiley.com/go/sesia_theumts)

This book is an invaluable reference for all research and development engineers involved in LTE implementation, as well as graduate and PhD students in wireless communications. Network operators, service providers and R&D managers will also find this book insightful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

LTE, The UMTS Long Term Evolution: From Theory to Practice
This is a comprehensive book that covers all essential issues of LTE that are necessary in order to master this fascinating field. Key technologies are presented such as OFDM/OFDMA, SC-FDMA, Radio resource management, MIMO, ......The structure of the book is coherent in the sequence as well as the type of topics it covers: in part 1, the book covers LTE network architecture and protocols for both the control plane aswell as the user plan; Part II, III cover the physical layer aspects of the Uplink and the down link in details; part IV talks about the practical deployment aspects. I strongly recommend the book for graduate students and for professionals who are working in this field. The book is an excellent reference to have at your desk for LTE standards and related issues.

review
I bought this book together with other books on the main topic. In my opinion the unique characteristic of this book is the level of detail.For example, the chapter about channel estimation in LTE is the most complete I have found up to now, and it saved me quite a lot of work in digging into the 3GPP documents. Another special characteristic is the way the editors/authors managed to put together theory and applications. An example is the chapter about Multiple Antenna Techniques, written together by experts coming from the Academia and the standardization world. Here, the fundamentals are firstly described for the single-user and multi-user case. Then, building on that theoretical background, the multiple antenna schemes used in LTE are described. So, the reader can understand the reason for the choices taken in the standard bodies. I really suggest this book for anyone wishing to understand LTE beyond an introductory level.

Comprehensive and unique
As a newcomer to standardisation work, this book has proven invaluable and my only regret is that it wasn't available when I first started work on LTE about a year ago. The book has saved me hours of tedious scouring of standards text. In this respect it is valuable both for people who are in telcos management and need an overview of LTE, as well as standards engineers who are well acquainted with the topic as it will prepare them for a more in-depth look into LTE.

Some highlights include:
1. A great introductory overview of the evolution to 4G, impartial and technically sound.
2. An in-depth analysis of the physical layer of LTE. The details include state-of-the-art simulation results and highlight the technical achievements that make the promised transfer rates and quality of service possible. The results are preceded by background theory. I found the parts on OFDM and MIMO as key enablers particularly succinct and useful. Some abstract terms, such as the notion of control channels and antenna ports, are explained in a lucid and easy-to-follow way, showing you not just what LTE mandates, but also why it is designed the way it is and what the engineering drivers behind it are.
3. An overview of higher layers, more than enough to understand how the layered paradigm is implemented in LTE.
4. The consistency of the book throughout. In my opinion you rarely see books with so many contributing authors that flow as well as this one does. Clearly, a lot of effort went into maintaining a unified style and approach, and it was well worth it.

The editors-authors are active contributors to 3GPP standardisation, and so are most of the contributing authors (with some input from academia), representing many different companies. The book therefore has a unique quality of being impartial while coming straight from the source. While only a couple of pages long, the final chapter examines the future evolution of LTE: LTE-Advanced. Thoroughly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Evolution has been dogma for so long, now many people consider it a foregone conclusion that life arose by random processes.Evolution: The Grand Experiment takes the unusual step of bringing together scientists on both sides of this cultural divide to present their findings.The reader is allowed to make up his or her mind as to which view is supported by the evidence.Intended for a general audience, the book is comprehensive, easy to read, and the conclusions are startling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Digging Deeper into Darwin and Evolution
Fact or Fiction ~ Truth or Myth.It's not always easy to determine what is truth, what is partial truth, and what is flat out wrong.Sadly, when lies and theories are spoken of often enough, people start to believe they are true - even after they have been proven wrong.This is exactly what has taken place with the theory of evolution.

In Evolution: The Grand Experiment, Dr. Werner takes readers through a step-by-step analysis of Darwin's theories.Through careful analysis, readers will see how many of the theories upon which Darwin based is writings/theories have been proven false by science over the years.Yet, many of these false theories are still quoted by those who believe in evolution today.While top scientists may no longer believe in certain aspects of Darwin's theories, these theories are still be quoted in textbooks today even though they are false.

When the book arrived, I started looking over the various, full-color, beautiful illustrations throughout the high-quality, heavy-weight glossy pages of the book.I only was able to read a chapter or two prior to Munchkin claiming the book as her own.While meant to be a textbook, Munchkin chose to read it as a regular book.She was fascinated by everything within the pages of the book.Every now and then, she would come running to tell D and I what she was learning about in her reading.

If you want to use this in a classroom (homeschool) setting, you can purchase the Evolution: The Grand Experiment Teacher's Manual, the Evolution: The Grand Experiment Presentation Cd, and the Evolution: The Grand Experiment Episode 1 to supplement the Evolution: The Grand Design text.Whether you decide to use this as a textbook in the classroom or just read it, you will come away with a better understanding of Darwin and his theory of evolution.Through a careful analysis of the theories, you will see the inaccuracies of evolution being revealed through science.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Master Books/New Leaf Publishing to help facilitate the writing of this review. All opinions are my own.

There is a difference between truth, and the whole truth
This book is uses science to tell one version of the story of evolution.But, it by no means gives current and accurate information that provides the entire story.In fact there are hundreds of "transitional fossils," of all kinds.(including early forms of bats)Science it not always right, nor does it always get it right.That is why, like this series says, it is constantly tested and refined.Transitional fossils are hard to find, and surely more will be found in the coming years.But, using something like a bat or whales or seals or sea lions, where it states hundreds of fossils have been found, but no transitional fossils is a little silly.I mean, hundreds?Really?There are hundreds of bats, whales, sea lions, etc. within a 5 mile radius around my house.I would think that finding such a small amount of fossils would be rather a conformation that there is a lot more that we don't know about this subject.If you really want to be informed about the subject of evolution, you are going to need to look a lot further than this book.If you don't actually want to know the whole truth, and just want to sate your questions with pseudo-science, well then this is the book for you!PS- It also didn't manage to mention explanation for all of these fossils that it doesn't dispute in the absence of evolution.

A failed experiment in thinking
Feathered dinosaurs are theoretical transitional forms required by the evolutionismworldview, which holds that birds have evolved from reptiles in the distant past. Throughout the years, there have been many excavations that claim to have discovered dinosaurswith feathers. While there is no evidence rejecting the idea that there could have been feathered dinosaurs, there is also no evidence proving, without doubt, that there were. There is evidence that in at least some cases these so-called feathered dinosaurs are really misidentified birds. Also, most of these fossils are from China, of which they are known to have a fake fossil industry. This places a question mark on all such finds. While some evolutionists believe that dinosaurs are ancestors to our modern day birds, there is no evidence to prove it, but all the evidence against it.

What this book fails to mention (importantly too) is that the known fossils presenting a transitional stage of a scale to a feather are ZERO!

Carl Werner's Book is an Outstanding Survey of the Flaws of Evolutionary Theory!
As promised, this book is presented in an easy-to-read format aimed at the general public. My kids loved the beautiful full color photographs of fossils and animals, abundant throughout. I loved the way it makes its points effectively in both words and pictures. The visually-engaging charts and diagrams are exactly the sort I like to use in my presentations ¨C the kind that get the point across with simplicity and clarity. His book is a Godsend for visual learners.


Evolution examines the most familiar arguments for evolution and the origin of life with plenty of Aha! Moments throughout. After noting how scientific experimentation proved the theories of acquired characteristics [eg. Lamarckism; and shame on you, ¡­] and spontaneous generation [though the altter only after some 2100 years of acceptance], Werner explores the limits of adaptation, natural selection and the modern evolutionary theory of chance beneficial mutations.


