The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

Book Description

For over three decades, Ray Kurzweil has been one of the most respected and provocative advocates of the role of technology in our future. In his classic The Age of Spiritual Machines, he argued that computers would soon rival the full range of human intelligence at its best. Now he examines the next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and knowledge-sharing ability of our creations.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic insight into a possible, plauible future of humans and the universe.......2007-10-07

This is one the the favorite books I have ever read. It is not an easy read for a non-scientist, but absolutely rewarding. It is surprisingly accessible, despite the technical and intellectual scope. The logical and insightful nature of Kurzweil's arguments make it a compelling and inspirational read. The book has had a huge impact on my thinking and introduced me to the whole subject of futurism. It is affecting my investment and career decisions. There were numerous mind-bending, mind-expanding moments during reading this as the gravity of the concepts sank in. Garreau's book, Radical Evolution, is a great follow-up read, comparing and contrasting Kurzweil's optimism with the pessimism of others. It is a joy and luxury to be exposed to the visions such "big thinkers".

Look-out future here we come.......2007-09-10

I read this book with such optimism for our future. I only hope to live long enough to see some of the exciting events in our future on this planet. Just when you think you have seen it all, you "ain't seen nutt'n yet". Come on world let's work together and solves some of the mysteries that are tearing us apart.

hold onto your hat.......2007-08-29

the future is going to be wild.

ray kurzweil is the leading guru of the not so far off world where key technologies merge to allow us to turn ourselves into non biological humans.

no crack pot he. when kurzweil presented his thesis at MIT the arguments centered on the when, not the if of kurzweils predictions

Not for non geeks!.......2007-07-26

Although the reading is tedious for someone who is not that scientifically or computer oriented, the concepts and ideas the book presents are fascinating and a bit scary!

Most important book of the next 50 yrs.......2007-07-25

At some point I hope that people will stop paying attention to Paris Hilton and read this book. Our species is at a crossroads and we have some very important decisions to make in the next few decades. This book more than any other will prepare us to make the right choices. Read it now, or be devoured by a swarm of nanobots in 2029 when Skynet takes over.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Average customer rating:

Very insightful, a worth while read
guns,germs and steel
Dimly Focused
Guns Germs and Steel review
A modern, scientific "just so" story

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Jared M. Diamond
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Human Geography | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

History & Nonfiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0393317552

Amazon.com

Explaining what William McNeill called The Rise of the West has become the central problem in the study of global history. In Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond presents the biologist's answer: geography, demography, and ecological happenstance. Diamond evenhandedly reviews human history on every continent since the Ice Age at a rate that emphasizes only the broadest movements of peoples and ideas. Yet his survey is binocular: one eye has the rather distant vision of the evolutionary biologist, while the other eye--and his heart--belongs to the people of New Guinea, where he has done field work for more than 30 years.

Book Description

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. In this "artful, informative, and delightful" (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world. Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage, and then developed religion --as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war --and adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. A major advance in our understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, the Rhone-Poulenc Prize, and the Commonwealth club of California's Gold Medal.

Customer Reviews:

Very insightful, a worth while read.......2007-10-06

I highly recommend reading this book. Diamond provides compelling evidence for the disparity between civilizations. Any fan of history or just anyone curious about the rise of our current state will find a great read in Guns, Germs, and Steel.

guns,germs and steel.......2007-10-05

great perspective other than what we in western cultures traditionally have in in our relations with 3rd world countries

Dimly Focused.......2007-09-25

Though erudite and crammed with information, some of it a bit arcane, "Guns, Germs, and Steel"suffers somewhat from a blunted point of view. Is the author trying to tell us that some of our assumptions concerning the rise of cultural norms are over simplified? If so, he might have done so more forcefully with fewer words, more carefully selected facts, and perhaps a more lucid writing style. Do some societies prevail because their native tongue is more efficient and expressive than those employed by other cultures? Following that theme might have made for a more intriguing book. Are there some determinisms at work in every culture which inhibit the fulfillment of its destiny? Maybe the author thinks so, but the massive brush used to paint such a scenario causes the entire work to shimmy through a mass of frequently fascinating material without conclusions. The book's excessive length detracts from its compelling points: we live, some of the time, at the mercy of gigantic forces we do not control. Do genetics control our formation, or climate, or enormous economic systems? And who can give us convincing answers? Anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists of course come to mind. But what of poets, seers, artists, and theologians? Maybe Jared Diamond knows, but by the time he finishes inundating us with facts, some slightly pretentious, it's hard to tell for sure. I had hoped this book's scope and claim would give convincing guidance. But because it lacks definite focus, it did not.

Guns Germs and Steel review.......2007-09-24

This is an excellent book, the hypothesis is very compelling and interesting. I watched the DVD in addition to the book and I was not disappointed at all. Worth the read!

A modern, scientific "just so" story.......2007-09-23

One of the most important books of our time; it single-handedly wipes out every justification for racism, and gets to the roots of why humans groups are where they are presently. An amazing synthesis of disciplines into one very readable explanation of how it came to pass that Europeans happened to be the ones that colonized the rest of the planet instead of some other group. The most clear example I've ever seen of why archaeology, and all the social sciences are not only important but vital to modern people. The better our understanding of the past the more likely we are to be able to let go of the emotionality that keeps us at each other's throats. A modern "just so" story.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chinese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Japanese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Doctors & Medicine | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Lawyers & Criminals | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Love, Sex & Marriage | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

French | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Victorian | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Epic | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

German | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Russian | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Chinese | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Conspiracy Theories | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

War on Drugs | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

English (All) | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Science | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Online Research | Genealogy | Reference | Subjects | Books

Native American | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Magic & Wizards | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Sailor Moon | Popular Characters | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Pilates | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

History | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Biographies | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Children's Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Health Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Romance Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and the Battle for America's Soul

Average customer rating:

very interesting account
WHAT CONTROVERSY?
A Riveting Account Well Worth the Read
Get the monkey off Darwin's back
Riveting

Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and the Battle for America's Soul
Edward Humes
Manufacturer: Ecco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Education | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Science & Religion | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Curricula | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0060885483
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Book Description

What should we teach our children about where we come from?

Is evolution good science? Is it a lie? Is it incompatible with faith?

