Download or read book Darwin Awards VI written by Wendy Northcutt and published by Penguin Group Australia. This book was released on 2010-10-20 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: (The countdown has begun . . . ) What distinguishes humans from baser animals is our higher intelligence. This is because most humans know to think twice before headbutting a coconut or biting down on a live wire. Intelligent individuals generally know not to use a mattress pad as a floatation device, or to kitesurf in a hurricane. Darwin Award winners, however, lack this basic common sense. Named for the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards honour those who help natural selection by taking a swan dive into the shallow end of the gene pool. From attaching a five-horsepower engine to a barstool, to hammering a metal hook into an explosive device, to using a Taser to treat a snake bite, The Darwin Awards: Countdown to Extinction show that the countdown (to human extinction) is well underway – and we won't exit this mortal coil without one last laugh. Illustrated and featuring all-new tales of the marvellously macabre, The Darwin Awards: Countdown to Extinction chronicles humans who step onto the lowest rung on the evolutionary ladder and prove that intelligence is not as common among humans as we'd like to think.
Download or read book The Darwin Awards written by Wendy Northcutt and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the best known and most frequently visited web sites is the Darwin Awards web site. Practically everyone who is on the net has received a Darwin story in their e-mail at one time or another. It is one of those legendary sites which has become part of the fabric of being on-line. Started in 1993 by biologist Wendy Northcutt she set out to collect together and authenticate stories of individuals around the world who, through their stupidity, have removed themselves from the gene pool, (i.e. killed themselves). These are the people for whom warnings such as 'coffee is hot' and 'this superman cape does not enable the wearer to fly' were made. This is black humour elevated to its purest commercial form. There are rules here too. The candidate must: exhibit astounding misapplication of judgement; remove himself/herself from the gene pool; be capable of sound judgement; be self selecting (i.e. it was their fault) and the event must be verifiable.
Download or read book The Darwin Awards Next Evolution written by Wendy Northcutt and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Features examples of people whose lack of common sense resulted in their demise, in a tribute to how the evolutionary process is improved when individuals of questionable intelligence accidentally remove themselves from the gene pool.
Download or read book Did Darwin Write the Origin Backwards written by Elliott Sober and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2011-03-31 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is it accurate to label Darwin’s theory "the theory of evolution by natural selection," given that the concept of common ancestry is at least as central to Darwin’s theory? Did Darwin reject the idea that group selection causes characteristics to evolve that are good for the group though bad for the individual? How does Darwin’s discussion of God in The Origin of Species square with the common view that he is the champion of methodological naturalism? These are just some of the intriguing questions raised in this volume of interconnected philosophical essays on Darwin. The author's approach is informed by modern issues in evolutionary biology, but is sensitive to the ways in which Darwin’s outlook differed from that of many biologists today. The main topics that are the focus of the book—common ancestry, group selection, sex ratio, and naturalism—have rarely been discussed in their connection with Darwin in such penetrating detail. Author Professor Sober is the 2008 winner of the Prometheus Prize. This biennial award, established in 2006 through the American Philosophical Association, is designed "to honor a distinguished philosopher in recognition of his or her lifetime contribution to expanding the frontiers of research in philosophy and science." This insightful collection of essays will be of interest to philosophers, biologists, and laypersons seeking a deeper understanding of one of the most influential scientific theories ever propounded.
Download or read book Darwin written by Alice B. McGinty and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2009 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Highly respected in the field, Diagnostic Cytology and Hematology of the Dog and Cat is the complete resource for developing the knowledge and skills you need for clinical laboratory diagnostics. Detailed illustrations and descriptions of cytologic and hematologic samples allow you to diagnose both common and uncommon diseases in dogs and cats. Microscopic evaluation techniques and interpretation guidelines for organ tissue, blood, and other body fluid specimens give you a basic understanding of sample collection and specimen preparation. In addition, algorithms are generously distributed throughout the text, helping you evaluate various cytologic preparations.
Download or read book Charles Darwin s Around the World Adventure written by Jennifer Thermes and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1831, Charles Darwin embarked on his first voyage. Though he was a scientist by profession, he was an explorer at heart. While journeying around South America for the first time aboard a ninety-foot-long ship named the Beagle, Charles collected insets, dug up bones, galloped with gauchos, encountered volcanoes and earthquakes, and even ate armadillo for breakfast! The discoveries he made during this adventure would later inspire ideas that changed how we see the world. Complete with mesmerizing map work that charts Darwin's thrilling five-year voyage, as well as "Fun Facts" and more, Charles Darwin's Around-the-World Adventure captures the beauty and mystery of nature with wide-eyed wonder.
Download or read book Darwin s Dangerous Idea written by Daniel C. Dennett and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-07-01 with total page 596 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a book that is both groundbreaking and accessible, Daniel C. Dennett, whom Chet Raymo of The Boston Globe calls "one of the most provocative thinkers on the planet," focuses his unerringly logical mind on the theory of natural selection, showing how Darwin's great idea transforms and illuminates our traditional view of humanity's place in the universe. Dennett vividly describes the theory itself and then extends Darwin's vision with impeccable arguments to their often surprising conclusions, challenging the views of some of the most famous scientists of our day.