Some of my favorite moments from the book:

¡öHe contrasts the comprehensiveness of the fossil record with the staggering dearth of candidates for the innumerable array of transitional forms required of evolutionary theory.
¡öHe reminds us that homology [similarities] is trumpeted as evidence for shared ancestry ¨C except when they don¡¯t think so at all! Evolution gives several striking examples of the duplicity of the ¡°homology equals common ancestry ¨C no wait! It¡¯s convergent evolution¡± tactic used by evolutionists. One particularly amusing illustration shows a pouched [marsupial] mole, a placental mole and a humpbacked whale with a reminder that evolutionists, despite the old homology equals common ancestry argument, actually believe that the placental mole and whale are more closely related than the two look-alike moles!
¡öA whole page of trilobite fossils. Sigh. [Yes, I'm a paleogeek. Sue me.]
This book also gives special attention to whale evolution and dino-bird evolution [with a nice survey of Chinese ¡°feathered¡± dinosaur finds], which are promoted these days in textbooks, museums and by the likes of National Geographic in a trumpeting fashion reminiscent of how they used to laud the horse series. Well, until baraminologists took the wind out of their sails by positing that all members of the horse series [no matter how many toes] were members of the same created kind, with the exception of Eohippus. Critiques of both the whale and dino-bird arguments are comprehensive and well-presented.


The information in Evolution: the Grand Experiment is well documented and presented in a readily understandable and engaging manner. This is the type of book you don¡¯t mind pouring over again and again. Honestly, the book is worth is for the trove of fossil photographs alone. [Anybody who knows me knows how I love trilobites, dinosaurs and pterosaurs.]


Though my young children enjoyed looking over the pictures [and they asked a lot of questions!], I think this book would be most appropriate for the middle school to high school student. It¡¯s versatile enough that it can be used to teach general concepts at a younger grade level and used in later grades to go deeper. I would also recommend it to anyone who simply wants a general [but comprehensive] overview of the issues and problems surrounding evolution and the origin of life.


The only thing I would change is the chapter order. The last few chapters [on fossils of flowering plants and the origin of life, respectively] just seem like they should go somewhere else. I dunno. It just seems out-of-order. I¡¯d recommend the origin of life chapters be placed between the chapter on spontaneous generation and acquired characteristics and that the flowering plant fossil chapter be placed in the midst of the chapters that explored the comprehensiveness of the fossil record.


Nevertheless, I am absolutely stoked about Evolution: the Grand Experiment and I can¡¯t wait to check out the next book in the series. I might even check out the DVD series they designed to supplement this book.


You can find out more about the book and follow a link to purchase it at [...]


-Rev Tony Breeden, [...]
From the Bookwyrm¡¯s Lair[...]

Snake Oil
This book comes with a deliberately misleading title, worthy of the finest purveyors of snake oil. It is very hard to believe that the title has been chosen in good faith, if you'll pardon the pun!

It has no place in scientific discussion, still less so in evolutionary biology. It is pseudo-scientific gobbledygook attempting to build a case for a dogma driven, literalistic interpretation of a creation myth.

If that's what you're after, then you can save yourself some money and go for the original upon which this is based, being the Book of Genesis. Unlike this book, you probably already have a copy or can obtain one for free.

If you have a short attention span, you can stick to chapters 1 and 2, the creation myth itself, and perhaps chapters 6 through 9, being the story of Noah's flood. Of course you will have to ignore vast amounts of scientific endeavour, as well as perform numerous logical somersaults. If you already have a creationist bias, like the author, this should not be a problem.

If on the other hand, you are genuinely interested in the subject this book purports to discuss I suggest you read a book by someone who IS an expert on evolution.

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

... Read more

Product Description
It's time for the way we think about our families, our schools, and our lives to evolve.This passionate and provocative critique of the way we raise our children and undermine our society's future delineates the ways in which we thart our creative progess, and reveals a new landscape of possibilities for the next step in human evolution.

Customer Reviews (14)

Understanding ourselves and our world
Based on this work and others of Joseph Chilton Pearce, I believe Pearce is the top interdisciplinary authority on human development on the planet.

The breathtaking panorama of perspectives of our human nature provides important insights on the many challenges faced by us as individuals and by civilization as a whole.Pearce provides important insights on the breakdown in human development and can lead us toward the development of ungently needed solutions.

Evolution's End, along with all of Pearce's books, is a must-read for those who want to understand.

Charles O. Bubar
President
The International Institute for Educational Excellence

interesting theories
Very interesting topics, but i feel all research in general is just theory. Unless someone has the deep pockets to prove these theories,it remains just that. Common sense will tell you that some of these opinions that the author suggests do make alot of sense and, yes some do seem far fetched. Yet do these theories make him any less credible? I don't believe so. If the book peaked your interest and got you thinking, then the author succeeded in his works.

A little hard to read, but packed with good information
You'll need two brains and a dictionary to get through the first section of this book, where Mr Pearce speaks about 3 brain levels, how they work, and what its all about.The language can get difficult and the concepts complex.

The second section is bang on.It goes into detail on how a child learns, how it grows, what stimulates the baby.He also speaks about how children are damaged by modern day childbirthing procedures.I was immpressed with what he had to say.And found it meshed nicely with what I know of Early Childhood.I will be reading up more on this subject.

Besides the obtuse language, the only other down side to this book, were the authors claims for telepathy, mind bending etc.I didn't buy it, and was forced to skip those chapters.If you steer clear of the telepathy babble, I would recommend this book.

Munawar

Touches on some interesting topics but goes too far
This book talks about the how the spirit of a child is damaged by the society we've created, both intellectually and physiologically. Unfortunately its takes on too much and ends up seeming like psuedoscience. But there are some very good points being made. It's well worth contemplating.

Take the idea of how hormones in our food affect children. We are led to believe that children reaching puberty when they have barely put down their stuffed toys is due to good nutrition and not hormones in our food! There was a study done of precocious infant sexual development (extremely enlarged genitalia on babies) in Puerto Rico decades ago. It linked the problem to hormones in Chicken. The reason there is so little interest in identifying and solving this problem here (and not even calling it a problem) is not because it doesn't exist but rather because there is no money to be made in proving it ( a very expensive and time consuming procedure). Yes, the victims could sue if they could prove links to cancer or early developmental issues...but the researcher willing to take on the food industry would not be able to pay their bills. And it is easy for the food industry to pay for studies suited to their needs and spoon feed them to the press. This stops the questioning before it starts.

Read this book with a skeptics mind realizing that though you may find some of his ideas far-fetched, there are some valuable truths here...truths you need to know if you have children.

Babbling in the shadows
Joseph Pearce "lectures worldwide on human intelligence, creativity, and learning."If you don't believe it, just read the inside cover for this personal promo.These lectures, though, are probably not discussions of RNA, DNA, proteins and memory, random or leapfrog evolution or any of a number of worthy topics.

No, Mr. Pearce stays on the high ground and delivers such claptrap as "So the supra-implicated is all-power conceivable, the implicate is all-power manifesting, and the explicate is the contracted end-result so manifested." ("Mind and Matter")I, for one, do not have the slightest idea what he is talking about except that it sounds like mumbo-jumbo about physical vs mental vs conceptual, blah blah blah.

More hocus pocus on such subjects as sight, sound, day care,the hazards of television, raising kids for the future, learning, school, world peace. He manages to state a few good points between all the squawking- some children are not educable and this should be recognized, children should be raised by parents in their home, and we have the potential to affect evolution today through artificial means.But then we hear again about how we use only a small portion of our brain (absurd - we use it all only at different times).A discussion of the Bhagavad Gita about human potential and belonging brings these dreary essays to an appropriate ending.Awful as it sounds! ... Read more

Product Description
Moral thinking pervades our practical lives, but where did this way of thinking come from, and what purpose does it serve? Is it to be explained by environmental pressures on our ancestors a million years ago, or is it a cultural invention of more recent origin? In The Evolution of Morality, Richard Joyce takes up these controversial questions, finding that the evidence supports an innate basis to human morality. As a moral philosopher, Joyce is interested in whether any implications follow from this hypothesis. Might the fact that the human brain has been biologically prepared by natural selection to engage in moral judgment serve in some sense to vindicate this way of thinking—staving off the threat of moral skepticism, or even undergirding some version of moral realism? Or if morality has an adaptive explanation in genetic terms—if it is, as Joyce writes, "just something that helped our ancestors make more babies"—might such an explanation actually undermine morality's central role in our lives? He carefully examines both the evolutionary "vindication of morality" and the evolutionary "debunking of morality," considering the skeptical view more seriously than have others who have treated the subject.