Did Charles Darwin really say man came from monkeys? Have scientists really detected "intelligent design"—evidence of a creator—in nature?

What happens when a town school board decides to confront such questions head-on, thrusting its students, then an entire community, onto the front lines of America's culture wars?

From bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize- winning journalist Edward Humes comes a dramatic story of faith, science, and courage unlike any since the famous Scopes Monkey Trial. Monkey Girl takes you behind the scenes of the recent war on evolution in Dover, Pennsylvania, the epic court case on teaching "intelligent design" it spawned, and the national struggle over what Americans believe about human origins.

Told from the perspectives of all sides of the battle, Monkey Girl is about what happens when science and religion collide.

Customer Reviews:

very interesting account.......2007-09-27

This is a well-written account of the evolution-ID battle in Dover, Pennsylvania. It is more even-handed than many accounts, and attempts to describe the personalities involved. More of a sociological and journalistic treatment than a biological or education one, but the story is well-told, gripping, and complicated nuances are explained clearly.

WHAT CONTROVERSY?.......2007-09-12

Our president was recently quoted as saying the "jury is still out" on evolution. (To which Lewis Black replied: "WHAT jury, where?")

Where, indeed?

There's no need to mince words here: evolutionary theory - Darwin's defined mechanism of change through random mutation and natural selection - has been widely confirmed by modern genetics, to say nothing of "hard" evidence in the form of transitional species in the fossil record.

Specifically, the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA as the molecular building block and instructional "codebook" of life, and human genome coding - which were unknown in Darwin's day - all tend to validate evolution.
"As the science of biochemistry has developed, as the science of cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, and other elements of science have developed, all of these have fit beautifully into the general framework described by Darwin almost 150 years ago!" says biology professor and textbook author Kenneth Miller.

Yet there are still those in our society who would have us believe that - to paraphrase Tina Fey - Adam and Eve rode dinosaurs to church! It seems that these misguided and misinformed souls, (who apparently regard The FLINTSTONES as if it were a documentary,) would presume to indoctrinate our children rather than teach them.

We can thank the Founding Fathers for their wisdom and foresight in giving us the Establishment Clause - thereby fashioning a nation in which religion and government were never to interfere with each other. Without its protection, we'd all be fighting the same Dark Age, regressive, anti-intellectual forces that the parents of Dover, Pennsylvania suddenly found themselves confronted with in 2004. (Yes, you read right - 2004. Not 1304 - or even 1804, mind you - but 2004!!)

I read Edward Humes' excellent MONKEY GIRL from cover to cover in two sittings, and I can recommend it, without reservation, to thinking adults of all walks of life. That is, people who are interested in science, reason, education, law and logic; people who care about who we really are, and how we actually came to be.
"Intelligent Design" proponents - and other children - are encouraged to wait for the comic book version.

[P.S: One amusing postscript - which isn't in the book - concerns the cretinous evangelist "Dr" Kent Hovind, a smug creationist huckster who's been spreading pseudo-scientific babble for decades, both in and out of Dover. He was sentenced in January 2007 to 10 years in Federal prison for income tax evasion. Tsk, tsk! It seems that Mr Hovind's math is just as suspect as his "science"!]

A Riveting Account Well Worth the Read.......2007-09-07

As someone who's never had issues with religion and science, including evolution, I wanted to know what all the Intelligent Design fuss was about. So I started reading books. First I read Michael Shermer's Why Darwin Matters. This peaked my interest to know more. Then I found Monkey Girl. I almost didn't buy the book, thinking that reading about a court case would be too boring. Boy was I ever wrong!

I couldn't put this book down. The author does a masterful job of painting a vivid picture of everyone involved in the case and providing helpful background information, including history sometimes going back centuries, to show how the U.S. divide between evolution and Intelligent Design came together in one school board in one high school in one small town in Pennsylvania.

Now I understand much better.

The last chapter of the book begins:

"It is humanity's unique blessing and peculiar curse to be the only species on Earth, as far as we know, that worries so obsessively and at such great expense about where we came from and why we're here."

My journey to know these things has taken me through Protestantism, Judaism, and now Buddhism. I've felt fortunate to live in a country that protects my right and everyone else's to be able to learn about and practice my chosen spiritual path. Or to choose to follow no particular path if I want.

But some Christians in this country want to do away with this right. To them, their approach to religion is the only approach. They even say it's what this country was founded on. I've read that's not the case. So now I'm reading about the faith of our founding fathers.

What bothers me the most, if the recounting of the Dover case is true, which I think it is, is that people who call themselves religious believers will lie to try to impose their beliefs on others. This seems very unChristian to me, and unJewish, unMuslim, and unBuddhist for that matter.

Given the judge's ruling in the Dover case that Intelligent Design is religion, not science, I'm hopeful that my Constitutional rights will continue to be upheld by people who understand their vital importance to our country. I have no problem with any religion, as long as I or my children or grandchildren are not required to learn about it in school or any other public or governmental place.

Get the monkey off Darwin's back.......2007-08-11

Monkey Girl, by Edward Humes, is the story about the ongoing conflict between the theory of evolution and Intelligent Design (ID). While Humes holds no official training in biology or theology, in this book he has been able to use his skills as an investigative writer to bring the conflicts of these two theories into a clearer picture than what other books have been able to achieve. According to Humes, the intent of this book was to "help dispel the larger myths about evolution theory, its relationship to religion, and the questions that science can and cannot answer." It is the goal of this author to clarify the facts of this dispute in order to allow his open-minded readers to decide what they believe to be true. I believe Humes has achieved this goal.

