1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910460753603321

Autore

Conway Morris S (Simon)

Titolo

The runes of evolution : how the universe became self-aware / / Simon Conway Morris

Pubbl/distr/stampa

West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania : , : Templeton Press, , 2015

©2015

ISBN

1-59947-465-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (525 p.)

Disciplina

576.8

Soggetti

Evolution (Biology) - Philosophy

Convergence (Biology)

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Dinner on the Lagoon; 2. Consider the Octopus; 3. Convergence: How Clear Is the Signal?; 4. The Inevitability of Form; 5. Swallowing Convergence; 6. Biting Convergence; 7. Walking (and Swimming) to Convergence; 8. Sticking to Convergence; 9. When Evolution Begins to See; 10. The Color of Evolution; 11. The Smell and Taste of Evolution; 12. (In)tangible Evolution; 13. The Road to Mushrooms; 14. The Road to Plants; 15. The Arthropods Show the Way; 16. Converging on the Farm; 17. The Road to the Sky; 18. The Birds Converge

19. Sexual Convergence 20. The Road to Mammals; 21. The Roots of Sentience; 22. Convergent Brains; 23. The Road to "King Cortex"; 24. Convergent Minds; 25. Playing with Convergence; 26. The Final Steps; 27. Back to the Lagoon; Notes; General Index; Index of General

Sommario/riassunto

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 evolution