Interdisciplinary and combining the latest results from the empirical sciences with philosophical discussion, The Evolution of Morality is one of the few books in this area written from the perspective of moral philosophy. Concise and without technical jargon, the arguments are rigorous but accessible to readers from different academic backgrounds. Joyce discusses complex issues in plain language while advocating subtle and sometimes radical views. The Evolution of Morality lays the philosophical foundations for further research into the biological understanding of human morality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Thought-provoking, but mostly wrong
In this book, Joyce sets out on an extremely ambitious mission: To show that morality as we know it is worthless because it is only a side-effect of our evolutionary history.

He clearly knows his facts about evolution, and the book is an engaging and thought-provoking read; but the overall argument rests upon an extremely silly premise, namely: "If we do X because we evolved to do X, then we must be wrong in doing X." By the same reasoning, not only morality, but sex, science, and even basic cognitive processes like vision and logic must be false.

Yes, we evolved to be moral---this is because morality is in fact a true reflection of the state of the universe, and our evolution adapted us to that fact.

Excellent presentation of a very important case
This book puts forth an argument that I think will have to be dealt with for a long time to come.It essentially takes what we know about Natural Selection and asks what this tells us about the reliability of our moral beliefs.The answer is not very flattering for our moral beliefs.

Yes more work will need to be done in this area.The author does not claim to close the case but is more of the inclination that he is opening the case.So the book is not exhaustive of every possible approach one might take when dealing with this issue.However, when Joyce does go down a line of thought, he does so with clarity.Chapter 5 dealing with those who think evolution actually vindicates our moral beliefs is, alone, worth the price of the book.The author makes short work of sorting out the ambiguities that cloud the thinking here.In doing this, he not only points out the critical flaws in much of what has been previously written on this topic, but he informs the reader how to spot many of the ambiguities that repeatedly come up in this discourse.

Doing to others
"Morality", that sense of doing good, or at least avoiding harm, to others is one of humanity's treasured phrases.It is one of the characteristics that supposedly sets us apart from the other animals.We use the values imparted to it in judging others, as we are judged in turn.However, it remains an enigmatic term, carrying a host of definitions.And that's not counting the exceptions.Richard Joyce, for all his assertive title, isn't claiming to have the final word on morality.Instead, he's launching a project with areas of study that should be investigated further.Only one thing he insists on - as a product of evolution by natural selection, human beings will find the origins of that valued concept in our biological heritage.

Joyce's treatise is tightly organised.Given he addresses this complex idea in just over two hundred pages, discipline with words is a must.There are but six chapters in which to deal with questions plaguing our species since at least the invention of writing.In that short stack, he ties anthropology, sociology, evolutionary psychology and other fields together in a very neat package.Even such a short presentation doesn't force him to be terse.The material is clearly presented and sprinklings of wit keep it from bogging the reader down.However, the proposals are carefully, if succinctly, offered and the reader's attention must not flag.

Since "morality" hinges on the interactions between humans [other animals, whatever their behaviour traits, are deemed "amoral"] the key in Joyce's analysis is "reciprocity".Reciprocity hinges on a host of factors, from the genetic proximity of relatives to what kind of reputationone has - even across a large group.Game theory has been employed to demonstrate the variations reciprocity can achieve and the lengths to which it might go.The other aspect of interaction is language.For Joyce, setting moral standards and assessing behaviour against these can only be effective when the norms are understood.It's not possible to derive moral values from actions alone.

The expression of moral statements and the expectation that these will be respected is a significant aspect of maintaining human communities.The exchange of views within a group and the acceptance of certain behaviour patterns strengthens the identity of the community.As values were tested, individuals could discern who among the group could be trusted, particularly in times of difficulties.Those accepting the norms are more likely to gain status and, hence, reproductive success.These conditions lead to reinforcement of the values under consideration, making a moral sense an innate human characteristic.Not only is the application of moral values universal, but these values are projected beyond the small group to more extended communities with seamless ease.Joyce makes no attempt to define when, or even where, this process began.It was sufficiently distant in time to have made a sense of moral values part of the baggage our species carried out of Africa.

Having concluded that there's sufficient evidence to warrant declaring the morality is a evolved trait, Joyce asks "So what?" in a "philosophical tone of voice".This "tone" is applied to a number of philosophers who have addressed the issue of morality as a result of evolutionary development.He examines "The Naturalistic Fallacy" that has been attributed to George Moore early in the 20th Century.The claim imputed to Moore, that "ought" cannot be derived from "is", is misdirected, says Joyce.Several scholars, such as Robert Richards, William Casebeer and Daniel Dennett are reviewed on this and other issues - what, for example, is "virtue" and does it determine what is "ethical"?From this, Joyce moves to a discussion of which moral standards we should value.He is careful to caution readers not to feel they should derive specific moral beliefs from evolution.There's a massive leap from evolution giving us a moral sense to which elements we choose to apply it to.The capacity for moral judgement doesn't provide a prescription for specific behaviours.

Although Joyce is hardly the first philosopher to consider our evolutionary roots for ethics and morality, the succinct approach and clear writing make this an excellent starting point for someone new to the concept.Avoiding arcane propositions and pedantic language, the author provides a clear pointer for future study.No reader should feel intimidated by the prospect of taking up this book.We need more such work and workers dealing with defining what makes a human being.[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Moral Skepticism Defended
Moral philosophers tend to take the content of morality as given, perhaps by intuition or our cultural heritage, and attempt to derive moral truth from a sparse set of assumptions, such a utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill), virtue theory (Aristotle), or synthetic a priori deontological notions (Kant). Other philosophers attempt to derive valid moral rules themselves on the basis of a neo-Platonic foray into the juggling of abstract universals (Rawls, Nozick, Singer, Dworkin). Perhaps I betray my position as a behavioral scientist by believing that morals are things that people have, like noses and tendencies to procrastinate, and should be studied scientifically rather than philosophically. Happily, I am not alone, however, as Richard Joyce takes the same position in his book, The Evolution of Morality.

Joyce recites the extensive body of evidence showing that there is a universal human morality observed in virtually all societies ever studied, including the thousand or so primitive hunter-gather societies that exist in the contemporary world. Of course, there are also strong contrasts in some moral principles across societies, but these tend to be confined to a few delicate areas, including gender relations and political philosophy, and they can doubtless be explained by level of economic development and political integration. But, if this is the case, it is unlikely that "ethical theory" can stand as a bastion of philosophizing. Rather, ethical theory is the study of the structure and evolution of human morality. This is the "moral skepticism" that Joyce embraces, and it is well taken.

The problem with traditional moral philosophy is that it has not recognized that morality is an evolved trait of our species, and had we evolved differently, we would have radically different morality. Therefore, morality cannot be derived from abstract, ahistorical axioms that would hold for any intelligent, social creature. Darwin understood this clearly when he wrote that if we had evolved from bee-like ancestors (quote in Joyce, p. 229), "unmarried females would, like the worker-bees, think it a sacred duty to kill their brothers, and mothers would strive to kill their fertile daughters." Similarly, political philosophy would be much different in a race of intelligent termites, or even of chimpanzees, than of humans.