A major part of the appeal of this book is the style in which it is written. It allows the non-scientific reader to understand some complicated topics. As shown in the trial in Harrisburg, PA (Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District), it is very easy for people to get bogged down or even bored by the details of evolution. The greatest strength of this book is that it teaches the reader about these details inside a story that is not just easy to comprehend, but in a way that keeps the reader's attention from beginning to end. To do this, Humes ably portrays the ridiculous and shameful behavior of fundamentalist Christian groups of people who have played and who continue to play an active role in this controversy. One extremist that Humes points to is the fundamentalist speaker Kent Hovind. According to Hume, Hovind outlandishly preaches that the teaching of evolution is the cause of the moral decay in this country and is directly related to "increases in crime, premarital sex, adultery, and drug use." What is scary is that Humes never runs out of extremists to talk about, as he is able to tell the reader about death treats Judge Jones, a Republican appointed by George W. Bush and much approved of by the Intelligent Design people before the trial in Harrisburg, received when he dared to rule against their case. While the portrayal of these extremists is a strength for this book and is understandable, it also could be considered a weakness. I believe that Humes devotes too much print to these extremists. While he does say that there are mainstream Christian groups, including the Catholic Church, that have no problem with theory of evolution, much less time is given to this much larger group of people.

In leading up to the climax of this book, Humes gives the reader a history of evolution's disagreements with creationism and introduces the latest challenge, ID, being put forth by the Discovery Institute. A well-funded think tank of some very bright "scientists", the goal of the Discovery Institute is to introduce ID into the public school system. Once the stage has been set, Humes describes the scene in Harrisburg where, not only was the judge convinced that ID was essentially creationism, but also a scene where one by one, scientists convincingly showed that the theory of evolution is real science and ID is not. For example, proponents of ID dispute the evidence of decent from a common ancestor. Yet, evidence in the trial showed that the chromosomes of chimpanzees are remarkably similar to those of humans. Also, Dr. Michael Behe has argued that complex parts of an organism such as the blood-clotting cascade could not have come from evolution. His theory, irreducible complexity, is that "natural selection can't create such a complex machine all in one step, nor could it gradually assemble it in the conventional evolutionary model, one bit at a time, because the bits don't work on their own." But, much to Behe's embarrassment, his theory was proven wrong under cross-examination in a way that the judge described as "painful." Time and again, Humes describes scientists who were very able to convince the judge that the facts show that ID is not science and is religiously based and therefore should not be taught in a public school system.

Monkey Girl is a well-written and informative book that should play a crucial role in helping many legislators, judges, school officials, and average Americans understand the controversy between evolution and Intelligent Design and the true facts about each theory. In writing this book, Edward Humes has provided a valuable service to the world of science that will hopefully have a positive impact on the theory of evolution and how it relates to religious beliefs. For those mainstream Christians who believe that an intelligent designer has utilized evolution to mold the creation over the last 3.5 billion years, this book will provide some answers.

Riveting.......2007-08-10

I thought I knew a lot about the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial: I had read Judge Jones's decision and some of the trial testimony, I've read books written by some of the witnesses, and so forth. I expected this book to fill in around the edges of my understanding.

Instead, it showed me a whole new picture of the trial and its place in the American "culture wars." To begin with, the book is very well written and exciting. (I stayed up reading it last night four hours past my usual bedtime.) Second, it shows players on all sides as intricate, three-dimensional individuals. It would be easy to ridicule Bill Buckingham as an ignorant rube, but in this book he comes across as a man of courage and conviction, as well as a man lacking an understanding of either science or religion. Humes makes his own opinions clear, but those who disagree with him are treated with respect, while those who agree with him are not given a free pass. Finally, while Humes centers his writing on the Dover trial and the science of evolution, he also puts it into context with discussions of Scopes and Kansas, as well as the role of reason in making policy.

One specific thing I learned from this book is that Dover school board members and administrators thought that the term "origin of life" meant macroevolution, speciation, and the origin of humanity. I didn't believe anyone could be so far off base, but I looked up the trial transcripts and found that he was not exaggerating.

I found three errors: (1) Humes claims that the Revolutionary Battle of Yorktown, Virginia occurred in York, Pennsylvania. (2) He describes iron molecules (not atoms) as spin aligned. (3) He twice claims that Bill O'Reilly broadcasts for the Cable News Network. (On a third occasion Humes correctly places O'Reilly at Fox News.)

Humes's love of America, while never mentioned explicitly, comes through clearly on every page. Humes worries about our country in an environment were every complex question is reduced to a simplistic two-sided barroom brawl, and were people cannot distinguish fact from opinion.

Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)

Average customer rating:

Addressing the Collective Action Problem
One of the most important works in the social science literature published in the last 100 years
conventional theory applied to odd cases

Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)
Elinor Ostrom
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Business Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Outdoors & Nature | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0521405998

Book Description

The governance of natural resources used by many individuals in common is an issue of increasing concern to policy analysts. Both state control and privatization of resources have been advocated, but neither the state nor the market have been uniformly successful in solving common pool resource problems. After critiquing the foundations of policy analysis as applied to natural resources, Elinor Ostrom here provides a unique body of empirical data to explore conditions under which common pool resource problems have been satisfactorily or unsatisfactorily solved. Dr. Ostrom first describes three models most frequently used as the foundation for recommending state or market solutions. She then outlines theoretical and empirical alternatives to these models in order to illustrate the diversity of possible solutions. In the following chapters she uses institutional analysis to examine different ways--both successful and unsuccessful--of governing the commons. In contrast to the proposition of the tragedy of the commons argument, common pool problems sometimes are solved by voluntary organizations rather than by a coercive state. Among the cases considered are communal tenure in meadows and forests, irrigation communities and other water rights, and fisheries.

Customer Reviews:

Addressing the Collective Action Problem.......2007-08-02

Ostrom attempts to refute the belief that only through state and or market-centered controls can commonly pooled resources (CPRs) be effectively governed. Ostrom writes, "Communities of individuals have relied on institutions resembling neither the state nor the market to govern some resource systems with reasonable degrees of success over long periods of time" (p. 1). Governing the Commons sets out to discover why some groups are able to effectively govern and manage CPRs and other groups fail. She tries to identify both the internal and external factors "that can impede or enhance the capabilities of individuals to use and govern CPRs."

The first section of the book examines both state-controlled and privatization property rights regimes, and illustrates failures in both regimes; namely, that central authorities often fail to have complete accuracy of information, have only limited monitoring capabilities, and possess a weak sanctioning reliability. As such, a centralized governing body may actually govern the commons inaccurately and make a bad situation worse. In the case of privatized property rights regimes, Ostrom illustrates two main points: 1) it assumes that property is homogenous and any division of property will be equitable; and 2) privatization will not work with non-stationary property (fisheries, for example).

