Download or read book The Runes of Evolution written by Simon Conway Morris and published by Templeton Foundation Press. This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 525 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did human beings acquire imaginations that can conjure up untrue possibilities? How did the Universe become self-aware? In The Runes of Evolution, Simon Conway Morris revitalizes the study of evolution from the perspective of convergence, providing us with compelling new evidence to support the mounting scientific view that the history of life is far more predictable than once thought. A leading evolutionary biologist at the University of Cambridge, Conway Morris came into international prominence for his work on the Cambrian explosion (especially fossils of the Burgess Shale) and evolutionary convergence, which is the process whereby organisms not closely related (not monophyletic), independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches. In The Runes of Evolution, he illustrates how the ubiquity of convergence hints at an underlying framework whereby many outcomes, not least brains and intelligence, are virtually guaranteed on any Earth-like planet. Conway Morris also emphasizes how much of the complexity of advanced biological systems is inherent in microbial forms. By casting a wider net, The Runes of Evolution explores many neglected evolutionary questions. Some are remarkably general. Why, for example, are convergences such as parasitism, carnivory, and nitrogen fixation in plants concentrated in particular taxonomic hot spots? Why do certain groups have a particular propensity to evolve toward particular states? Some questions lead to unexpected evolutionary insights: If bees sleep (as they do), do they dream? Why is that insect copulating with an orchid? Why have sponges evolved a system of fiber optics? What do mantis shrimps and submarines have in common? If dinosaurs had not gone extinct what would have happened next? Will a saber-toothed cat ever re-evolve? Cona Morris observes: “Even amongst the mammals, let alone the entire tree of life, humans represent one minute twig of a vast (and largely fossilized) arborescence. Every living species is a linear descendant of an immense string of now-vanished ancestors, but evolution itself is the very reverse of linear. Rather it is endlessly exploratory, probing the vast spaces of biological hyperspace. Indeed this book is a celebration of how our world is (and was) populated by a riot of forms, a coruscating tapestry of life.” The Runes of Evolution is the most definitive synthesis of evolutionary convergence to be published to date.
Download or read book The Runes of the Earth written by Stephen R. Donaldson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2004-10-14 with total page 913 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times bestselling author Stephen R. Donaldson presents the first novel of the four-volume finale to the series that’s become a modern fantasy classic: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Thomas Covenant lost everything. Abandoned by his wife and child, sick and alone, he was transported while unconscious to a magical, dreamlike world called the Land. Convinced it was all a delusion, Covenant was christened The Unbeliever by the Land’s inhabitants—but gave his life to save this new-found world he came to regard as precious. Ten years after Covenant’s death, Linden Avery still mourns for her beloved companion. But a violent confrontation with Covenant’s son, who is doing the evil Lord Foul’s bidding, forces her into the Land, where a dark malevolence is about to unmake the laws of nature—and of life and death itself. It is here that she comes upon Esmer, son of the Dancers of the Sea, a creature of strange powers who draws Linden backwards through time to witness Thomas Covenant’s return to life, and to reinvent the mysterious, dangerous, and violent history of the Land.
Download or read book Runes for Transformation written by Kaedrich Olsen and published by Weiser Books. This book was released on 2008-08-01 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Runes have long been used as vital tools for transformation. The Norse employed them as tools for communication, and the Vikings would use them as wisdom before embarking on a journey or entering battle. Runic scholar Kaedrich Olsen reclaims the transformative power of the runes for readers today as a key to unlocking our potential for personal growth and our life's vision. Runes for Transformation is unlike any other rune book on the market, with Olsen's unique techniques and applications for this ancient alphabet including affirmations, NLP, visualizations, and meditation, as well as the historical background essential to embarking on this path. A highly respected teacher and transpersonal path worker, Kaedrich Olsen posits that the time for this "deeper working" of the runes has come and this will aid readers in both personal and collective evolution. Runes for Transformation is a rich resource and excellent guide for readers to take the steps to change their lives with a boldly modern approach to the ancient runes and for "change that really matters."
Download or read book Life s Solution written by Simon Conway Morris and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-09-04 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The assassin's bullet misses, the Archduke's carriage moves forward, and a catastrophic war is avoided. So too with the history of life. Re-run the tape of life, as Stephen J. Gould claimed, and the outcome must be entirely different: an alien world, without humans and maybe not even intelligence. The history of life is littered with accidents: any twist or turn may lead to a completely different world. Now this view is being challenged. Simon Conway Morris explores the evidence demonstrating life's almost eerie ability to navigate to a single solution, repeatedly. Eyes, brains, tools, even culture: all are very much on the cards. So if these are all evolutionary inevitabilities, where are our counterparts across the galaxy? The tape of life can only run on a suitable planet, and it seems that such Earth-like planets may be much rarer than hoped. Inevitable humans, yes, but in a lonely Universe.
