Download or read book The Failed Species written by Lance Broughton and published by Strategic Book Publishing Rights Agency. This book was released on 2016-02-19 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a treble bypass heart operation, Leech realises that he is no longer invincible and is doomed to die in a few short years. Thus he comprehends that mankind has a limited life span because of its increasing level of stupidity. Humans seems to be the only species on planet Earth that thinks it is impregnable, and will survive for the inevitable forever and three days. His high intelligence gets his mind into top gear and he converses with a strange creature called Powerdip, who arranges mind-bending trips to teach him the reality of life in numerous universes. His king-sized long-term Maori lady companion, Lyndia, accompanies him much of the time. But her memory of universe trotting is deliberately erased from her equally intelligent mind to suit Leech’s reasoning. As to be expected, the unexpected happens unexpectedly and causes him intensified mental trauma. To hasten the inevitable, he decides to create the world record for the longest drinking himself to death session. Powerdip is watching from afar and arranges matters to suit his own perceptions. Thank God the inevitable will inevitably happen. The Failed Species offers a mind-bending fantasy trip through the universe that is blended with true events.

Download or read book Quo Vadis Homine Are ye Sapiens or Failed Species written by Sam T. Dudic and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2019-10-05 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outlook on this insane, sickly, degrading, insecure, ugly world - where the worst and meanest (criminals, predators and parasites) win and rule, not merely the fittest... Is this "the glory of Creation" .. It seems, we live in the world of animals, in a society of inadequate morons not responsible for their actions and deeds, from top to the bottom, worldwide, without any Cosmic guidance and grace... The real issue is not East vs. West, or South vs. North, nor conflict of civilizations, but incompatible antagonism between the upper strata and masses, power/authorities and the people, exploiters and the destitute, Labor and Capital, the Good and the Evil... Conflict between Homo Sapiens and Homo Defectus... Real people's enemies are banks, financial speculators, bureaucracy, mass-media, entertainment and insane politicians... Criminality of the most authorities is in disrespect, contempt for their own people. In majority of the countries the state does not fulfill its due functions, turning into the Monster degrading and terrorizing the people in all spheres. That's the common social decease which can be solved only through transformation of inadequate state into Volksstaat based on equality, collective, just economy...

Download or read book Failed Species written by Klaus Windhöfel and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2016-02-09 with total page 702 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Randolf erfährt zusammen mit seinen Freunden Entrückungszustände in einer übernatürlichen Konferenz, auf der anscheinend ihre Lagebeurteilung des Zustandes von Welt und Menschheit eine Rolle spielt. Raum und Zeiterfahrung verändern sich dabei kategorial. Die jeweiligen wissenschaftlichen Interessen und Vorlieben, selbst Hobbys und Lebenserfahrungen, haben offensichtlich eine Bedeutung bei der Beurteilung des Ergebnisses des Experiments "Menschheit" seitens der außerkosmischen Schöpfer. John scheint der Experte für das "Böse" zu sein sowie für die ähnlichen Muster apokalyptischer Vorstellungen in allen Kulturen. Melite vertritt eine pessimistische Ansicht der Menschwerdung auf der Primatenreihe. Die durch Selbst-Bewusstheit erzeugte Heimatlosigkeit des Menschen habe allerlei Wahn und Eitelkeit im Gefolge. Randolf vertritt einen eher optimistischen Standpunkt unaufhörlichen technischen Fortschritts, der in der Kolonisierung des Weltraums gipfeln werde. Einst hat er eine fast vergessene Science-Fiction-Geschichte geschrieben, die sich nun mehr und mehr in den Vordergrund drängt und sich scheinbar wie von selbst fortsetzt. Mysteriöse Ereignisse häufen sich, die Randolf an seinem Gesundheitszustand zweifeln lässt. So wird er in eine Zukunft entrückt, die von Verfall und Apokalypse gezeichnet ist. Ein zwielichtiger Orden tritt an ihn heran mit schmeichelhaften Offerten. Randolf wird Zeuge eines Vortrags über die Bildung einer neuen Elite. Er vermutet einen undurchsichtigen Zusammenhang mit seinen mysteriösen Erlebnissen...