After discussing the state-controlled and privatization property rights regimes, Ostrom attempts examine the causes of successful CPR governance, and the catalysts which lead to failure. Being part of the "new institutionalist" school, Ostrom seeks to examine the rules, structures, and frameworks within the various CPR governance structures. Ostrom has discovered a number of "design principles" within the successful CPR governance cases. These principles include: 1) a clear definition of boundaries, 2) monitors who either are appropriators of the resource or accountable to the appropriators, 3) graduated sanctions, 4) mechanisms controlled by the appropriators used to mediate conflict and when necessary, change the rules, 5) a congruence between the rules used and the local conditions.

In other words, Ostrom suggests that these "design principles," form a cooperative institutional structure. If the correct institutions are in place, the players will see cooperation as the best means to gain optimal outcomes. These mechanisms create a confidence between players that defections will be minimal, and those that do defect will be sanctioned accordingly. Additionally, the institutional structures create an environment in which resources are distributed in such a way that all (or at least most) players benefit. As such, many of these institutional structures must be accompanied by a good deal of trust between players. This can only be developed over time and is most likely to succeed when the number of players in the CPR is reasonably small.

One of the most important works in the social science literature published in the last 100 years.......2006-12-30

"Governing the Commons" has become a classic, not only within the literature of political science, but more broadly throughout the social sciences. In the book, Elinor Ostrom argues brilliantly and compelling for a third way of avoiding Garrett Hardin's "tragedy of the commons," in addition to privatization (conversion of the commons to private property) or government regulation (conversion of the commons to public property). Though numerous examples, Ostrom demonstrates how users of common property resources have managed, in various places around the world, to sustainably manage those resources through local, self-regulation. In other words, common property regimes can avoid the "tragedy of the commons."

Ostrom recognizes that common property management regimes do not always work. Indeed, the seem to fail as often as they succeed. To explain why this is the case, and to help predict the likelihood of success or failure, Ostrom develops an elaborate and very useful model of common property success/failure. In the 15 years since she published "Governing the Commons," that model has not been significantly improved by other scholars. Her book remains as current and important today, as it was when she first published it in 1990. It is required reading for all social scientists, indeed anyone, interested in resource conservation and property systems.

conventional theory applied to odd cases.......2002-05-22

Ostroms' book covers a variety of cases where allocational difficulties arise. She employs sound economic reasoning in analyzing a number of cases where ordinary property rights enforcment is difficult. This book illustrates how vital institutional arrangements are in managing natural resources. Self-described environmentalists should read this book to see how many of the problems that concern them can actually get solved. The history in this book is made interesting through the application of economic concepts. This is not light reading, but it surely is interesting- for serious readers.

Human Variation: Races, Types, and Ethnic Groups (6th Edition)

Average customer rating:

Science at a low level
Human Variation and Genetics
A diverse, useful, yet disorganized work on human variation.
Ho hum textbook on what ought to be a fascinating topic

Human Variation: Races, Types, and Ethnic Groups (6th Edition)
Stephen Molnar
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0131927655

Book Description

This classic introduction to human variation has been updated to include the issues and controversies facing the contemporary study of diversity. Covers the adaptation of complex traits; how the race concept shapes our perspective of health and disease; the distribution of human differences; and human variability and behavior. For those studying anthropology, biology, evolution, or human variation or human diversity.

Customer Reviews:

Science at a low level.......2006-03-24

I have very mixed feelings about this book. It is a good introduction to the human DNA, Chromosomes and Genes, and it is also good at showing the diversity around the world when it comes to Blood Groups, Enzymes and Hemoglobin Variants.

But Mr. Molnar is so afraid of admitting that races exists that he hides away important facts that he don't like. He strongly denies that there are different behavior among the races when the opposite actually is prooved all over. Just ask prison officers and teachers. That Negroids has up to 20 % more of the Hormone Testosterone than Whites is a so importent fact that it indeed should have been paid attention to in this book, but it is not mentioned at all! Where else than in a book like this should it have been discussed??? This high Testosterone-level makes people more aggressive and sexually active and is an importent reason for behavioral differences among the races. It explains, among many other things, the high crime-rate among Negroids (149 per 100 000 is a murder or rapist in USA), and the rellative low crime-rate among Whites (42 per 100 000 in USA) because Whites have less Testosteron. I know this is taboo, but it is altso facts that Molnar obvious hide in his book to stay politically correct.

When there are theories that not fit in with Molnar's bias, he just call them pseudo-science instead of trying to argue against it. An excample is the measure of the skulls of different races. This has been done in more than a hundred years and always brings out the same results; that Asians have biggest brains, Europeans middle, an Negroids the smallest. A hundred years with IQ-testing shows also a relationship between races concerning brain-size an intelligence. Molnar tries to cope with this by pointing to a couple of writers long time ago who had medium to small brains, and by this "argument" prove that there are no correlation with brain-size and IQ. As if there is an eternal rule that writers are more intelligent than others! This is science at a very low level. Molnar must know that the brains of two random writers from long ago can't proove anything about brain-size and IQ among races. In Norway, where I live, you have to pass an exam called Exam Philosophicum if you want to study at the university, and during The Exam Philosophicum you learn, among many other things, logical argumentation. The way Molnar argue wouldn't pass this test at all. To find out the correlation between IQ and brain-size you have to measure a lot of brains from different races. This have been done in more than a hundred years and the result are always the same: Asians have biggest brains and score highest on IQ-tests, Europeans in the middle, and Negroids at the bottom. This is well known facts, but Molnar call it pseudo-science and refuse to discuss it further. I think that is cowardly.

In the book, Molnar don't like to divide Etnic populations into races, but suddenly he finds it useable although in attacking the IQ-results of Negroids because, as he argue, there are different "races" in Africa with different mental ability, and therefore it is wrong to test all Negroes from Sub-Sahara as if they where one race. So in attacking the IQ he suddenly find it acceptable to do divide people into races nevertheles.

It is very confusing when Molnar, as an expert, try to fool the reader the way he does. But as I mentioned, the book also has it's better sides. Skip the pages about intelligence or read J. P. Rusthons book "Race, Evolution and Behavior" instead. It's a much more honest book.