Download or read book The Darwin Awards II written by Wendy Northcutt and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2001-12-01 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The hilarious New York Times bestselling phenomenon and the perfect funny gift! The Darwin Awards II: Unnatural Selection brings together a fresh collection of the hapless, the heedless, and the just plain foolhardy among us. Salute the owner of an equipment training school who demonstrates the dangers of driving a forklift by failing to survive the filming of his own safety video. Gawk at the couple who go to sleep on a sloping roof. Witness the shepherd who leaves his rifle unsecured—only to be accidentally shot by one of his own flock. With over one hundred Darwin Award Winners, Honorable Mentions, and debunked Urban Legends, plus science and safety tips for avoiding the scythe of natural selection, The Darwin Awards II proves once again how uncommon common sense can be.
Download or read book Looking for Darwin written by Lloyd Spencer Davis and published by Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An award-winning zoologist travels in Charles Darwin's footsteps, and in search of the meaning of life. In one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, zoologist Lloyd Spencer Davis comes face to face with an enraged leopard seal. Towering ice cliffs, a ferocious creature of the deep, and the extreme Antarctic environment all turn Davis's world view on its head. 'What the hell am I doing here?' This question sets Davis on a quest for insight and meaning in a world that still pitches theories of evolution against belief in a Creator; the science of natural selection against a faith that asserts our world was crafted by Intelligent Design. With a self-deprecating grin packed along with his cabin baggage - even when his passport isn't - Davis decides to follow the travels of the eminent nineteenth-century naturalist, Charles Darwin: the man who did more to change our understanding of this planet than any other biologist. Looking for Darwin gives us a personal and intimate insight into Darwin and what drove the man. It is also an attempt to resolve that initially panicked — and then far-reaching — question, that first hit Davis on the big ice. With a wealth of research and vivid imagery — along with a disarming honesty —Lloyd Spencer Davis takes the reader on an unforgettable world tour.
Download or read book The Origin Of Species written by Charles Darwin and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2003-09-02 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Darwin’s classic that exploded into public controversy, revolutionized the course of science, and continues to transform our views of the world. Few other books have created such a lasting storm of controversy as The Origin of Species. Darwin’s theory that species derive from other species by a gradual evolutionary process and that the average level of each species is heightened by the “survival of the fittest” stirred up popular debate to fever pitch. Its acceptance revolutionized the course of science. As Sir Julian Huxley, the noted biologist, points out in his illuminating introduction, the importance of Darwin’s contribution to modern scientific knowledge is almost impossible to evaluate: “a truly great book, one which can still be read with profit by professional biologist.” Includes an Introduction by Sir Julian Huxley
Download or read book Darwin s Children written by Greg Bear and published by Del Rey. This book was released on 2003-03-04 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Greg Bear’s Nebula Award–winning novel, Darwin’s Radio, painted a chilling portrait of humankind on the threshold of a radical leap in evolution—one that would alter our species forever. Now Bear continues his provocative tale of the human race confronted by an uncertain future, where “survival of the fittest” takes on astonishing and controversial new dimensions. Eleven years have passed since SHEVA, an ancient retrovirus, was discovered in human DNA—a retrovirus that caused mutations in the human genome and heralded the arrival of a new wave of genetically enhanced humans. Now these changed children have reached adolescence . . . and face a world that is outraged about their very existence. For these special youths, possessed of remarkable, advanced traits that mark a major turning point in human development, are also ticking time bombs harboring hosts of viruses that could exterminate the “old” human race. Fear and hatred of the virus children have made them a persecuted underclass, quarantined by the government in special “schools,” targeted by federally sanctioned bounty hunters, and demonized by hysterical segments of the population. But pockets of resistance have sprung up among those opposed to treating the children like dangerous diseases—and who fear the worst if the government’s draconian measures are carried to their extreme. Scientists Kaye Lang and Mitch Rafelson are part of this small but determined minority. Once at the forefront of the discovery and study of the SHEVA outbreak, they now live as virtual exiles in the Virginia suburbs with their daughter, Stella—a bright, inquisitive virus child who is quickly maturing, straining to break free of the protective world her parents have built around her, and eager to seek out others of her kind. But for all their precautions, Kaye, Mitch, and Stella have not slipped below the government’s radar. The agencies fanatically devoted to segregating and controlling the new-breed children monitor their every move—watching and waiting for the opportunity to strike the next blow in their escalating war to preserve “humankind” at any cost.
