The assassin's bullet misses, the Archduke's carriage moves forward, and a catastrophic war is avoided. So too with the history of life. Re-run the tape of life, as Stephen J. Gould claimed, and the outcome must be entirely different: an alien world, without humans and maybe t even intelligence. The history of life is littered with accidents: any twist or turn may lead to a completely different world. Now this view is being challenged. Simon Conway Morris explores the evidence demonstrating life's almost eerie ability to navigate to a single solution, repeatedly. Eyes, brains, tools, even culture: all are very much on the cards. So if these are all evolutionary inevitabilities, where are our counterparts across the galaxy? The tape of life can only run on a suitable planet, and it seems that such Earth-like planets may be much rarer than hoped. Inevitable humans, yes, but in a lonely Universe.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
ISBN-10
0521603250
ISBN-13
9780521603256
eBay Product ID (ePID)
96493594
Product Key Features
Author
Simon Conway Morris
Format
Trade Paperback (US), Paperback
Language
English
Topic
Popular Science
Genre
Popular Science
Dimensions
Weight
680g
Height
228mm
Width
152mm
Additional Product Features
Place of Publication
Cambridge
Spine
28mm
Content Note
50 B/w Illus.
Author Biography
Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology at the University of Cambridge, he is also the author of The Crucible of Creation (1998, 0198502567).