Download or read book From Extraterrestrials to Animal Minds written by Simon Conway Morris and published by Templeton Foundation Press. This book was released on 2022-03-28 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this learned romp of science writing, Cambridge professor Simon Conway Morris cheerfully challenges six assumptions—what he calls ‘myths’—that too often pass as unquestioned truths amongst the evolutionary orthodox. His convivial tour begins with the idea that evolution is boundless in the kinds of biological systems it can produce. Not true, he says. The process is highly circumscribed and delimited. Nor is it random. This popular notion holds that evolution proceeds blindly, with no endgame. But Conway Morris suggests otherwise, pointing to evidence that the processes of evolution are “seeded with inevitabilities.” If that is so, then what about mass extinctions? Don’t they steer the development of life in radically new directions? Rather the reverse, claims Conway Morris. Such cataclysms accelerate evolutionary developments that were going to happen anyway. And what about that other evolutionary canard: the “missing link”? There is plenty to choose from in the fossil record, but persistently overlooked is that in any group, there is not one but a phalanx of “missing links.” Once again, we under-score the near-inevitability of evolutionary outcomes. Turning from fossils to minds, Conway Morris critically examines the popular tenet that the intelligence of humans and animals are the same thing, a difference of degree, not kind. A closer scrutiny of our minds shows that, in reality, an unbridgeable gulf separates us from even the chimpanzees, so begging questions of consciousness and Mind. Finally, Conway Morris tackles the question of extraterrestrials. Undoubtedly, the size and scale of the universe suggest that alien life must exist somewhere beyond Earth and our tiny siloed solar system? After all, evolutionary convergence more than hints that human-like forms are universal. But Dr. Conway Morris has serious doubts. The famous Fermi Paradox (“Where are they?”) appears to hold: Alone in the cosmos—and unique, but not quite in the way one might expect.
Download or read book Tarsiers written by Patricia C. Wright and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tarsiiformes, or tarsiers for short, are a group of living species of special interest to primatologists because their combination of derived and ancient characters make them pivotal to understanding the roots of primate evolution. These small-bodied, nocturnal, solitary creatures resemble lower primates in their behavior but genetically, DNA evidence aligns them more closely with higher primates, such as monkeys, apes, and humans. These astounding creatures exhibit an ability found in no other living mammal3⁄4they can turn their heads 180 degrees in either direction to see both prey and predators. The world's only exclusive carnivorous primate, they eat live food (primarily insects, but the occasional vertebrate, such as lizards, snakes, or frogs will also do). This unique combination of behavior and anatomy makes the tarsier an especially interesting and controversial animal for study among primate behaviorists, evolutionists, and taxonomists, who view the tarsiers as "living fossils" that link past and present, lower and higher, primates in the long chain of evolutionary history. This new volume presents alternative and contrasting perspectives on the most debated questions that have arisen in tarsier studies. Top researchers bring together perspectives from anatomical, behavioral, genetic, and conservation studies in this new and exciting addition to the understanding of primate evolution. This book is a volume in the Rutgers Series on Human Evolution, edited by Robert Trivers, Lee Cronk, Helen Fischer, and Lionel Tiger.
Download or read book Convergent Evolution written by George R. McGhee, Jr. and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011-11-04 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An analysis of convergent evolution from molecules to ecosystems, demonstrating the limited number of evolutionary pathways available to life. Charles Darwin famously concluded On the Origin of Species with a vision of “endless forms most beautiful” continually evolving. More than 150 years later many evolutionary biologists see not endless forms but the same, or very similar, forms evolving repeatedly in many independent species lineages. A porpoise's fishlike fins, for example, are not inherited from fish ancestors but are independently derived convergent traits. In this book, George McGhee describes the ubiquity of the phenomenon of convergent evolution and connects it directly to the concept of evolutionary constraint—the idea that the number of evolutionary pathways available to life are not endless, but quite limited. Convergent evolution occurs on all levels, from tiny organic molecules to entire ecosystems of species. McGhee demonstrates its ubiquity in animals, both herbivore and carnivore; in plants; in ecosystems; in molecules, including DNA, proteins, and enzymes; and even in minds, describing problem-solving behavior and group behavior as the products of convergence. For each species example, he provides an abbreviated list of the major nodes in its phylogenetic classification, allowing the reader to see the evolutionary relationship of a group of species that have independently evolved a similar trait by convergent evolution. McGhee analyzes the role of functional and developmental constraints in producing convergent evolution, and considers the scientific and philosophical implications of convergent evolution for the predictability of the evolutionary process.
