The Big Questions: Evolution

The Big Questions

by Francisco J. Ayala

Easy, enlightening and mind-stretching, here are answers to the 20 biggest questions of evolution and what they tell us about life on Earth.
The Big Questions series is designed to let renowned experts address the 20 most fundamental and frequently asked questions of a major branch of science or philosophy. Each 3,000-word essay simply and concisely examines a question that has eternally perplexed enquiring minds, and provides answers based on the latest research. This ambitious project is a unique distillation of humanity's best ideas.
In "The Big Questions: Evolution," Francisco Ayala answers the 20 key questions: What is evolution? Was Darwin right? What is natural selection? What is survival of the fittest? Is evolution a random process? What is a species? What are chromosomes, genes and DNA? How do genes build bodies? What is molecular evolution? How did life begin? What is the tree of life? Am I really a monkey? What does the fossil record tell us? What is the missing link? Is intelligence inherited? Will humans continue to evolve? Can I clone myself? Where does morality come from? Is language a uniquely human attribute? Is Creationism true?

Genres: Science, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Biology, Evolution, Religion, Education

208 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

Spanish-American evolutionary biologist and philosopher at the University of California, Irvine. Member of the National Academy of Sciences, recipient of the 2001 National Medal of Science and the 2010 Templeton Prize.

Reviews

[Işıl Karatepe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okunması gerek.

[Iñaki Silanes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy interesante, pero me sobra el último capítulo justificando que evolución y religión son compatibles. Parece más resultado de la necesidad del autor de justificar sus creencias y/o aplacar a fundamentalistas religiosos, que de que sea científicamente pertinente.

[Grady Ormsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Big Questions: Evolution by Francisco J. Ayala is a series of twenty essays about evolution, all with interrogative titles as the book title suggests. The subjects range widely encompassing scientific, philosophical and religious ideas. Among other things Ayala explores Darwin, natural selection, genetics, cloning, bio-history, paleontology, language, intelligence and intelligent design, design without a designer, culture and morality. Always acknowledging that science is open-ended, he takes a look at evolution’s unsolved questions, apparent inconsistencies and other problems. Ayala’s work is well researched and some of the essays are quite technical (leaving me to think, “Read on through. You don’t have to understand every detail.”)
Evolution is not a “theory” waiting to be “proved” or “disproved.” Like physics, geology, micro-biology and chemistry, it is a science with an ever-developing progression of knowledge and discovery. The format of The Big Questions: Evolution contained side bar quotations in the layout. There were also a few maps and illustrations.

[Emirhan AVCI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evrim teorisini anlamak isteyenler ya da bildiklerini tekrar etmek isteyenler için eksiksiz bir kitap diyebilirim. Konuya ilginiz varsa kesinlikle okumalısınız.

[Sherry Zen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book definitely worths four stars and more, if you agree with the fact of evolution.

This is a perfect book to let you understand EVOLUTION a little bit more beyond textbooks.
Surprisingly I found the prof. in my university had lectures overlapped with the book a lot, so I already knew over 80% of the stories of those big questions.
Interestingly, there is a chapter that connects perfectly with two of my courses in my last sem. The other course is linguistics.
The title is "Is language a uniquely human attribute?". I personally do wish that language is not a unique feature of humans, cuz this kinda offers a greater possibility to new discoveries. The author seems to offer a convincing "yes" to the question. So what evidence does the author provide, from an evolutionary point of view, to support his arguments? Really interesting to think about.

[Linh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is divided into parts based on different questions related to evolution, some are easy to understand, some are not and are more theoretical and expertise-specific, so there is no need to read the book from the beginning to the end, some parts can be skipped if is difficult to comprehend/digest.

A good book overall. Provide insights into how species have evolved how genetic means influence us and our behavior.

[toi thich doc sach · Rating 4 out of 5]

•Một cuốn sách thật sự thú vị về tiến hoá với nội dung làm mình liên tưởng tới cuốn sách sinh lớp 12.
•Câu từ sử dụng trong sách được diễn đạt vô cùng trau chuốt, ngắn gọn; kiến thức đáp ứng đủ nhưng lại không hề học thuật mà vô cùng gần gũi, dễ tiếp thu.
Sách được phân đoạn khá rõ ràng dễ dàng nắm được ý chính của cả một chương sách mà không bị lan man, lỡ ý.
•Có lẽ sẽ tìm thêm các sách thuộc bộ sưu tập này để đọc dần 😍
4/5⭐
[Tiến hoá_Francisco J.Ayala]

[Hoàng Thu Thuỷ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially anticipated this book to be dull, especially since it tried to delve into a challenging subject. However, to my surprise, it goes well beyond my expectations, presenting a straightforward narrative on evolution. Sometimes, I find certain parts of this book a tad tedious, but it is understandable for a scientific book

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the end of this book Ayala proposes an argument for God🤔. I quit reading.

[Matthias Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duiderlijk

[Harry Levy · Rating 4 out of 5]

informative

This book is a good explanation of Darwin’s theory of evolution.It gives you an intelligent account of the subject.I am glad I read it.

[Karlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is to the point and well-balanced in terms of the amount of information provided; it is written for a non-expert, so there is enough for understanding (with brief references for potential further reading), but not so much one couldn't handle it. It's clever and succinct and I recommend it to everyone.

[Paul Larman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Garbage!
Unreadable!
The author is so insecure he has to refer to "the fact of evolution" every other paragraph!

[Kin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some parts are not easy for one with no background in evolutionary biology but it's very informative by the way.

[Luis Sidrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un buen primer libro para entender lo básico de la Teoría de la Evolución. Si ya has profundizado en el campo evolutivo, este libro no es para ti.

[Arion Siboro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book for everyone who need to know about The concept of Evolution and have several questions about it. Almost all questions that have been frequently asked about evolution theory will be answered comprehensively in this book. This book still uses a lot of scientific terms, but the explanation is quiet simple and understandable for common readers.