Life's Solution Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe [Paperback]

A controversial challenge to current views of evolution, for the general reader.Re-run the tape of life, and sit back to enjoy a myriad of new and bizarre life forms, unrecognisable to any inhabitant of today's Earth. Or could we? The eminent evolutionary palaeobiologist Simon Conway Morris sets out to challenge the widely accepted view that biological organisms are the result of evolutionary accident. He explores evidence indicating that life is in fact constrained and that a re-run would result in a different, but eerily familiar world. This extraordinarily wide-ranging book will be of great interest to general readers and specialists alike.Re-run the tape of life, and sit back to enjoy a myriad of new and bizarre life forms, unrecognisable to any inhabitant of today's Earth. Or could we? The eminent evolutionary palaeobiologist Simon Conway Morris sets out to challenge the widely accepted view that biological organisms are the result of evolutionary accident. He explores evidence indicating that life is in fact constrained and that a re-run would result in a different, but eerily familiar world. This extraordinarily wide-ranging book will be of great interest to general readers and specialists alike.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 lÃ.