Human Variation and Genetics.......2005-09-21

Molnar's book is a wonderful introduction to human genetics, variation, and racial classification (that is, race is an illusion), just as the title suggests. Parts of the book are highly involved and technical, giving both the amateur and the professional room for learning. The book would be great for undergrads and graduate students.

A diverse, useful, yet disorganized work on human variation........2003-09-05

Having survived a quarter-long course in anthropology using this as a textbook, I've acquired a pretty good feel for its strengths and its faults.

Let's start with the latter and work toward the former. What will bother most people is the occasionally lacking organization/illustration of the subject matter. While this is fine in a college environment, the layman can easily get lost in its pages. The chapters were probably practical enough from the author's perspective, the bulk going from one "racial" feature to another and exposing the actual evolutionary roots, but I would have liked more theoretical continuity.

Also, despite the mass of excellent data, the book lacks a proper genetic analysis of human variation. Research has given us an idea of how far various conventional "groups" are from each other, genetically speaking--sometimes in direct contravention to the expected associations. This sort of analysis is elementary to tracking our remarkable journey into the far reaches of the world, and should not be omitted in a text that considers what happened in the process.

As an extension of my first complaint, it's the lack of theoretical perspective which makes "A reader's" review possible. Had the author made the meta-scientific point of race being an irrelevant construct, my fellow reviewer would not have spoken of "...the big *racial* differences in size, speed, leaping ability, and muscularity...," since there are quite valid selective factors behind such variation, independent of any perceived "race." To Molnar's credit, he *does* take a look at stature in its evolutionary context. In any case, one must not turn "a feature present in people seen as belonging to a race" into "a racial feature." Accordingly, Molnar should have noted the inherent logical circularity of racial distinctions: Races are defined by certain features, and those features are racial because they define races. How do they define races? Because races have them. What defines a race? Those features. It is our perceptual emphasis on apparent differences that creates racial categories, and only secondarily do some intrepid pseudo-scientists attempt to provide a more sophisticated academic "justification" of those categories. This book is rife with detailed information to use against these sorts, but it helps to grasp the bigger picture in advance.

Ultimately, Molnar fails to ask a rather philosophical question: What makes a category scientifically real? If you're going to say that races don't really "exist," the standard of existence must be made explicit. The short answer is that things are scientifically real insofar as they fit into science's theoretical machine; in this case, evolutionary theory and its applications. The concept of distinct "races" arose in less enlightened times, and it is thus incommensurable with the language of modern biology. Science has no use for it, since, functionally, there is only the genetic paint of human inheritance spread over a geographical canvas, tinted by natural selection. Internally, there is no way to rigidly divide the resulting image, since one shade blends into another through space and time; externally, the substrate and the tint are often indistinguishable. Does the blending occur in more or less dramatic ways? Certainly. However, as Molnar amply illustrates, there are no simple *primary* colors in human variation (save Homo sapiens sapiens itself), and the belief that they do exist overlooks a complex history of inheritance and selection. As a result, attributing features to those "colors" is scientifically sloppy, and socially sloppy as well. "Black" Entertainment Television, "Black" crime, "Black" culture, "Black" poverty, "Black" genetic resistance to disease: Some forget the generality of racial terms, and all hide the functional factors, be they cultural, historical, selective or deeply hereditary. Race is the ultimate red herring, and Molnar should have made that explicit. Intelligent readers will find that his data can speak for itself, or at least it will help the reader recognize that understanding can only be found in that data, which, taken unto itself, contains no meta-categories.

All in all, "Human Variation, Races, Types, and Ethnic Groups" is best seen as the educated man's reference book on race, for use in illustrating your own arguments. If you're seeking a guided journey through the subject, look elsewhere.

Ho hum textbook on what ought to be a fascinating topic.......1998-10-09

Everybody is supposed to "celebrate diversity" these days, but in practice that seems to mean stomping on anybody who actually want to do it. Few things are less welcome these days in American academia than a discussion of what we all see as we walk down the street each day: the remarkable biodiversity of the human species. Only a few selectively bred species like dogs exceed humans in variability of size, color, and temperment.

This textbook reviews most of the duller, politically less incendiary topics in human biodiversity: e.g., blood types, sickle cell genes for preventing malaria, and high-altitude adjustments. He shies away from the more fun topics like the big racial differences in size, speed, leaping ability, and muscularity, which we all see so vividly illustrated in the Olympics and in American pro sports. (What are all those huge Samoans doing in the NFL if human biodiversity doesn't matter much?) And, to prove that his heart is in the right place politically, Molnar mails in a pro forma denunciation of Arthur Jensen and the other Bell Curvers. Ho hum.

Amazon.com

Some books are like revelations, they open the spirit to unimaginable possibilities. The Chalice and the Blade is one of those magnificent key books that can transform us and...initiate fundamental changes in the world. With the most passionate eloquence, Riane Eisler proves that the dream of peace is not an impossible utopia. -- Isabelle Allende, author of The House of the Spirits

Book Description

The phenomenal bestseller, with more than 500,000 copies sold worldwide, now with a new epilogue from the author--The Chalice and the Blade has inspired a generation of women and men to envision a truly egalitarian society by exploring the legacy of the peaceful, goddess-worshipping cultures from our prehistoric past.

Customer Reviews:

Dumbest Book Ever Written.......2007-05-20

This is the weirdest, dumbest book I've ever read. It's a pity that a lot of college professors are using this doorstop as a textbook in their classes. What a crock. This book is the scholarly and intellectual equivalent of R.L Stine's Goosebumps series. If this book were food, it would probably be something like stewed okra. I would've rated this with no stars but, interestingly enough, Amazon doesn't seem to think that authors are capable of writing completely and utterly unredeeming books.

A Vivogenic Template for Human Beings .......2007-05-13

The Chalice and the Blade ranks in the top ten paradigm shaking books of the Late, Great Twen-Cen. Those continuing to puzzle over where we went wrong, as a species, will be well served by this outstanding scholarship.