Download or read book Runic Amulets and Magic Objects written by Mindy MacLeod and published by Boydell Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fresh examination of one of the most contentious issues in runic scholarship - magical or not? The runic alphabet, in use for well over a thousand years, was employed by various Germanic groups in a variety of ways, including, inevitably, for superstitious and magical rites. Formulaic runic words were inscribed onto small items that could be carried for good luck; runic charms were carved on metal or wooden amulets to ensure peace or prosperity. There are invocations and allusions to pagan and Christian gods and heroes, to spirits of disease, and even to potential lovers. Few such texts are completely unique to Germanic society, and in fact, most of the runic amulets considered in this book show wide-ranging parallels from a variety of European cultures. The question ofwhether runes were magical or not has divided scholarship in the area. Early criticism embraced fantastic notions of runic magic - leading not just to a healthy scepticism, but in some cases to a complete denial of any magical element whatsoever in the runic inscriptions. This book seeks to re-evaulate the whole question of runic sorcery, attested to not only in the medieval Norse literature dealing with runes but primarily in the fascinating magical texts of the runic inscriptions themselves. Dr MINDY MCLEOD teaches in the Department of Linguistics, Deakin University, Melbourne; Dr BERNARD MEES teaches in the Department of History at the University of Melbourne.
Download or read book Darwinian Politics written by Paul H. Rubin and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of political behaviour from a modern evolutionary perspective. Paul H. Rubin discusses group or social behaviour, including: ethnic and racial conflict; altruism and co-operation; envy; political power; and the role of religion in politics.
Download or read book The Gates of Winter written by Mark Anthony and published by Spectra. This book was released on 2003-07-29 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a masterwork of brilliant storytelling, the epic fantasy of two parallel worlds—mystical Eldh and modern Earth—takes a surprising turn in Book Five of Mark Anthony’s thrilling saga of magic, suspense, and adventure, The Last Rune. The enigmatic Shemal has known only two Runebreakers. One, her rival Kelephon, served the Pale King and his army of apocalypse. The other was Travis Wilder, the Runebreaker of prophecy. Now, in outcast and newly made Runebreaker Larad, Shemal has found a weapon to open the door between worlds. As the shadow of Shemal’s master, the vengeful god Mohg, Lord of Nightfall, looms, Grace Beckett seeks to harness wild magic and Travis Wilder joins her in the struggle between warriors and mages, witches and kings and betrayers of every form. As the time of final reckoning approaches, Travis and Grace will find themselves facing a dark conspiracy of evil whose virulence threatens to overwhelm anyone who stands in its way. Yet if they don’t succeed in stopping it, two worlds will be lost forever.
Download or read book Runemarks written by Joanne Harris and published by Knopf Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2008-01-08 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seven o’clock on a Monday morning, five hundred years after the end of the world, and goblins had been at the cellar again. . . . Not that anyone would admit it was goblins. In Maddy Smith’s world, order rules. Chaos, old gods, fairies, goblins, magic, glamours–all of these were supposedly vanquished centuries ago. But Maddy knows that a small bit of magic has survived. The “ruinmark” she was born with on her palm proves it–and makes the other villagers fearful that she is a witch (though helpful in dealing with the goblins-in-the-cellar problem). But the mysterious traveler One-Eye sees Maddy’s mark not as a defect, but as a destiny. And Maddy will need every scrap of forbidden magic One-Eye can teach her if she is to survive that destiny.
Download or read book Runes written by Matthew Leigh Embleton and published by . This book was released on 2021-02-28 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Runes are a fascinating example of the ingenuity of language, communication, and symbolic meaning. They show us human nature's attempt to use them as tools of expression, a divinatory means to understand the forces that exist all around us that shape our lives, and our attempts to influence these forces by signifying our intentions to the divine and the universe. Unfortunately like all writing systems and symbols at some time or another in history, they have been misused by a minority in a way that goes against their original meaning and creates misunderstanding in public consciousness about what these symbols really mean, who uses them, and why. It is the aim of this book to provide the bigger picture about where these symbols have come from, how they have developed, how they have been used, and how their use has evolved over two thousand years.
Download or read book A Practical Guide to the Runes written by Lisa Peschel and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 1989 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This guidebook will help you discover the oracular nature of the runes and how to use them as a magickal tool for insight, protection, and luck.
Download or read book Yyggssbok written by Ulf Asgardson and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2005-04-18 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a blinding lightning strike to the ways and traditions of the Northern peoples and the magic of the runes. It is an absolute mental and spiritual aviking to uncharted waters and hitherto unexplored territory. This book introduces such a scope of new metaphysical and Runic concepts, that in the near future, a new era of magical thought will be defined by its publication!! Not only does Yyggssbok define the twelve elements of the Runes, but it presents the most complete, poetic, and powerful version of the Norse cosmology that has as of yet been written. The Runic Poem presented as a synthesis of traditional lore bound to the foundations of the new, is perhaps the most powerful, beautiful, and intelligent runic poem ever written for Northern practitioners. The great hallmark of this work is a description and analysis of the two energies of magic and their role in the evolution and progression of the human soul. Never has such a depth of understanding been applied to such a complex and elusive subject as reincarnation and the function of magic via the mind-body-soul of man. The lore of the runes takes a radical evolutionary leap of many decades and is presented as a further unfolding of the thoughts of the greats such as Aswynn, Pennick, and Thorsson. The Runic ways may just have found a way to reclaim the natural evolution and progression that was cut short by the violent conversion of the Northlands by the Church!!! This book is of such importance that Freya Aswynn has made it the required reading for her advanced magical students. In Freya's own words, "I honestly support his (Ulf's) claim that it (Yyggssbok) has been inspired by Odin himself. I recognize His paw prints all over the place."