Download or read book Failed Species Band II written by Klaus Windhöfel and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2016-02-22 with total page 702 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Randolf erfährt zusammen mit seinen Freunden Entrückungszustände in einer übernatürlichen Konferenz, auf der anscheinend ihre Lagebeurteilung des Zustandes von Welt und Menschheit eine Rolle spielt. Raum und Zeiterfahrung verändern sich dabei kategorial. Die jeweiligen wissenschaftlichen Interessen und Vorlieben, selbst Hobbys und Lebenserfahrungen, haben offensichtlich eine Bedeutung bei der Beurteilung des Ergebnisses des Experiments "Menschheit" seitens der außerkosmischen Schöpfer. John scheint der Experte für das "Böse" zu sein sowie für die ähnlichen Muster apokalyptischer Vorstellungen in allen Kulturen. Melite vertritt eine pessimistische Ansicht der Menschwerdung auf der Primatenreihe. Die durch Selbst-Bewusstheit erzeugte Heimatlosigkeit des Menschen habe allerlei Wahn und Eitelkeit im Gefolge. Randolf vertritt einen eher optimistischen Standpunkt unaufhörlichen technischen Fortschritts, der in der Kolonisierung des Weltraums gipfeln werde. Einst hat er eine fast vergessene Science-Fiction-Geschichte geschrieben, die sich nun mehr und mehr in den Vordergrund drängt und sich scheinbar wie von selbst fortsetzt. Mysteriöse Ereignisse häufen sich, die Randolf an seinem Gesundheitszustand zweifeln lässt. So wird er in eine Zukunft entrückt, die von Verfall und Apokalypse gezeichnet ist. Ein zwielichtiger Orden tritt an ihn heran mit schmeichelhaften Offerten. Randolf wird Zeuge eines Vortrags über die Bildung einer neuen Elite. Er vermutet einen undurchsichtigen Zusammenhang mit seinen mysteriösen Erlebnissen...

Download or read book Failed Species Band III written by Klaus Windhöfel and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2016-03-03 with total page 697 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Randolf erhält vom undurchsichtigen Geheimbund ideale Studien- und Forschungsbedingungen zur Verfügung gestellt. Viele namhafte Wissenschaftler lassen sich von ihm berufen zu einem Seminar über Prozessphilosophie. Unter der Leitidee der Entwicklung zeichnen sie die Geschichte des Universums seit dem Urknall nach, unter Einbezug aktuellster quantenkosmologischer Ideen, und sie gelangen zu dem Ergebnis, dass die Vorstellungen von Gott ebenfalls prozessual aufzufassen sind. Gott hat sein Gottsein noch vor sich. Er sei selbst Subjekt und Objekt eines umfänglichen Prozesses, in welchem auch jeder Einzelne seine Bedeutung hat. Der Gott im Werden hat sich einem gewagten Abenteuer ausgeliefert. Jede Menschengeschichte ist ein weiteres Wagnis im Vorgang der Selbstfindung Gottes, aber auch eine unverzichtbare Quelle fortdauernden Lernens. Ihre Gedanken sind an dem Philosophen Whitehead orientiert. Randolfs irritierende Entrückungen finden auch während des Seminars statt. Sie führen ihn in unterschiedliche Zukünfte. Seine Freundin Melite erscheint ihm dort in unterschiedlichsten Rollen und Funktionen. Der Orden spielt eine zunehmend düstere Rolle; man strebt eine Evakuierung der Erde an. Auf dem Treffen des kongenialen Freundeskreises in New York kommt es zu einer Entfremdung mit seinen Freunden. Randolf überwirft sich außerdem mit der metaphysischen Konferenz. Nach seiner Rückkehr von NY macht ihm die Unauffindbarkeit seines Freundes Odin zu schaffen, der einen kritischen Bericht über den Orden veröffentlicht hat.

Download or read book When the Invasion of Land Failed written by George R. McGhee Jr. and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-22 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The invasion of land by ocean-dwelling plants and animals was one of the most revolutionary events in the evolution of life on Earth, yet the animal invasion almost failed—twice—because of the twin mass extinctions of the Late Devonian Epoch. Some 359 to 375 million years ago, these catastrophic events dealt our ancestors a blow that almost drove them back into the sea. If those extinctions had been just a bit more severe, spiders and insects—instead of vertebrates—might have become the ecologically dominant forms of animal life on land. This book examines the profound evolutionary consequences of the Late Devonian extinctions and the various theories proposed to explain their occurrence. Only one group of four-limbed vertebrates exists on Earth, while other tetrapod-like fishes are extinct. This gap is why the idea of "fish with feet" seems so peculiar to us, yet such animals were once a vital part of our world, and if the Devonian extinctions had not happened, members of these species, like the famous Acanthostega and Ichthyostega, might have continued to live in our rivers and lakes. Synthesizing decades of research and including a wealth of new discoveries, this accessible, comprehensive text explores the causes of the Devonian extinctions, the reasons vertebrates were so severely affected, and the potential evolution of the modern world if the extinctions had never taken place.