When women were equal.......2007-01-14

"The Chalice and The Blade" is a wonderful book about the history of peaceful civilizations who worshiped the goddess and warring civilizations who worshiped male gods. Eisler's theory is that there was a global shift from egalitarian to patriarchal societies. Eisler shows how women were degraded to pawns controlled by men, and that without women as equals, men turned to violence. This book is a must read for anyone interested in women's history.

More timely now than ever!.......2007-01-12

This book answers these questions, "Where did humans go wrong?" "Why are we so cruel and allowing of cruelty?" and "Why does the majority of our world not value women, their work, their ideas?" I liked this book so much - after reading it I bought 10 more copies to hand out to friends because it is soooo encouraging. It does show us a different way of living is possible and humans use to live that way. NOTE: Since reading this book I have seen history channel explore the remains of the culture's Eisler talks about. BUT history channel only focused on the buildings being far advanced over Rome's. The program NEVER TALKED ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE. Eisler talks about the people. And women were valued to those people. ALSO, huge media figures are now mentioning that society needs fundamental change. Eisler identifies where that change lies. In 'Conservatives without Conscience' Dean explores basic beliefs, attitudes and prejudices and how those are incorporated into our society and dialogue. Eisler's book goes straight to the heart of where those authoritarian beliefs, attitudes and prejudices come from, what we look like without them and how we can get back to living without them.
Nerissa Oden

Other Options for the Human Race.......2006-02-14

It was wonderful and freeing to read this book. Even if there were some oversimplifications, how liberating to have other possible explanations of and options for human history! This book has inspired me to question and reexamine beliefs and attitudes that are so ubiquitous in our society that it's hard to even know that we hold them, let alone question them. I'll always be grateful to Ms. Eisler for helping me find greater freedom in all aspects of my life.

Average customer rating:

Great for quick studying
Very helpful.
good
Great reference for college bio
Good supplement

Biology (Cliffs Quick Review)
I. Edward Alcamo , and Kelly Schweitzer
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Notes | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books

Study Guides | Reference | Subjects | Books

Study Guides | Reference | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Professional & Technical | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Reference | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Cliffs Notes | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Reference | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0764563750

Book Description

CliffsQuickReview course guides cover the essentials of your toughest subjects. Get a firm grip on core concepts and key material, and test your newfound knowledge with review questions.

Whether you're new to elements, atoms, and molecules or just brushing up on your knowledge of the subject, CliffsQuickReview Biology can help. This guide carries biological studies into topics such as organic compounds, cellular respiration, transgenic animals, and human reproduction. You'll also tackle other concepts, including

The process of photosynthesis
Mitosis and cell reproduction
Inheritance patterns
Principles of evolution
The unity and diversity of life

CliffsQuickReview Biology acts as a supplement to your other learning materials. Use this reference in any way that fits your personal style for study and review — you decide what works best with your needs. You can flip through the book until you find what you're looking for — it's organized to gradually build on key concepts. Here are just a few other ways you can search for topics:

Use the free Pocket Guide full of essential information.
Get a glimpse of what you’ll gain from a chapter by reading through the Chapter Check-In at the beginning of each chapter.
Use the Chapter Checkout at the end of each chapter to gauge your grasp of the important information you need to know.
Test your knowledge more completely in the CQR Review and look for additional sources of information in the CQR Resource Center.
Use the glossary to find key terms fast.

With titles available for all the most popular high school and college courses, CliffsQuickReview guides are comprehensive resources that can help you get the best possible grades.

Customer Reviews:

Great for quick studying .......2007-07-08

This book was a great help in addition to my text book in Biology. It helps to compact information so I was able to pick out only the facts. This is a great tool for people who are trying to CLEP their Biology.

Very helpful........2007-01-16

I used this book to help me prepare for the PRAXIS II content knowledge test in biology (it's one of those awful standardized tests). It was generally very good at covering all of the topics necessary in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. There were occasions when I was less impressed by the way in which a topic was explained or laid out, but it is definitely a good supplement or review for someone who has other sources for learning or re-learning the material. (My main gripe was with photosynthesis.) But for a 200 page book on the vast topic of biology, it certainly did its job, and helped me pass my test.

good .......2005-09-02

The book was what I needed but I later had to find more information to complete my work. Overall the book was fine. The service, well it took forever to get here, but okay.

Great reference for college bio.......2004-08-15

This book is definitely written in a reader friendly manner. It's nice and brief. It gets right to the point without having to read the same passage over and over again. I also recommend:
The Ultimate Study Guide for Biology: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations
(Volume 1: isbn 1933023007)
(Volume 2: isbn 1933023015)
(Volume 3: isbn 1933023023)
These three study guides helped me to get excellent grades. They had the kind of questions that I got on my college biology tests. The Biology Cliff Notes made biology learning a lot faster.

Good supplement.......2003-08-31

This is a good supplement for those taking a biology class. Explains things in a nice, condensed version. Reinforces knowledge in an easy, concise manner.
Recommend to parents helping their children with their high school biology class.

The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture

Average customer rating:

An important introduction to evolutionary psychology
Evolution from Several Vantages
A fresh start
Great work
More Tooby & Cosmides, please

The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

Behavioral Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Cognitive Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Health Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Deals | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Reference | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Science | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Reference | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0195101073

Book Description

Although researchers have long been aware that the species-typical architecture of the human mind is the product of our evolutionary history, it has only been in the last three decades that advances in such fields as evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, and paleoanthropology have made the fact of our evolution illuminating. Converging findings from a variety of disciplines are leading to the emergence of a fundamentally new view of the human mind, and with it a new framework for the behavioral and social sciences. First, with the advent of the cognitive revolution, human nature can finally be defined precisely as the set of universal, species-typical information-processing programs that operate beneath the surface of expressed cultural variability. Second, this collection of cognitive programs evolved in the Pleistocene to solve the adaptive problems regularly faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestors--problems such as mate selection, language acquisition, cooperation, and sexual infidelity. Consequently, the traditional view of the mind as a general-purpose computer, tabula rasa, or passive recipient of culture is being replaced by the view that the mind resembles an intricate network of functionally specialized computers, each of which imposes contentful structure on human mental organization and culture. The Adapted Mind explores this new approach--evolutionary psychology--and its implications for a new view of culture.