Download or read book Charles Darwin Geologist written by Sandra Herbert and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 538 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Pleasure of imagination.... I a geologist have illdefined notion of land covered with ocean, former animals, slow force cracking surface &c truly poetical."--from Charles Darwin's Notebook M, 1838 The early nineteenth century was a golden age for the study of geology. New discoveries in the field were greeted with the same enthusiasm reserved today for advances in the biomedical sciences. In her long-awaited account of Charles Darwin's intellectual development, Sandra Herbert focuses on his geological training, research, and thought, asking both how geology influenced Darwin and how Darwin influenced the science. Elegantly written, extensively illustrated, and informed by the author's prodigious research in Darwin's papers and in the nineteenth-century history of earth sciences, Charles Darwin, Geologist provides a fresh perspective on the life and accomplishments of this exemplary thinker. As Herbert reveals, Darwin's great ambition as a young scientist--one he only partially realized--was to create a "simple" geology based on movements of the earth's crust. (Only one part of his scheme has survived in close to the form in which he imagined it: a theory explaining the structure and distribution of coral reefs.) Darwin collected geological specimens and took extensive notes on geology during all of his travels. His grand adventure as a geologist took place during the circumnavigation of the earth by H.M.S. Beagle (1831-1836)--the same voyage that informed his magnum opus, On the Origin of Species. Upon his return to England it was his geological findings that first excited scientific and public opinion. Geologists, including Darwin's former teachers, proved a receptive audience, the British government sponsored publication of his research, and the general public welcomed his discoveries about the earth's crust. Because of ill health, Darwin's years as a geological traveler ended much too soon: his last major geological fieldwork took place in Wales when he was only thirty-three. However, the experience had been transformative: the methods and hypotheses of Victorian-era geology, Herbert suggests, profoundly shaped Darwin's mind and his scientific methods as he worked toward a full-blown understanding of evolution and natural selection.
Download or read book Darwin s Ark written by Philip Appleman and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world of Charles Darwin imagined in poetry and art
Download or read book The Evolution Myth written by Jiří A. Mejsnar and published by Karolinum Press. This book was released on 2014-10-01 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The origins of life, species, and man continue to interest scientists and stir debate among the general public more than one hundred and fifty years after Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species. The Evolution Myth approaches the subject with two intertwined objectives. Jiří A. Mejsnar first sets out to convey the advances made in cosmology, molecular biology, genetics, and other sciences that have enabled us to change our views on our origins and our relationship with the universe. Scientific advances now allow us to calculate, for example, the age of the universe, the period in which biblical Eve lived, and, with good justification, to reconsider the possibility that the Neanderthals and primates might be our ancestors. The author’s second objective is to use biology to explain why evolution cannot have taken place in the way that is most commonly assumed. Mejsnar builds his case around gene stability and on the sophisticated modern techniques for gene manipulation, the complexity of which make these modified genes inaccessible to nature. Development of life on Earth is a discontinuous, saltatory progression that results in stages following from preceding latent periods in which new forms suddenly appear and possess new types of genome. This, the author argues, is difficult to reconcile with the hypothesis of continuous biological evolution based on the natural selection of random variations. Taking a new approach to a much-debated subject, Mejsnar distills complex information into a rreadable style. The result is a book that as sure to get readers talking.
Download or read book Charles Darwin the Copley Medal and the Rise of Naturalism 1862 1864 written by Marsha Driscoll and published by Prentice Hall. This book was released on 2010 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Darwin, the Copley Medal, and the Rise of Naturalism, 1862—1864,thrusts students into the intellectual ferment of Victorian England just after publication ofThe Origin of Species. Part of the “Reacting to the Past” series, this text consists of a game in which students experience firsthand the tension between natural and teleological views of the world--manifested especially in reconsideration of the design argument commonly known through William Paley’sNatural Theology or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity(1802). Note: Reacting to the Past has been developed under the auspices of Barnard College. It won the Theodore Hesburgh Award (2004), funded by the TIAA-CREF, for pedagogical innovation, and it has also received substantial support from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) of the U.S. Department of Education. With this support, Barnard College hosts a series of conferences throughout the nation at which interested faculty and administrators learn about “Reacting” by playing miniversions of the games.
Download or read book What Mr Darwin Saw written by and published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books. This book was released on 2014-03-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1831, at only 22 years old, Darwin was offered the position of Naturalist on HMS Beagle's world voyage. He was set to become a clergyman but returns after five years at sea an inspired genius. This book follows the journey of HMS Beagle, showing life on-board the ship for Darwin, the captain, crew and the expedition's artist. The reader sees Darwin discovering and observing insect life in Brazil, fossils in Argentina , earthquakes in Chile and turtles in the Galapagos Islands. The reader is therefore able to follow the steps which led to Darwin's inspired theory of evolution, while also showing the adventures and escapades he had during the voyage. A fascinating and colourful story of Darwin's life, this book also introduces young readers to one of the world's most important scientists and his discoveries. It concludes with a simple explanation of the theory of evolution. Written by an outstanding team in the field of children's non-fiction, this is a book to enlighten and inspire young readers.
Download or read book Doubts about Darwin written by Thomas Woodward and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insider's look at the dramatic debate between Darwinism and Intelligent Design, showing how and why the secular "religion" of our time is beginning to crumble.