It is safe to say humans are the only species with a moral sense, although we have bred our domestic pets to appear to conform to our morality. Why has this occurred? Joyce suggests that in a complex society with many subtle norms of behavior and multi-dimensional relations among individuals, a moral sense is individually fitness-enhancing. The amoral sociopath, who behaves morally only when this suits his purpose, should in theory do better than the moral person, who is willing to sacrifice personally in order to uphold moral rules. But, humans tend to be "present-oriented", overvaluing immediate pleasures and undervaluing long-term gains. A moral sense helps us be reasonable prosocial and prudential concerning our long-term interests, because it substitutes present pleasures and pains for future ones. For instance, I brush my teeth, and am courteous to my boss, because I would feel bad if I did otherwise, not because I am reckoning some trade-off between present and future well-being. As Hamlet says, "Conscience doth make cowards of us all," except the coward, who obeys societies rules, lives to have more offspring, while the hero is remembered only in books.
... Read more

Product Description
We've all heard of people who experience a seemingly miraculous recovery from illness--but can the same thing happen for our whole world? According to pioneering biologist Bruce H. Lipton, it's not only possible, but it is already happening. On Spontaneous Evolution, this world-renowned expert in the emerging science of epigenetics reveals how our changing understanding of biology will help us navigate this turbulent period in our planet's history, and how each of us can participate in this global shift. In collaboration with political scientist Steve Bhaerman, Dr. Lipton invites listeners to explore: * Toppling the "unquestionable" pillars of biology: a startling re-examination of random evolution, survival of the fittest, the role of DNA, and the relationship betweenmind and matter * How our beliefs about nature and human nature shape our politics, culture, and individual lives * A prescription for change: how each of us can becomeactive members of the "immune system" of the planet. The experts agree: humankind is at a crossroads. What is the key to healing our planet? As Dr. Lipton and Steve Bhaerman explain, by changing the old beliefs that got us where we are today, we can trigger the spontaneous evolution of our species that will usher in a brighter future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Ensightful
These CDs are the most intriging I've heard - with the exception of his Wisdom of Your Cells.One must finish this collection with the idea that we are all united and control our own destiny.

Great
Thank you for this book. I got it in the promised condition and promised time.

Stay With It Until the End!
This is an excellent audio book, and the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that many of the initial concepts discussed are not that new. Early on, I was starting to wonder if this book would produce any novel, imaginative ideas . . . good for the beginner anyway.But the last part was worth it all. Even though it's good to see many of our cherished, albeit corrupt societal ideals knocked down these days, what do we have to replace them? It can be depressing, to say the least . . .

Lipton and Bhaerman solve that existential problem to some extent.They compare the evolution of cells to the evolution of societies. While some of their logic is a tad inconsistent, there's too much truth here to ignore.They compare this current economic age to a reptilian predatory phase, soon to be superseded by a "mammalian" phase which will be marked by greater caring and sharing -- not because it's the "right" thing to do (which maybe it is), but because it makes common survival sense.Cooperation, not competition, is the hallmark of most natural orders, and humanity is just now learning about it and recovering the experiences of past isolated societies that had already known this. So as the "dinosaurs" of competition and corruption come crashing down around us, as the actual dinosaurs did apparently, there is a new potential order to look forward to -- one of realizing that each societal part has an essential purpose.Without all parts, we are incomplete.There IS no "survival of the fittest" in the long run. Just as a cell has limits on its growth, or its outer membrane will burst, no individual parts/members of a society can continue to grow at the expense of the rest. We already know what cancer cells running amok can do to the physical body . . . is it unreasonable to expect that society operates that much differently?

One more comment:I disagree a little with the first reviewer re. Lipton's speaking style. I've watched him lecture in person for several hours and the large audience was rapt the whole time.His speaking style keeps me alert and interested, despite the small flaws.

The Age of Aquarious!
These guys are great!This should be required reading in every high school or college.The perspective of ourselves as a cell in a bigger picture is right on.We see it looking upward or downward---fractal geometry they call it.I found the reading to be chatty and easy to listen too, it fact I hated to turn the engine off as I'd listened while commuting.

A great and enlightening study.Welcome finally to the awakening of humanity and the beginnings of the new age.

Worth a listen
Bruce Lipton is a brilliant scientist and he presents some very thought provoking ideas that he discussed in Biology of Belief regarding the evolution of the human race into a more holistic, nurturing civilization and the concept of epigenetics. However, be prepared for those ideas and data to be presented in a rambling jumble that often left me in the dark as to what his point was.As well as mispronouncing and tripping over words frequently, he peppers every few sentences with "and the reason this is interesting is because..." and "and the reason this is relevant is because..." and then doesn't always tell us why he thought it was interesting or relevant. Although his style was similar in Biology of Belief, he was much more cogent and to the point in that reading.He does present some very intriguing ideas, however, and this is worth a listen, just be prepared to be patient and forgiving of his clumsy speaking skills. ... Read more

Product Description
Mayr provides as convincing a testament to Darwin's genius as you are likely to find." --New York Times Book Review.

At once a spirited defense of Darwinian explanations of biology and an elegant primer on evolution for the general reader, What Evolution Is poses the questions at the heart of evolutionary theory and considers how our improved understanding of evolution has affected the viewpoints and values of modern man.

Science Masters SeriesAmazon.com Review
Gathering insights from his seven-decade career, the renowned biologist Ernst Mayr argues that evolution is now to be considered not a theory but a fact--and that "there is not a single Why? question in biology that can be answered adequately without a consideration of evolution."

Mayr, emeritus professor of zoology at Harvard University, has long been one of the world's foremost researchers in genetic and evolutionary theory. In this overview of past and current scientific thought, he discusses key concepts and terms, among them the origin of species, the (somewhat metaphorical) "struggle for existence," and agents of micro- and macroevolution. Somewhat against the grain, he argues against reduction and for the study of evolution at the phenotypic, not genetic, level. In his concluding pages, Mayr offers a careful overview of human evolution, adding his view that humankind is indeed unique--though "it has not yet completed the transition from quadrupedal to bipedal life in all of its structures."

Advanced students of the life sciences, as well as readers looking for a survey of current evolutionary theory, will find Mayr's book a useful companion. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (61)

An Explanatory Masterpiece
Ernst Mayr is widely recognized as the biologist most responsible for shaping the modern synthesis of genetics and evolutionary theory. "What Evolution Is" provides an invaluable primer for anyone who is interested in understanding the modern theory of biological evolution.

In the preface, Mayr says he wrote this book for three kinds of readers: those who want to know more about evolution, those who accept evolution, but are not sure whether the Darwinian explanation is the correct one, and those "creationists who want to know more about the current paradigm of evolutionary science, if for no other reason than to be able to better argue against it" (p. xiii).

Throughout the book, the reader is presented with clear descriptions of the basic principles of biological evolution, backed up with a solid collection of facts that should fascinate even the most hardened veteran of the evolution/creation controversy. The writing is clear, elegant, and comprehensive. The book even includes a glossary that defines some of the most commonly used terms relating to evolution!

The best thing I can say about Ernst Mayr's "What Evolution Is" is that it does not waste the reader's time by attempting to provide an exhaustive list of proofs of evolution. That evolution happens is already so well established that such a detailed presentation of the evidence is not necessary. Besides, as Mayr correctly points out, such a list would likely not convince those who do not wish to be persuaded.

A mile wide and an inch deep
I was a little disappointed in this book. Though directed toward the educated layman, Mayr here writes in a manner that only biologists would find easy to understand. At the same time, he covers so much material that many interesting topics only get a page or so of attention. There isn't much detail that a reader capable of getting much from his writing style would not already be familiar with.

There are many problems with this book that a good editor should have brought to Mayr's attention. Mayr often mentions a specific case in passing, saying that X property of evolution is displayed by Y animal, but fails to cite clearly his reasons and source. So what's the point of mentioning the example if it's not explained how it relates to the topic being discussed? Where can I find more information? I found this book frustrating and tedious, and I learned little from it that I didn't already know.