Download or read book A Very Short History of Life on Earth written by Henry Gee and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Royal Society's Science Book of the Year "[A]n exuberant romp through evolution, like a modern-day Willy Wonka of genetic space. Gee’s grand tour enthusiastically details the narrative underlying life’s erratic and often whimsical exploration of biological form and function.” —Adrian Woolfson, The Washington Post In the tradition of Richard Dawkins, Bill Bryson, and Simon Winchester—An entertaining and uniquely informed narration of Life's life story. In the beginning, Earth was an inhospitably alien place—in constant chemical flux, covered with churning seas, crafting its landscape through incessant volcanic eruptions. Amid all this tumult and disaster, life began. The earliest living things were no more than membranes stretched across microscopic gaps in rocks, where boiling hot jets of mineral-rich water gushed out from cracks in the ocean floor. Although these membranes were leaky, the environment within them became different from the raging maelstrom beyond. These havens of order slowly refined the generation of energy, using it to form membrane-bound bubbles that were mostly-faithful copies of their parents—a foamy lather of soap-bubble cells standing as tiny clenched fists, defiant against the lifeless world. Life on this planet has continued in much the same way for millennia, adapting to literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter and thriving, from these humblest beginnings to the thrilling and unlikely story of ourselves. In A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, Henry Gee zips through the last 4.6 billion years with infectious enthusiasm and intellectual rigor. Drawing on the very latest scientific understanding and writing in a clear, accessible style, he tells an enlightening tale of survival and persistence that illuminates the delicate balance within which life has always existed.

Download or read book Tempo and Mode in Evolution written by George Gaylord Simpson and published by . This book was released on 1965 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Failed Species Band I written by Klaus Windhöfel and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2016-02-22 with total page 701 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Der Frührentner Randolf aus Geversdorf führt das Leben eines zurückgezogenen Intellektuellen. Auf einem Vortrag über das Anthropische Prinzip, der Feinabstimmung unseres Universums, lernt er die junge Anthropologin Melite von Wehrenfels kennen, die einer alteingesessenen Hamburger Bankiersfamilie entstammt. Ein kongenialer Freundeskreis entsteht, zu dem sich weitere Freunde "wie durch Zufall" gesellen. Sie befassen sich mit einem exotischen Thema, das der Schnittmenge aus Philosophie, Theologie und moderner Quantenkosmologie entstammt. Der Urknall samt Finetuning deuten auf einen bewussten Schöpfungsakt hin. Aber muss der nach den herkömmlichen Theologien von Gott gestaltet sein? Könnten nicht auch Wesen aus einem Mutteruniversum "unseren" Kosmos erzeugt haben? Indem sie diese These diskutieren, geschehen allerlei Merkwürdigkeiten. So werden sie von kollektiven Visionen heimgesucht. Könnte es sein, dass eine Art Resonanzphänomen auftaucht, sobald man durch unergründlichen Zufall in die Nähe der Wahrheit gelangt? Sie vermuten die "Außerkosmischen" am Werk, die ihr Experiment der künstlichen Erzeugung eines Urknalls begutachten, das uns auf der anderen Seite wie Finetuning und Schöpfung erscheint. Doch scheinen ihnen auch noch andere Möglichkeiten der Einflussnahme offenzustehen. Was passiert, falls sie zu der Erkenntnis gelangten, dass sich ihr Experiment einer denkenden Spezies fehlentwickelt? Der Roman bewegt sich in den Grenzbereichen von Philosophie und Naturwissenschaft und stellt die Erde einschließlich der Evolution des Lebens in einen kosmisch weiten Raum. Von daher berührt er auf natürliche Weise Themen des Science-Fiction-Genres und sucht nach modernen, ungewöhnlichen Antworten auf die nie vergehende Frage nach Gott.

Download or read book Why Most Things Fail written by Paul Ormerod and published by Pantheon. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the same originality and astuteness that marked his widely praised Butterfly Economics, Paul Ormerod now examines the “Iron Law of Failure” as it applies to business and government–and explains what can be done about it. “Failure is all around us,” asserts Ormerod. For every General Electric–still going strong after more than one hundred years–there are dozens of businesses like Central Leather, which was one of the world’s largest companies in 1912 but was liquidated in 1952. Ormerod debunks conventional economic theory–that the world economy ticks along in perfect equilibrium according to the best-laid plans of business and government–and delves into the reasons for the failure of brands, entire companies, and public policies. Inspired by recent advances in evolutionary theory and biology, Ormerod illuminates the ways in which companies and policy-setting sectors of government behave much like living organisms: unless they evolve, they die. But he also makes clear how desirable social and economic outcomes may be achieved when individuals, companies and governments adapt in response to the actual behavior and requirements of their customers and constituents. Why Most Things Fail is a fascinating and provocative study of a truth all too seldom acknowledged.

