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REINVENTING DARWIN

THE GREAT DEBATE AT THE HIGH TABLE OF EVOLUTIONARY THEORY

A close-up of infighting between ``ultra-Darwinians'' and naturalists. Paleontologist Eldredge (The Miner's Canary, 1991, etc.), curator of the American Museum of Natural History's department of invertebrates, argues that until recently geneticists—the ultra- Darwinians—have excluded naturalists from the ``high table'' of acknowledged experts in biology. The geneticists' folly, he avers, is their allegiance to reductionism, which in the case of evolutionary biology means a glorification of genes as the be-all and end-all of everything that happens in evolution, with such subjects as the organization of living forms, ecosystems, and social structures reduced to the level of epiphenomena. By contrast, paleontologists/naturalists like Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould paint a hierarchical picture of evolution. They define species as reproductively isolated groups existing in discrete times and spaces; they look at factors that affect speciation and, in the case of Eldredge-Gould, argue against Darwinian gradualism in favor of punctuated equilibria: Species are characterized by long periods of stasis interrupted by events (including climatic upheavals) that cause relatively rapid change. For them, the machine of evolution is not driven exclusively by reproductive rivalry, but by economic and ecological factors that involve complex interactions of populations in nature. Eldredge's omission of any serious discussion of the role of sexual selection in evolution is a weakness, but he does describe the leading contributors to both sides of the debate, and his discussion of human culture, while brief, presents good arguments against group selection and sociobiologists' genes-for-everything cant. His frequent mentions of friendly associations and interchanges among rivals remind us that the debate is open and healthy—ensuring that science itself can evolve. In the meantime, stay tuned for rebuttals. Eloquent and persuasive argument for the ``messy'' historical long view, but fair to all sides.

Pub Date: May 12, 1995

ISBN: 0-471-30301-1

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Wiley

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995

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WHY FISH DON'T EXIST

A STORY OF LOSS, LOVE, AND THE HIDDEN ORDER OF LIFE

A quirky wonder of a book.

A Peabody Award–winning NPR science reporter chronicles the life of a turn-of-the-century scientist and how her quest led to significant revelations about the meaning of order, chaos, and her own existence.

Miller began doing research on David Starr Jordan (1851-1931) to understand how he had managed to carry on after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed his work. A taxonomist who is credited with discovering “a full fifth of fish known to man in his day,” Jordan had amassed an unparalleled collection of ichthyological specimens. Gathering up all the fish he could save, Jordan sewed the nameplates that had been on the destroyed jars directly onto the fish. His perseverance intrigued the author, who also discusses the struggles she underwent after her affair with a woman ended a heterosexual relationship. Born into an upstate New York farm family, Jordan attended Cornell and then became an itinerant scholar and field researcher until he landed at Indiana University, where his first ichthyological collection was destroyed by lightning. In between this catastrophe and others involving family members’ deaths, he reconstructed his collection. Later, he was appointed as the founding president of Stanford, where he evolved into a Machiavellian figure who trampled on colleagues and sang the praises of eugenics. Miller concludes that Jordan displayed the characteristics of someone who relied on “positive illusions” to rebound from disaster and that his stand on eugenics came from a belief in “a divine hierarchy from bacteria to humans that point[ed]…toward better.” Considering recent research that negates biological hierarchies, the author then suggests that Jordan’s beloved taxonomic category—fish—does not exist. Part biography, part science report, and part meditation on how the chaos that caused Miller’s existential misery could also bring self-acceptance and a loving wife, this unique book is an ingenious celebration of diversity and the mysterious order that underlies all existence.

A quirky wonder of a book.

Pub Date: April 14, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5011-6027-1

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Jan. 1, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020

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SEVEN BRIEF LESSONS ON PHYSICS

An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...

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Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.

These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.

An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.

Pub Date: March 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3

Page Count: 96

Publisher: Riverhead

Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015

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