Enjoyable and thought provoking
This book is something I imagine I will have to read again, not because it is poorly written, but because it is so thought provoking and accessible. Having read most of Dawkins works, this book is better. Mayr takes a strong stance against reductionism and the confirmation bias in evolutionary theories. Throughout the book he eloquently explains population and stochasic thinking in evolutionary theory. I plan to go back to some other works(that seemed convincing before) with a new skepticism. Don't skip the appendices. Mayr's wisdom rings through in his assertion that "Sweeping generalizations are rarely correct in evolutionary biology"(Appendix A, pg 271). This book is an excellent overview and window into the way Mayr thinks about Evolution.

I did have one criticism and it was the response he gave to the question Why is Evolution unpredictable? His answer was changes in environment are unpredictable, and also that a way a population may respond is also unpredictable, but then he says "Nevertheless, a knowledge of the potential of genotype and of the nature of constraints permits in most cases a reasonably accurate prediction"(appendix b). This seems in contrast to the earlier quote. Having recently read Nassim Taleb's "The Black Swan", I am uncertain if our predictions about about the future will in anyway be accurate. Still, this criticism aside, this is a great book.

A Good Detailed Text, but Not For The Layman
This book is a high level discussion of the process of evolution.It is written almost as a point/counter-point debate of the different theories of evolution (and there have been many) which have developed since Darwin's "Origin Of Species".

Even though I have read several other books on evolution prior to this one, the text seems to be aimed at a higher level reader than someone who is curious about evolution.This would be a good text to go to once you have the basic knowledge gained elsewhere under your belt.

Despite the above, I find this to be a good book since it does detail all of the theories that have emerged and is able to compare them and contradict ones that have not stood up to testing or the evidence revealed since their original proposing.

If you are a student of evolution and/or life sciences, I would recommend this book be on your bookshelf as it is on mine.If you are just starting out, trying some more introductory texts before trying this one.

Want to learn about evolution, but don't know where to start?
Ernst Mayr was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about biology.And what he noticed was that there had existed no single detailed and comprehensive publication that he or others could point to when asked by a layperson, "What is Evolution?"

This book is it.Mayr did an exception job at condensing the knowledge of roughly every subdiscipline of biology regarding evolution into one text.I would argue that it's relatively easy for a layperson to understand, but read slowly to let it sink in.(Stephen Jay Gould took 1400+ pages to describe evolution in "Structure of Evolutionary Theory," while Mayr only takes 336 pages, making this book far more concise) ... Read more

Product Description
Evolution of the Earth reveals the logical framework of geology, shows relations of the science to the totality of human knowledge, and gives some idea of what it is to be a participant in the discipline. In keeping with the preference for a "How do we know?" rather than "What do we know?" approach, the authors stress what assumptions are made by earth historians, what kinds of evidence (and tools for gathering that evidence), and what processes of reasoning and limitations of hypotheses are involved in reconstructing and interpreting the past.

Each chapter begins with alist of highlights entitled "Major Concepts". Many chapters have a summary timeline that puts the entire sequence of events into a quick visual reference frame. The use of dioramas and reconstructions of extinct animals and plants has been greatly expanded, so that students can get a more vivid concept of typical life in any part of the geologic past. In many places, the authors have supplied a full page of color photos of classic fossils from each period to improve the visual recognition of the organisms that give life its distinctive history. The areas of hottest controversy, such as mass extinctions, dinosaur endothermy, the origin of life, and controversies over late Proterozoic tectonics and glaciation, have been given separate sections so that students can appreciate the different sides of the debates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Evolution of Earth
This book is an easy read more for the visual learner. Has lots of images and great language, this is not for anyone under the age of thirteen and is a written well.

Excellent purchase
The book is in perfect condition just as described. New book at used price. What a deal! Highly recommend.

Good geoscience book and science book in general
My only previous exposure to geology or geophysics came from books/classes about the solar system where the Earth is taken as just one example of a planet. This is the first book I've read dedicated to the subject and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

At a high level its coverage includes, the origin of the Earth, geologic time scales, the Earth's interior, the origin of the Earth's magnetic field, volcanoes, plate tectonics, how the continents have varied with time, the interaction of the oceans with land masses and past climate fluctuations.

This book actually covers a lot more material than I expected, including paleobiology and ecology (which I enjoyed reading, but sometimes found it a little too political). There is actually quite a lot of material on paleobiology. It does overlap a fair amount with one of the authors other books, 'Bringing fossils to life', but it wasn't excessive and was well done. There is an appendix with some very nice high-level cladograms.

Although this book doesn't require any particular background, it covers a lot of material and requires some effort to learn it. The authors put in some effort to actually teach the subject and the book illustrates some very interesting science. It also provides some nice illustrations of how science is done.

One nice thing about this book is that it has a lot of color photographs and drawings. That's somewhat unusual among the (non-astronomy) science books I've seen at this level. I found it made the appearance much nicer.

Overall, I liked it a lot and learned a lot from it.

Straightforward and Interesting
What I like most about this book is its readability. The tone is very engaging and makes you want to read on. The illustrations (almost all in color) are plentiful and are an invaluable accompaniment to the text.

I would agree with other reviewers that the biggest drawback to this book is its price. The price is way too high, in my opinion, particularly for a paperback book. For that kind of money, I want something sturdier, that will stand up to years of use. This is the only reason I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5.

Good book for paleontology and geology teaching.
This is the most recent edition of a very useful book for students and teachers of paleontology and geology. ... Read more

Product Description
Dr. Denton's book sets out to explain the gathering scientific evidence against evolution in its traditional form.It is a clear account of a growing crisis in biology and enables us to understand why an increasing number of research scientists are questioning strict Darwinism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (78)

Denton Packs His Arguments With Scientific Support
I've read several books on the Evolution/Creation debate, including The Blind Watchmaker, The Selfish Gene, Finding Darwin's God, Signature in The Cell, Darwin's Black Box, and Only a Theory. Denton's books, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis and Nature's Destiny, pack more science between the pages than any of the others. You'll learn the fallacies of arguments made to support evolution from homology (homologous structures are created with instructions from non-homologous genes)that reptiles supposedly evolved from amphibians, but the eggs of amphibians and reptiles could not be more different. There is no lung that is intermediate to the avian lung. Feathers appear in the fossil record fully formed, there is no pre-feather.

Denton is a brilliant author and scientist.

A thinking person's guide to a theory in crisis
(I was astonished to find Mr. Denton described as an agnostic. If this is true, this book is even more amazing for its intellectual honesty.)

A molecular biologist, Mr. Denton marshals various facts mitigating against the theory of evolution. Indeed, one of the strengths of this book is its "big picture" approach to refuting evolution - arguing for the existence of distinct classes of organisms by asking hard questions about homology, embryonic development, amino acid design, and, of course, the bugbear of evolution and origins science - DNA.

Although published before Behe's wonderfully controversial "Darwin's Black Box", Denton examines several black boxes - the astonishing complexity of avian feathers, the incorporation of the Page-Handley slot in avian wings, the specialized breathing system of birds; hard questions about supposed transitional forms such as Archaeopteryx; the mind-boggling, inexplicably different migration pathways of cells in metamorphosizing insects; the much-touted but misleading "horse series"; and so on. As one reads through this amazing dissection of these subjects, the disturbing (and sad) thought arises: Why aren't these questions being asked in public, as it were? Why do the textbooks and museums present such poorly understood (and sometimes outrightly false) material as fact? Why aren't more scientists thinking as critically? It's tragic that these questions are not raised in biology classes to sharpen and stimulate young (?) minds but that the "doctrines" he questions are routinely presented as gospel. Sometimes we can have too much faith, it seems.

Perhaps what the reader will find most fascinating is the revelation that the evolutionary classification scheme falls on its face even at the molecular level - the very area in which it had hoped to triumph. Science now has a quantitative method of measuring supposed ancestral relationships - percentage sequence difference comparison of amino acid and DNA - and that method shows amphibians to be just as far away from fish (ancestrally) as humans are (to pick just one example), an unwelcome finding apparently raising much ire in the evolutionary community.

