Life's Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe
Life's Solution builds a persuasive case for the predictability of evolutionary outcomes. The case rests on a remarkable compilation of examples of convergent evolution, in which two or more lineages have independently evolved similar structures and functions. The examples range from the aerodynamics of hovering moths and hummingbirds to the use of silk by spiders and some insects to capture prey. Going against the grain of Darwinian orthodoxy, this book is a must read for anyone grappling with the meaning of evolution and our place in the Universe. Simon Conway Morris is the Ad Hominen Professor in the Earth Science Department at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St. John's College and the Royal Society. His research focuses on the study of constraints on evolution, and the historical processes that lead to the emergence of complexity, especially with respect to the construction of the major animal body parts in the Cambrian explosion.The Cambridge Sandwich -- Looking for Easter Island -- Can we break the great code? -- Universal Goo: life as a cosmic principle? -- The origin of life: straining the soup or our credulity? -- Uniquely lucky? The strangeness of Earth -- Converging on the extreme -- Seeing convergence -- Alien convergences? -- The non-prevalence of humanoids? -- Evolution bound: the ubiquity of convergence? -- Towards a theology of evolution -- Last word
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