Customer Reviews:

An important introduction to evolutionary psychology.......2007-03-17

This is one of the earliest texts in the field called Evolutionary Psychology (EP). This specialization evolved from what Edward O. Wilson termed "Sociobiology" in the mid-1970s. EP applies the logic of sociobiology to human psychology. That is, how has natural selection shaped how humans think and make decisions? As editors Leda Cosmides, John Tooby, and Jerome Barkow put it (page 7): "Evolutionary psychology is psychology informed by the fact that the inherited architecture of the human mind is the product of the evolutionary process." The book, in their conceptualization, has two goals (page 3): "The first is to introduce the newly crystallizing field of evolutionary psychology to a wider audience. . .The second goal of this volume is to clarify how this new field. . .supplies the necessary connection between evolutionary biology and the complex, irreducible social and cultural phenomena studied by anthropologists, economists, and historians."

They locate their perspective by juxtaposing evolutionary psychology with what the term "the standard social scientific model." The chapter by Tooby and Cosmides (Chapter 1) outlines this model in much more detail.
As we know, the SSSM insists that, for all practical purposes, human nature - and thus human behavior - is shaped by culture. Put less laconically, the SSSM rests on three cardinal tenets - two of them explicit, the third usually implicit. These are: (1) that humans have no innate behavioral tendencies; (2) that, consequently, human nature is solely the product of learning and socialization (in short, of "nurture"); from which it follows (3) that human nature (and consequently human behavior) is essentially quite malleable (my rendering of the perspective). Of course, evolutionary psychology moves in a different direction, emphasizing the effects of the evolutionary process on human behavior and thinking.

This edited volume includes a series of chapters exploring different aspects of human behavior. The section titles illustrate the variety of topics covered: Section II focuses on cooperation and social exchange, noting that these have evolutionary bases; III examines the psychology of mating and sex; IV looks at parental care and children; V considers perception and language as evolutionary adaptations; VI takes a look at environmental aesthetics (such as evolved responses to landscapes); VII has only one chapter--looking at the evolution of psychodynamic mechanisms. The volume closes with an essay by Jerome Barkow.

Not all readers will be convinced by the arguments raised in this volume. However, it serves an important purpose by unapologetically claiming that we cannot understand much of human psychology (and other social behaviors) without considering human evolution. Indeed, it is hard to complain about this overarching perspective. However, readers may well dispute specific applications of the perspective. In the end, this is a rich volume and will prod the reader to think differently about "human nature."

Evolution from Several Vantages.......2002-06-10

This book is a massive tome on evolutionary factors that influence human behavior. It begins with clarification of the kind of Darwinism the authors appeal to, so that everyone is on the same page, and considers the general psychological foundations of Darwinism on culture.

The book then moves on to discuss cognitive adaptations for social exchange, citing human and non-human examples. The book also includes the evolutionary psychology of mating and sex, examining preferences for mate selection and competition, mechanisms for sexual attraction, and the evolutionary use of women as chattel (something any Old Testament and Quran reader can relate to).

A significant portion of the book is devoted to parental care and children, examining how pregnancy sickness, patterns between twins, maternal-infant vocalizations, and child play in the form of chasing each other are all evolutionary mechanisms that continue to be featured.

Steven Pinker adds an essay on natural language and natural selection; Roger Shepard contributes an essay on the man's perceptual adaptation to the natural world; both of which demonstrate the interconnectedness between perception, language, and adaptation.

The book concludes with some of its most esoteric issues: environmental aesthetics, intrapsychic processes, and the theoretical implications of culural phenomena.

The whole book, while not necessarily over-academic, is ultimately dense reading. Most of the concepts and conceptualizations require mental work to apprehend, while the statistics and empirical evidence are clearly described. While drawing from many disparate areas of evolutionary biology, all the essays find their ultimate significance in how the mind, in particular, has adapted to environmental forces. A demanding, but facinating, read.

A fresh start.......2000-04-26

The argument - and it is an argument - is that human behaviour is strongly influenced by evolved psychological mechanisms, and that those mechanisms are numerous and specific, rather than just one general learning mechanism - ie a human baby comes with an installed operating system and quite a lot of free software, and is definitely not a blank slate. What makes the argument persuasive is the attempt to import the scientific method - hypotheses falsifiable by experiment - to an area previously characterised by mumbojumbo and pseudoscience. Not all the attempts are successful, but as they say it's a start. 100 years late (for psychology) it is saying (a) the brain is an organ so it must have evolved too - let's think about it in a Darwinian fashion and (b) let's try to make pyschology a science not a humanity. It is potentially very offensive to existing psychology practitioners, because it implies that most existing psychologists are witch doctors. It is also very offensive to large bodies of public policy wonks (let's not beat about the bush here - in American speak this book is very offensive to liberal Democrats), essentially saying that most of the "science" behind social and educational policy has no foundation. And because it is polemical - it is shooting at a century of vested interests after all - it overstates its case in some places, although the writers are usually very careful to stress that while behavioural programmes may be partly pre installed, behaviour itself is not hardwired.

It was the start for me of looking at the way we think in a completely different light and led me to later, more detailed, more balanced statements of the case.

It is pretty hard going in places, particularly as they do rather tiresomely go out of their way trying to avoid giving direct offence, but they're not fooling anyone (not mss67 for a start.)But in reality they are yelling that the Emperor ("learning/nurture is all") has no clothes. For all its faults it's the book that has most influenced my thinking in the last 10 years, and definitely a five star performance.

Great work.......2000-03-22

Finally, a branch of psychology which does not use the standard psycho-babble which distorted our views of human-kind in the 20th century.

More Tooby & Cosmides, please.......2000-02-07

I was prompted to respond by the review from the individual in Virginia. He or she didn't like the Tooby & Cosmides chapters whereas I feel they were by far the most interesting chapters in the book. Reading their long essay (Chapter 2)is one of the best favors psychologists can do for themselves. Being a psychology major, I know that I was often confused about psychology before reading it, but their combination of cognitive psychology with evolutionary biology finally gave me an idea of where psychology should be going in the future. If only social psychologists and domain-general cognitive psychologists would read it, their research and approach might not be so sterile and boring. My only regret is that the book contained some chapters that were not as strong as the early chapters, but the importance of the good chapters greatly outweighs any weaknesses in the other ones.