The sheer amount of misinformation contained in tirades against this book only attests to the religious nature of the adherents of evolution - something acknowledged and even decried by some more informed atheists such as David Stove. The constant refusal, however, of evolution's defenders to meet Denton's challenges head-on with objective and undisputed facts should encourage other scientists to "come out of the closet" with their own doubts - if for nothing more than a love for science.

Still Excellent
I just re-read this book for the third time. Honestly, it keeps getting better. Part of that is b/c Denton doesn't always write for the masses and therefore many of his points are more deeply appreciated only after more familiarity with evolutionary theory. After this past reading I also realize how much his book has influenced other popular anti-darwininan writers, such as behe, wells, and johnson. I was also amazed at how many points parallel ones made by Dawkins: numerous instances where they use the same concepts and metaphors but derive very different conclusions. quite illuminating.

in short, a must for anyone interested in the "evolution debate".

Twenty Years Late, NO! Still right on target
I have finally read Michael Denton's book "Evolution, A Theory in Crisis". While this book was written some twenty years ago, by an evolutionist about problems with evolution, it is as apt today as it was then.

Overall the book is easy to read and understand. Where there are terms that may not be familiar to the average reader, Dr. Denton provides adequate explanation to ensure that his arguments are understandable. I did however find that there were times when Dr Denton would rehash a point just covered or covered in a previous chapter. I am uncertain if this was deliberate or if the author tends to ramble at times.

Otherwise, Michael Denton takes the reader through a clear path of evidence that essentially refutes almost all the major tenets of Darwinian Evolution. This is not done in the typical Creation versus Evolution style, but rather as a scientist objectively criticizing the tenets of evolutionary thought. Dr. Denton focuses on each aspect, from the overarching concepts of random mutation and natural selection, through the fossil record, all the way to the complex structure of proteins and their fabrication at the cellular level.

While never truly abandoning evolution, Dr Denton closes the door on Darwinian Evolution. And while appealing to the apparent design in complex machinery of the cell, he proposes no external agent to facilitate the creation or specification of the apparent design. One can sense his frustration with the current state of affairs, but he refuses completely abandon the possible future discovery of purely naturalistic causes. Yet he insures the reader that random mutation and natural selection are not part of the equation.

Dr Denton closes his book with a rebuke of the scientific community for placing the a priori assumptions of evolutionary though before the objective search for real answers. He stops short of calling it religion, but refers to it as a myth. Interesting conclusion for a man still dedicated to the term evolution.

The book may be twenty years old, but the information and discussion are still correct. It is an excellent resource for someone looking for an objective critique of modern evolutionary theory.

(Macro)Evolution is not a "fact" - good read!
Amazing how the evolutionists clamor that this is "out of date", yet essentially what this book shows is that the data "to date" does NOT support macroevolution. And while I will just have to leave this hanging here without supporting evidence - the data since then do not either. A few (very few) transitional fossils notwithstanding.

An excellent critique of "evolution", and yet greater than 20 years later, darwinian naturalism is still going strong. Why? Because there is no other "natural" explanation. And hence, one must ask, why must there be a "natural" explanation? The last pages of the last chapter are excellent reading in this regard. ... Read more

Product Description

This remarkable book presents a rich and up–to–date view of evolution that explores the far–reaching implications of Darwin's theory and emphasizes the power, significance, and relevance of evolution to our lives today. After all, we ourselves are the product of evolution, and we can tackle many of our gravest challenges –– from lethal resurgence of antiobiotic–resistant diseases to the wave of extinctions that looms before us –– with a sound understanding of the science.

Zimmer's text is fresh and expansive, explaining both the minutiae of comparative anatomy and the grand scale of geological time with verve and clarity. Following the trend of turn-of-the-century evolution writers, he treats the religious beliefs of creationists with respect, while firmly insisting that the scientific evidence against their position is too compelling to ignore. Touching on biology, philosophy, theology, politics, and nearly every other field of human thought, Evolution will inspire its readers with the elegance and importance of Darwin's simple theory. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (74)

Triumph of a Book
Zimmer has once again triumphed with a work of solid erudition and admirable clarity. By turns entertaining and informative, he writes with a clean style. Neither as technical as Dawkins or Dennett, nor as luxurious as Gould, this book nevertheless showers the reader with the gold of understanding, should it be lacking, and new perspectives. For a reader not already steeped in the technicalities of evolutionary writing or the politics of creationism, this is an excellent place to come for a first, sweeping view of the depth and grandeur of this, one of modern science's defining ideas. And for those who sensibilities are sometimes blunted by too much of either, this is a lovely, light way to rekindle the flame of wonder at the fundamentals. (The fundamentalists probably getting on one's nerves by this point.)

The triumph of an idea must, of course, start with the inception of an idea, and Zimmer devotes a considerable proportion of the book to its seminal figure, Charles Darwin. In this year of Darwin frenzy one will have been hard-put to avoid reading about this poor man, upon whom I inadvertently trampled in Westminster Abbey last Summer. Don't let that put you off; Zimmer wrote these passages years before the deluge of publications cashing in on the bicentenary and they are part of his narrative.

Darwin's character cannot now cast light on the fact of evolution, as we would have known of it through Erasmus, Lamarck and Wallace had he never lived, and the positive flood of information garnered since his death makes this one of the surest bastions of modern science. Still, it is comforting to know what a genial and fair-minded cove he was, and what a thorough scientist. Zimmer's passages covering the tragedies and trials of his life are moving, and one hears with sympathy how this deeply religious man, trained as a pastor, had his faith shaken and mostly beaten away not by his work but by his losses. Darwin has made life easier for us atheists by eliminating the largest single Gap for Gods, but is was never his intention.

I have read dozens of books of science in general and evolution in particular, but there always seems to be something new and striking to report, especially with an author of Zimmer's accomplishment. The one that made me laugh out loud on a Swiss train, possibly pleasing the shade of Zwingli, is the nugget that the farmers of Berne in 1478 sued a plague of beetles in the ecclesiastical court, winning a Ban of Anathema and the beetles being bound over to keep the peace. Or that the African bottleneck of 60,000 to 170,000 years ago leaves humanity with less genetic diversity that he chimpanzees of a single forest. This casts perhaps less light on our evolution than that the trend towards 2.4 children is reducing selection pressure and therefore, presumably, both contributing to the accumulation of bad genes and reducing rates of progressive change.

One insight that I found both striking and delightful was the observation that documented rates of change in the fossil record, such as the rather well-covered evolution of whales, are several orders of magnitude lower than the rates of evolution that can be observed in the field, such as in guppy fish. Part of this can probably be explained in terms of changes of frequency in existing mutations, but it turns the creationist canard about "microevolution" and "macroevolution" right on its head. What we need to explain in the fossil record, based on "microevolution" is why so little change is seen over geological time!

Oh, dear. I said the "c"-word. Yes, Zimmer expends a penultimate section on the sadly and tediously necessary refutation of creationist nonsense and their antics in courts and classrooms in the USA. It doesn't spoil the book and is yet another litany of triumphs, but one cannot help but mourn that a triumph was ever necessary. He deals with these frustrating and infuriating episodes lightly and with less vitriol than I might have mustered. At the end of the Day-Age, evolution is necessary understanding in a range of fields, not least agriculture, medicine and petrochemicals extraction, and is becoming an engineering field in its own right as it is applied not only in selective breeding but in creating novel software and electronics. Software agents have for some time been able to defeat human fighter pilots in simulation, and it is evolution that got them there. Don't leave home without it!

Zimmer is a wonderful science writer and his triumph, like that of Darwin himself, is complete.

Wow!
I just wanted to say Wow!Awesome book!I couldn't put it down.Other reviewers do a great job of explaining why....

really enjoyable
as someone who is a novice when it comes to biology I found this book highly enjoyable.I can't believe that people can look at all the evidence and not come away with an unshakable belief in evolution.Evolution is the foundation of allbiology.

Great introductorybook
As a biologist, I highly recommend this book to anyone to get a good understanding of evolution.

