In this volume, a distinguished team of international authorities reports on the latest research on the origins of the most fundamental features of our world. Martin Rees begins the book with a bang, the Big Bang that was the probable start of our universe. The contributors then focus on the origins of the solar system, material complexity and the human species. The volume ends with essays by John Maynard Smith on social behavior, Ernest Gellner on society and John Lyons on language. The first in The Darwin College Lectures, the book is derived from a highly successful series of lively public...

Ways of Communicating is a stimulating exploration of the single most powerful force that gives humankind its control over the natural world--the communication among us. So integral a part of everyday life as to be taken for granted, yet so multi-faceted as to be notoriously slippery to describe and analyze, the world of communication is treated here from the standpoint of the arts quite as much as the sciences. Speech and body language, fiction and music, communication by neural networks within the brain and by satellite around the globe, all are considered together to give a fascinating...

Evolution is a fundamental process that cuts across boundaries of art and science and has beguiled thinkers for ages. This collection of articles about all aspects of evolution is a feast of challenging ideas, drawing together world-renowned thinkers with their own intriguing insights. From the evolution of the developing embryo to the evolution of a developing star, common threads develop into a fascinating story with surprising implications. Line drawings.

Understanding Catastrophe examines the immense and varied impact that catastrophic change can have on the development of life on earth. Opening with a remarkable account of supernovae and the nature of stellar catastrophe, it then examines the way evolution itself can proceed through genetic jumps of catastrophic proportions. The primal forces of the earth, manifested in such natural catastrophes as earthquakes and cyclones, and the devastating impact these can have even today on human populations across the world receive extended scrutiny as does the power of famine historically in...

This highly informative and fascinating book brings together perspectives on sound by leading experts from a wide variety of disciplines. These include anthropology, physiology, zoology, physics, music, phonetics and film. Through crossing disciplinary boundaries, the volume hopes to inspire a richer and more creative approach to the acoustic world. Whilst aiming for a general audience and presented in an accessible style, several chapters also represent important contributions within their own disciplines or will serve as core texts for students. The sequence of nine chapters passes from...

Predicting the Future examines humankind's obsessive urge to look beyond the present in the hope of controlling events in the days to come.

This collection of essays explores different perceptions of space, taking the reader on a journey from the inner space of the mind to the vacuum beyond Earth. Eight leading researchers span a broad range of fields, from the arts and humanities to the natural sciences. They consider topics ranging from human consciousness to virtual reality, architecture and politics. The essays are written in an accessible style for a general audience.

Conflict, sadly, is part of our everyday life; experienced at home, in the workplace, on our TV screens. But is it an inevitable part of the fabric of our existence? In this volume, eight experts examine conflict at many levels, from the workings of genes to the evolution of galaxies. Evolutionary biologist David Haig examines why we disagree with ourselves, and psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen asks whether differences between the average male and female mind must necessarily lead to misunderstanding. Anthropologist Richard Wrangham explores why chimpanzees and humans have evolved to kill,...

This fascinating and accessible book examines the survival of the human race from a broad range of viewpoints. Through in-depth examinations of a number of very distinct aspects of human life, the book covers topics ranging from the preservation of Empires, to the challenges of maintaining cultural identity, the sufferings inflicted by famine, disease and natural disasters, the opportunities for increased longevity and the threats presented by climate change. The chapters draw from the expertise of those in the arts and humanities, as well as the social, physical and biological sciences....

How do attempts to foresee the future actually change it? For thousands of years, humans have called upon foresight to shape their own actions in order to adapt and survive; as Charles Darwin revealed in his theory of natural selection, the capacity to do just that is key to the origin of species. The uses of foresight, however, can also be applied to help us further our understanding across a variety of realms in everything from warfare, journalism and music, to ancient civilizations, space weather and science. In a thought-provoking new addition to the Darwin College Lecture Series, eight...