Sex, Time, and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution

Average customer rating:

one of those best sellers that was intended as such
Innovative thinking for our time
Starts out OK but then devolves into mistaken fantasy
Who knew a steak was so important?
Leonard Schlain : a Panoramic Thinker

Sex, Time, and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution
Leonard Shlain
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Sex | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Health Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0142004677
Release Date: 2004-07-27

Amazon.com

This book sets out to explore why and when people evolved so far away from other mammals in several key ways, all of which Dr. Shlain ties to the biological differences between men and women. As in his excellent prior work The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image (which holds that there are links between the ascendancy of patriarchy and written language and the descent of matriarchal societies and goddess-based religions), some of the concepts proposed in this book might seem a bit of a stretch. And they are—whether or not they turn out to be factual. Shlain contends, for instance, that women essentially invented the concept of time due to their experience of menses. Whatever conclusions the reader comes to, the author exposes the underlying gender biases in so many scientific assumptions; the result is one of those books that cannot help but alter one's perceptions. A consistently engaging writer, Shlain traces the course of his own evolving ideas with what might be called a didactic wit: bold statements are first writ large, then Dr. Shlain reveals how he came upon them, frequently with colorful anecdotes that show these are questions he's been wrestling with for many years. It's difficult to tell whether this fascinating thinker will be viewed as the next Darwin or as a crank, but there's no denying this is an audacious work in the realm of evolutionary biology. --Mike McGonigal

Book Description

As in the bestselling The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, Leonard Shlain's provocative new book promises to change the way readers view themselves and where they came from. Sex, Time, and Power offers a tantalizing answer to an age-old question: Why did big-brained Homo sapiens suddenly emerge some 150,000 years ago? The key, according to Shlain, is female sexuality. Drawing on an awesome breadth of research, he shows how, long ago, the narrowness of the newly bipedal human female's pelvis and the increasing size of infants' heads precipitated a crisis for the species. Natural selection allowed for the adaptation of the human female to this environmental stress by reconfiguring her hormonal cycles, entraining them with the periodicity of the moon. The results, however, did much more than ensure our existence; they imbued women with the concept of time, and gave them control over sex—a power that males sought to reclaim. And the possibility of achieving immortality through heirs drove men to construct patriarchal cultures that went on to dominate so much of human history. From the nature of courtship to the evolution of language, Shlain's brilliant and wide-ranging exploration stimulates new thinking about very old matters.

Customer Reviews:

one of those best sellers that was intended as such.......2007-09-14

I heard about this book from an interview with Shlain on NPR. The ideas he presents are compelling, but in places his arguments lack true depth. As a result, I was left feeling like I should not have bothered to buy the book and should have just been satisfied with listening to the interview, which gave me adequate exposure to the ideas. The book did not go beyond that. It provided only exposure to a wide range of ideas. Exploring the bibliography would obviously lead to the depth I desired, but after 400 pages of looking for it in Shlain's writing itself, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. His style was a bit too flowery and a bit too crowd-pleasing.

Innovative thinking for our time.......2007-05-22

I believe that to arrive at the correct answers, one needs to be asking the correct questions.

It is Shlain's ability to ask questions about how we have arrived at this time and place which inspires some out-of-the-box thinking and ideas.

I enjoyed his thought process immensely.

I recommend the book for any thinking person.

Starts out OK but then devolves into mistaken fantasy.......2007-04-27

Shlain is a quite knowledgable physiologist and has several interesting observations to make about the subject, especially with regard to iron metabolism and some perplexing aspects he's noted relating to humans versus other animals. This material occupies roughly the first third or 40% of the book, and it's worth reading. Interesting stuff, and potentially very important in piecing together how human evolution went.

The problems arise when the author then seeks to do this by applying evolutionary principles in building a model of how these physiological properties came about. In short, his understanding of evolution seems quite dated and just plain inapplicable -- one is tempted to be harsh and use words like 'rudimentary' or 'amateurish'. Specifically, he keeps referring to *group* selection, using terminology such as "what's good for the species", mixing it up with the more currently accepted idea that selection takes place almost exclusively at the level of the individual or its closer kin. His use of questionable concepts in the situation he's trying to come to grips with thus make his conclusions questionable (at best), and all the more so because he doesn't seem aware of his error/confusion, and thus he proceeds both boldy and blindly. He really would have benefited from teaming up with someone well-grounded in how evolution is really thought to work.

Shlain then compounds the error in the last third of the book or so by trying to create a complete scenario of human social evolution from the dim past (50-100 thousand years ago?) up through to about the invention of the first primitive nation states, but again uses grating pseudo-evolutionary sounding language about what "mother nature wants", with yet more appeals to what's good for the human species, while often confusing things by using specific hypothetical individuals as test particles in his thought experiments. I didn't find hardly any of this believable in the least, and since it's based on faulty evolutionary thinking it's almost certainly entirely wrong. Too bad, because the gloss of scientific and evolutionary credibility will cause many to take this part of the book as some definitive exposition on how it really was and draw unwarranted conclusions about human nature. One would love to see this book done right. 2 1/2 to 3 stars.

Who knew a steak was so important?.......2007-04-20

Dr. Schlain has brought to our attention the key role of iron for women, not only for nutriton and survival, but for courtship and commitment. I think Mother Nature is entirely capricious to make we women so dependent on men to provide steaks to get our attention. In a more serious vein, I am impressed with Dr. Schlain's grasp of history, prehistory, anthropology, sociology, and all the other ologies that make us what we are. I will never take my various systems for granted again. And now I understand how I used to become easy prey for the men who took me to dinner and wooed me with a steak (and wine). Thanks, Dr. Schlain.

Leonard Schlain : a Panoramic Thinker .......2007-03-09

Leonard Schlain is a creative and panoramic thinker: very like a multi-tasking woman who must focus in the moment and simultaneously "see" the past and future. He's ingeniously woven the story around the facts into what perhaps is our best guess yet, about our evolutionary underpinnings. Schlain's a genre of his own, who has mentally freed us up from a scanty and overly focussed scientific box. This medical man is comfortable that the scientist affects the experiment. Read it. ~ Elena Dolan

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books