A good introduction and overview
This review is based on the currently in-print September 2006 paperback "revised" edition.

The illustrations mentioned in reviews based on earlier editions are not a part of the 2006 paperback version; it is simply text.Also, though it is a "revised" edition, some opportunities for revision were missed (e.g., Orrorin Tugenesis is mentioned as the oldest known hominid ancestor, there is no reference to the 2001/2002 discovery of the older Sahelanthropus Tchadensis).

The early chapters provide an excellent history of pre-Darwinian concepts of evolution and Darwin's own life and struggles.But, for a book that starts so strong with presenting the history of the development of evolutionary theory, after describing the mid-twentieth century New Synthesis (and some reference to Ernst Mayer's contributions to the field), the author fails to take the opportunity to continue on and describe post 1950's developments and refinements in the subject.I find it particularly ironic that there is no mention of the important concept of Punctuated Equilibrium, given that one of its promoters, Stephen Jay Gould, wrote the introduction.

Of course, only so much can be put into an overview, but completing the history of the development of the Great Idea would have made this a stronger, more complete book.The author gets sidetracked and spends too much ink discussing extinction and man's involvement in screwing up the planet; less on those subjects would have provided the space to complete the historical overview and bring us up to date on the current scientific opinions regarding the Theory of Evolution.

But these are small points, and should not deter someone from purchasing this good introduction to Evolution.As with all of Carl Zimmer's books, it is an interesting, engaging book to read.

For a book that dives deeper into the subject, and from more of a paleontological rather than scientific journalist perspective, I highly, highly recommend Donald Prothero's book, Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free.This is an OCR edition with typos.Excerpt from book:the knowledge of an artificial or mathematical system applies only to the extremity.Continuity of change, preservation of the past in the present, real duration—the living being seems, then, to share these attributes with consciousness. Can we go further and say that life, like conscious activity, is invention, is unceasing creation?It does not enter into our plan to set down here the proofs of transformism. We wish only to explain in a word or two why we shall accept it, in the present work, as a sufficiently exact and precise expression of the facts actually known. The idea of transformism is already in germ in the natural classification of organized beings. The naturalist, in fact, brings together the organisms that are like each other, then divides the group into sub-groups within which the likeness is still greater, and so on: all through the operation, the characters of the group appear as general themes on which each of the sub-groups performs its particular variation. Now, such is just the relation we find, in the animal and in the vegetable world between the generator and the generated: on the canvas which the ancestor passes on, and which his descendants possess in common, each puts his own original embroidery. True, the differences between the descendant and the ancestor are slight, and it may be asked whether the same living matter presents enough plasticity to take in turn such different forms as those of a fish, a reptile and a bird. But, to this question, observation gives a peremptory answer. It shows that up to a certain period in its development the embryo of the bird is hardly distinguishable from that of the reptile, and that the individual develops, throughout the embryonic life in general, a series of transformations comparable to those through which,... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Professor Bergson Begins Modern Science and Intuits Quantum Physics' Improbable Secrets
This book must be read slowly and deliberately -- do so and it will give you an insight into the brilliance of one of the most revolutionary and extraordinarily perceptive philosopher scientists of the 20th Century, IMO.
Bergson changed the way scientists see the world by introducing his conception of an "original impetus", which began simply (if "intelligently") and evolved matter into living, increasingly complex lifeforms and concurrently evolved an increasingly complex consciousness within it -- as an "imperceptable thread" (my wording) ultimately called the elan vital.
In my case, after reading carefully and filling the book's margins with notes, Professor Bergson seems to be proving (showing) that all science up until his time (circa 1930's) was concerned with objects as they were at a particular moments, whereas in fact these objects were and are in a state of continual "being" (duration), making their actuality or essence unknowable.
He chronologically takes us through the writings of Plato and Aristotle (the natural trend of the intellect)-- Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz (becoming in modern science) -- and even through the Criticism of Kant and the evolutionism of Spencer. Bergson thoroughly critques each philosophy and shows us why they are not dealing the world as it really is.
Through this he weaves his own philosophical system based on Creation and Evolution by (quote):
". . . showing us in the intellect a local effect of evolution, a flame, perhaps accidental, which lights up the coming and going of living beings in the narrow passage open to their action: an lo! . . . (making) of this lantern glimmering in a tunnel a Sun which can illuminate the world.
"Boldly (Kantian and Spencerian science) proceeds with the powers of conceptual thought alone, to the ideal reconstruction of things, even of life. . . . But the essence of things escapes us, and will escape us always; WE MOVE AMONG RELATIONS; THE ABSOLUTE IS NOT IN OUR PROVINCE; WE ARE BROUGHT TO STAND BEFORE THE UNKNOWABLE.
" . . . BUT AN INTELLECT BENT UPON THE ACT TO BE PERFOMED AND THE REACTION TO FOLLOW . . . WOULD DIG TO THE VERY ROOT OF NATURE AND MIND."
In simpler words, the observation of any object changes reality for that object. It is only real as a moving "being", animated by an original impetus and kept real by an "elan vital" which cannot be known because "being" cannot be defined. What we call "real things" are illusions which beomce "real" to us only when we stop their duration. Heidegger spends thousands of pages unsuccessfully trying to define "being", which ultimately he can only label as "dasein". What we observe as the real world is matter and consciousness evolving concurrently from simple to complex as they move through space and time.
This means that the original impetus, the spark, the first flame, began neither in space nor time. Later quantum physics would support Bergson's insight, considering that an electron (as one example) cannot be seen without turning it into something else, or ever stranger, disappearing into what can only be other universes parallel to our own.
IMO, this means a creative force must exist that animates matter and consciousness; and that could only have originated in that Singularity outside time and space which I in my particular need call the thought of "God". You can call "it" what you will: the Tao, Bhudda, Nature, et al.
In my possession is a 1932 edition of "Creative Evolution" which had lingered on a library shelf over eighty years but had been checked out only three times after 1970. Sometimes I wonder where are my fellow philosophers and why I seem in my pained isolation to be the last of the 20th Century philosophers of mind. But that is because I am a crazed crackpot in the collective mind of those who measure men by their wealth. My contemporaries are in the universities, religious orders and lecture tours, where they belong. Yet even I am animated by the elan vital. Even I am part of the "God" finally perceived by Henri Bergson.
"Creative Evolution" was a sensation when it first appeared in 1932, the work of an already distinguished Professor Bergson of the College de France. It gave the world at last a new and scientific conception of the God long intuited by prophets, priests, poets, writers and grizzled, scarred, aging gray bearded philosophers like myself, dumb beasts of intellectual burdens, who desperately need a new physics to help us embrace an unknowable God created out of a Singularity and connecting our minds and bodies to what the Apostle Paul called Love.

Richard Lee Fulgham, Bel Air, 2009

Recommended for fans of Rupert Sheldrake's theories
Bergson's thesis is that Darwinian and Lamarkian evolution are only half the story and that there is a creative urge inherent in life that defines the direction of evolution.It is distinguished from Creationism in that his system does not posit and eschaton or final perfect form, nor an external agent (God).

It has some similarity with biologist Rupert Sheldrake's theory of morphic fields.In his theory, there is an energy field (as yet undetected by modern physics) that controls the shape of organic molecules, i.e., one protein is shaped one way and the same collection of atoms gets shaped another way under the same pH and temperature.

Aldous Huxley mentions Bergson's theory of consciousness several times in his writings.Bergson thinks that consciousness pervades everything, and that intellect serves as a filter that presents only what is comprehensible to mental categories.This has several implications.One is the possibility for a monistic metaphysic.The other is that it leaves open the possibility of perceiving an alternate reality (what excited Huxley).

Chapter 3 is about his metaphysics, which are not very clearly expressed.There appear to be avenues unexplored by him.What are the consequences of matter being infused with consciousness?Magic?Why is it that intellect and geometrical thinking is what produces objects in perception?What is the mechanism.