Download or read book Celestial Rune Sigils written by All Natural Spirit and published by . This book was released on 2020-07-10 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first and only book (which I am aware of) that is exclusively dedicated to a comprehensive system of bind runes created from the Elder Futhark! At a glance, it provides the following: * Easy-to-read and easy-to-use information with no expert rune knowledge required * Contains 24 black and white Elder Futhark bind runes, each with an unique stanza * Discusses the bind runes as active tools for magick, spiritual and/or self-empowerment rituals * Guidance on the purpose and use of each bindrune * Designs include additional western alchemical elements as well as a novel alchemical symbol of my own design My studies into the Elder Futhark, which have fascinated me since childhood, have been converted into a coherent system of bindrunes for everyday use without the requirement of expert knowledge. I have named this bindrune project; the Celestial Rune Sigils. It started as a set of magickal tools with which to facilitate self-improvement through the exploration of spirituality. Subsequently, I have transformed the bindrunes into a set of 24 black and white sigils, representative of their origins from the 24 Elder Futhark Runes. The sigils were initially featured on the Celestial Rune Sigils oracle deck (more details on my website) and now they have been converted into book format as well! In this book I provide guidance on the crafting, uses and invocation of the Celestial Rune Sigils. These sigils are not merely meant for use in divination, but rather they have a more active role with each sigil having a specific intention and contribution towards metaphysical, spiritual and magickal rituals. Therefore, the Celestial Rune Sigils are not only restricted to tarot readers or oracle enthusiasts. They have been created for the larger metaphysical community and would be of special interest to our energy workers and magick wielders. They are appropriate for most ages, including the very young and those who are wiser, since they can be used for both personal rituals and to assist clients during various healing and/or magick sessions. The Celestial Rune Sigils represent a metaphysical, spiritual or magickal toolbox, with each sigil representing a different metaphysical tool. Each sigil can be used in this way, much as one would use a wand, crystal or other spiritual tool. There is a lot of freedom as to how precisely to apply each card and I hope that the practitioners who make use of this book will find their own intuitive ways of applying each of the sigils during their spiritual journeys and magickal rituals. I appreciate any feedback, comments and/or reviews about this book as I am constantly striving to improve on the system and to make it relatable to all my fellow rune enthusiasts!
Download or read book Elder Futhark Arcanum written by All Natural Spirit and published by . This book was released on 2021-02-21 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you an open-minded spiritual practitioner? A seeker of truth and knowledge? Someone who is willing to discuss alternate perspectives? Then this book is for you. Here within is my attempt at finding the truth behind the purpose and origin of the Elder Futhark as well as intuitively deciphering their somewhat obscure meanings. At a glance this book provides: * Discussion on how runes became a language used for divination * Modern meaning interpretations for each rune * Abstract geometric artwork for each rune * Additional western alchemical and astronomical associations for each rune * Several overview tables and references In this context, this book does not discuss the traditional meanings or interpretations of the runes, but rather more modern outlooks and perspectives on each. Instead of adding more content to already confusing and conflicting traditional/conventional meanings - I have opted for the opposite, to simplify rather than complicate. I have tried to distill the core of each rune through my studies into their history, linguistics and metaphysics in order to make clear delineations between the runes. Thus, brief mentions are made to traditional meanings in favour of more discussion around the transference of the runes into our daily lives with reference to more familiar circumstances and challenges. I am quite partial to the metaphysical symbolism of animals, plants and objects, thus this book includes plenty representations form the animal kingdom as well as everyday objects and some minor contributions from herbology. I have tried to keep to the mythology related to the Germanic tribes and to the everyday references of people living in Iron Age Europe. Therefore, some of my interpretations are similar to their traditional counterparts, but the majority of them have been cast anew. I truly appreciate any reviews, feedback and recommendations as I am constantly striving towards improving this runic body of work to make it more relatable to my fellow rune enthusiasts!
Download or read book The Crucible of Creation written by Simon Conway Morris and published by Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paleontologist Simon Conway Morris provides a guided tour of the world's richest treasure trove of fossils--a fantastically rich deposit of bizarre and bewildering Cambrain fossils, located in Western Canada. 4 plates. 90 linecuts.