Download or read book WTF Evolution written by Mara Grunbaum and published by Workman Publishing Company. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We all have our off days. Why should Evolution be any different? Maybe Evolution got carried away with an idea that was just a little too crazy—like having the Regal Horned Lizard defend itself by shooting three-foot streams of blood from its eyes. Or maybe Evolution ran out of steam (Memo to Evolution: The Irrawaddy Dolphin looks like a prototype that should have been left on the drawing board). Or maybe Evolution was feeling cheeky—a fish with hands? Joke’s on you, Red Handfish! Or maybe Evolution simply goofed up: How else to explain the overgrown teeth of the babirusas that curl backward over their face? Oops. Mara Grunbaum is a very smart, very funny science writer who celebrates the best—or, really, the worst—of Evolution’s blunders. Here are more than 100 outlandish mammals, reptiles, insects, fish, birds, and other creatures whose very existence leaves us shaking our heads and muttering WTF?! Ms. Grunbaum’s especially brilliant stroke is to personify Evolution as a well-meaning but somewhat oblivious experimenter whose conversations with a skeptical narrator are hilarious. For almost 4 billion years, Evolution has produced a nonstop parade of inflatable noses, bizarre genitalia, and seriously awkward necks. What a comedian!

Download or read book A Natural History of the Future written by Rob Dunn and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2022-01-20 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past century, our species has made unprecedented technological innovations with which we have sought to control nature. In A Natural History of the Future, biologist Rob Dunn argues that such efforts are futile. We may see ourselves as life's overlords, but we are instead at its mercy. In the evolution of antibiotic resistance, the power of natural selection to create biodiversity, and even the surprising life of the London Underground, Dunn finds laws of life that no human activity can annul. When we create artificial islands of crops, dump toxic waste, or build communities, we provide new materials for old laws to shape. Life's future flourishing is not in question. Ours is. A Natural History of the Future sets a new standard for understanding the diversity and destiny of life itself.

Download or read book The Symbolic Species The Co evolution of Language and the Brain written by Terrence W. Deacon and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1998-04-17 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A work of enormous breadth, likely to pleasantly surprise both general readers and experts."—New York Times Book Review This revolutionary book provides fresh answers to long-standing questions of human origins and consciousness. Drawing on his breakthrough research in comparative neuroscience, Terrence Deacon offers a wealth of insights into the significance of symbolic thinking: from the co-evolutionary exchange between language and brains over two million years of hominid evolution to the ethical repercussions that followed man's newfound access to other people's thoughts and emotions. Informing these insights is a new understanding of how Darwinian processes underlie the brain's development and function as well as its evolution. In contrast to much contemporary neuroscience that treats the brain as no more or less than a computer, Deacon provides a new clarity of vision into the mechanism of mind. It injects a renewed sense of adventure into the experience of being human.

Download or read book Catastrophic Thinking written by David Sepkoski and published by Science.Culture. This book was released on 2020 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction: Why Extinction Matters -- The Meaning of Extinction: Catastrophe, Equilibrium, and Diversity -- Extinction in a Victorian Key -- Catastrophe and Modernity -- Extinction in the Shadow of the Bomb -- The Asteroid and the Dinosaur -- A Sixth Extinction? The Making of a Biodiversity Crisis -- Epilogue: Extinction in the Anthropocene.

Download or read book In the Light of Evolution written by National Academy of Sciences and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

Download or read book Guidelines for reintroductions and other conservation translocations written by Reintroduction and invasive species specialist groups' taskforce on moving plants and animals for conservation purposes and published by IUCN. This book was released on 2013 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "As the world's biodiversity faces the incessant threats of habitat loss, invasive species and climate change, there is an increasing need to consider more direct conservation interventions. Humans have moved organisms between sites for their own purposes for millennia, and this has yielded benefits for human kind, but in some cases has led to disastrous impacts. In response to this complex aspect of conservation management, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Reintroduction Specialist Group (RSG) and Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) have revised and published the IUCN 'Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations'"--Website.

Download or read book Science and the Endangered Species Act written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1995-10-13 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a far-reaching law that has sparked intense controversies over the use of public lands, the rights of property owners, and economic versus environmental benefits. In this volume a distinguished committee focuses on the science underlying the ESA and offers recommendations for making the act more effective. The committee provides an overview of what scientists know about extinctionâ€"and what this understanding means to implementation of the ESA. Habitatâ€"its destruction, conservation, and fundamental importance to the ESAâ€"is explored in detail. The book analyzes: Concepts of speciesâ€"how the term "species" arose and how it has been interpreted for purposes of the ESA. Conflicts between species when individual species are identified for protection, including several case studies. Assessment of extinction risk and decisions under the ESAâ€"how these decisions can be made more effectively. The book concludes with a look beyond the Endangered Species Act and suggests additional means of biological conservation and ways to reduce conflicts. It will be useful to policymakers, regulators, scientists, natural-resource managers, industry and environmental organizations, and those interested in biological conservation.