What does have value is his theory that chaos is not the absence of repeatability, but is a stochastic process that can be understood as an aggregate of individual "wills."This is used to support his vital theory of evolution.That each organism "wills" its variation in seemingly random fashion, but at a higher order, it produces the regularity of genera.

Chapter 4 is a critique of various philosophic systems after establishing his "cinematographic" theory of perception.His basic point is that matter is in continual flux, yet we are only able to perceive it as a sequence of discrete states, hence the illusion of permanence.

A work of monumental importance
Creative Evolution is not so much a work, but a milestone in print of a new direction of thought. It is a book that is of immense importance to anyone who wants to understand the mystery of humanity.

From Miller to Ibsen
I first came across Ibsen's monumental work when reading 'Tropic of Capricorn' by Henry Miller.Despite my complete lack of evolutionary and biological knowledge, I found Ibsen's eschatology mind blowing.Several times I was forced to leave the book for days in order to fully contemplate the philosophical ramifications of his insights.From this great stride forward into the fringes of human understanding Ibsen states: 'A conduct that is truly our own, on the contrary, is that of a will which does not try to counterfeit intellect, and which, remaining itself - that is to say, evolving - ripens gradually into acts which the intellect will be able to resolve indefinitely into intelligible elements without ever reaching its goal.The free act is incommensurable with the idea, and its "rationality" must be defined by this very incommensurability, which admits the discovery of much intelligibility within it as we will.Such is the character of our own evolution; and such also, without doubt, that of the evolution of life."No one, despite their educational backgrounds or lack thereof, should feel intimidated by the possibility of transcending one's very own intellect.

the opus of the advocate of vitality....
Despite Lord Russell's criticism that "intuition works best in bats, bees, and Bergson," in this work Bergson not only finishes the uprooting of the Western and Platonic disembodied intellect (adeconstruction taken only so far by Kant), he presents us with thespectacle of unbridled life creatively shaping, not only its world, butitself in accord with its own telos:the need for eyesight creating theeye, so to speak.Difficult in places but a treasure, although one couldwish he gave more credit to Nietzsche's obviously great impact on him. Jungians would do well to peruse Bergson too. ... Read more

Product Description
What Dunbar suggests--and what his research confirms--is that humans developed language to serve the purpose that grooming served, but far more efficiently. From the nit-picking of chimpanzees to our chats at coffee breaks, from neuroscience to paleoanthropology, this book offers a provocative view of what makes humans human. 5 illustrations.Amazon.com Review
Why is it that among all the primates, only humans havelanguage?According to Professor Robin Dunbar's new book,Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language, humans gossipbecause we don't groom each other. Dunbar builds his argument in alively discussion that touches on such varied topics as the behaviorof gelada baboons, Darwin's theory of evolution, computer-generatedpoetry, and the significance of brain size. He begins with the socialorganization of the great apes. These animals live in small groups andmaintain social cohesion through almost constant groomingactivities. Grooming is a way to forge alliances, establish hierarchy,offer comfort, or make apology. Once a population expands beyond acertain number, however, it becomes impossible for each member tomaintain constant physical contact with every other member of thegroup. Considering the large groups in which human beings have foundit necessary to live, Dunbar posits that we developed language as asubstitute for physical intimacy.

Whether or not you accept Dunbar's premise, his book is worth reading,if only for its animated prose and wealth of scientific information.An obvious choice for science buffs, Grooming, Gossip, and theEvolution of Language is a wonderful book for anyonewith an inquiring mind and an interest in what makes the world goround. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Good Return on my Order
Amazon is easily the most efficient and reliable way to obtain a product not locally available.I already was familiar with the book I ordered, and so the only relevant comments here would be the condition of the book, which was top-notch and exactly as described, and the service, which was fast and dependable.I highly recommend Amazon and its services.(For people interested in linguistics, psychology, and the history of language, I also highly recommend the book I ordered, "Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language." It's well-written, well-researched, funny, stimulating, and introduces a reader to the latest and most surprising research in the field.)

There is much to learn from this book
I read this book when it first came out, and very much enjoyed it. Oddly enough, I was even able to make use of what I learned from it in my job.

There are three main points to the book:

1. There is an observed correlation between neocortex ratio (the ratio of the volume of the neocortex to the volume of the more primitive parts of the brain) and group size among social primates. Note that primate groups achieve cohesion partly through mutual grooming.

2. Dunbar extrapolates this correlation to the human neocortex ratio, with a resulting group size of about 150. While such extrapolation potentially yields nonsense, in this case there is significant evidence that human group size does have a breakpoint at about this number. Hunter-gatherer village sizes, the organization of armies, parish sizes, and many more examples show a natural limit of between 100 and 200 people.

3. Dunbar theorizes that the development of language was encouraged by the need for interaction among groups that were too large for mutual grooming. (Humans are not observed to groom each other the way other primates do, and a group of 150 is too large for this behavior because of the time that would be required.) In his theory verbal interaction--or, colloquially, gossiping--replaced grooming in humans.

While Dunbar's theory is interesting, and may be right, even if it is wrong the book is worth reading for the first two points. It is very instructive regarding why groups work the way they do, and why large societies inevitably have bureaucracies.

I read this book back in the days when Dan Golden was NASA Administrator, and pushing his "Faster, Better, Cheaper" approach to space exploration. (Which had both successes and failures.) I later had a government employee, who was planning a multi-billion dollar space program, ask me if I thought it could be managed with a "Faster, Better, Cheaper" approach, and I said no, it was too large. Although this seemed obvious, I then asked myself why that would be the case. I eventually put instinct together with Dunbar, and realized that you couldn't run a streamlined program if you couldn't keep the size of your core group to about 150 people who interacted with each other. Later reading of accounts of "Faster, Better, Cheaper" programs that succeeded, and reports from panels set up to examine failures, confirmed this conclusion.

So I believe there is a message here for both small businesses and also for larger enterprises trying to decide how to structure programs. This book is thought-provoking and well worth reading.

a fresh "openingmind " tool
exiting but rigorous different approach to the human evolution.
It gives scientific context, opens new doors, stimulates, gives new meaning to our social habbits

A Seminal Book, A Theory that Explains A Lot
This book belongs on the shelf along with "The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind", "The Moral Animal", "Non Zero", "The Third Chimpanzee" and "Darwin's Dangerous Idea". It is a brilliant theory of the origins of language, supported by statistical analysis of physiological data (relative cortex size of primates, including humans), sociological data (the size of human groups across societies ranging from hunter gatherers to modern armies) and current social psychology experiments by his grad students (spot checks of random conversations in malls and pubs). Well supported, and startling, you will look at your society and your use of language differently.

Good on monkeys, smug and ignorant on people
A classic example of the contemporary smug scientist who assumes that anyone with any belief contrary to their own is a fool. Most obviously in his blithe assertion that if there weren't any theists in the world we'd live in a paradise: every ill in the world can be traced back to religion. While on his own professional ground discussing monkey behaviours, and a helpful summary of 'Theory of Mind' (how aware beings are of a) their own identity 'I believe'; and that of others b) 'I believe that you think'; and how deeply you understand their consciousness c) 'I believe that you think that I believe...- these are levels of 'intensionality') there's some interesting reading.

But once he diverts into anything outside of that: sociology, linguistics, history - he's a total crackpot theorist - of exactly the ilk of some of the 18th century smug theist scientists he'd pillory. For example, as proof that different languages developed as conscious schemes to identify with one group against another, he tells the biblical story of the shibboleth. This would be OK as an example of what he's talking about, but he invests the story with the notion, 'That's what they did back then,' type generality.

There are worse howlers, as when he says that language could never have come from gesture, as gesture is only mime and can never be used symbolically - as if deaf people don't use sign language. To such an objection he says, 'Oh, you couldn't use it at night, so it couldn't be significant.' Whether it is or it isn't, he can be so smug because he's talking about pre-history and will never have to fear disproof. He bandies around millennia as if he really knows, yet avoids rigorous rebuttal because nobody can really know. ... Read more