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Blueprints, Solving the Mystery of Evolution
Explores both the development of the science of evolution and the potentials of new technologies to change future evolution, as well as examining the implications of these developments
Unknown Binding
First published April 1, 1989
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About the author
Donald C. Johanson
13 books61 followersDonald Carl Johanson is an American paleoanthropologist. He is known for discovering the fossil of a female hominin australopithecine known as "Lucy" in the Afar Triangle region of Hadar, Ethiopia.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 30, 2009
There's a lot of metaphor straining going on in here in which a bicycle factory stands in for DNA. There's also some weird first person conversational stuff between the authors, Maitland Edey and Donald Johanson, that is meant to make the subject seem relatable to a lay audience. There's also a section that delves deeply into some pretty deep DNA and RNA stuff that glazed my eyes. Despite these criticisms, I really enjoyed this book. The authors spend most of their time describing the history of the study of evolution and add in only enough of the real science as the reader needs to know. My favorite parts veer away from science and give us a look at the lives of the scientists. Like Mendel continuing his work despite complete scientific rejection. Or the chronically disorganized T. H. Morgan relying on his graduate students to keep track of his fruit fly studies. Especially interesting to me is the story of Alfred Russel Wallace's acquiescence to Darwin's superior research despite the fact that he was the first to announce a theory of natural selection. After slogging through the previously mentioned DNA stuff there's a section on human-specific evolution and the fossil record, culminating in Johanson's discovery of the so-called "Lucy" skeleton. That stuff is all fascinating, but since this book was published in 1989, I'm sure the information is all pretty outdated. Oh well, I still enjoyed it and I got it from the free section of books the library doesn't want anymore. I don't really want it anymore either, so if you want to read it, let me know.
May 15, 2009
This is the best refutation of the creationist nonsense I have run across.Maitland Edey and Donald Johanson are also co-authors of Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind. Edey and Johanson have painstakingly, but most engagingly, delineated the evidence for evolutionary theory from Darwin through the molecular evidence of Vincent Sarich. Along the way we learn of Mendel's peas, Crick's DNA studies, and of T.H. Morgan, the discoverer of genes and their link to heredity. Morgan unwittingly provided the mechanism for Darwin's natural selection speculations. He was a natural skeptic who refused to believe Mendel's hypotheses. He painstakingly anesthetized hundreds of thousands of fruit flies and viewed them through a microscope to track changes in eye color which revealed mutant variations.
The chapters on Darwin are fascinating. Darwin made important inferences from five major observations: (1) species have great potential fertility; 12) populations tend to be stable; (3) food resources are limited and remain constant; (4) no two individuals are identical; and, (5) variation is heritable, i.e. offspring tend to resemble their parents. These observations led to his major brilliant inferences: (1) there is a struggle among individuals for resources; (2) those with ''good" or "best" characteristics tend to survive (natural selection); and (3) natural selection results in marked changes to a population. The two biggest challenges to Darwin's theories at the time were "blending" (any change introduced into a population would be blended into extinction very soon,) a theory effectively refuted by Mendel; and Lord Kelvin's assertion that the earth would have been too hot for too long for evolution to have occurred. Nuclear physics has, of course, proven him to be wrong.
The final chapter speculates on the future successful adaptability of humans. Generally, the most successful species are those that adapt easily, inhabit a fairly wide niche, and those that are the most generalized. Man's brain provides an ability to adapt to almost any environment; indeed, to some species, "obligate parasites," are organisms which can survive only in concert with their hosts; e.g., the louse that lived on the heath hen died when the last heath hen died in the 1930s. Are humans the parasites of the earth? If the earth dies so shall we, so it would seem logical that we not "abuse the host." If our intelligence enables us to so change the environment for our short-term comfort, or through nuclear holocaust destroy our surroundings, have we perhaps overspecialized on the brain and over-manipulated ourselves right out of existence?
The chapters on Darwin are fascinating. Darwin made important inferences from five major observations: (1) species have great potential fertility; 12) populations tend to be stable; (3) food resources are limited and remain constant; (4) no two individuals are identical; and, (5) variation is heritable, i.e. offspring tend to resemble their parents. These observations led to his major brilliant inferences: (1) there is a struggle among individuals for resources; (2) those with ''good" or "best" characteristics tend to survive (natural selection); and (3) natural selection results in marked changes to a population. The two biggest challenges to Darwin's theories at the time were "blending" (any change introduced into a population would be blended into extinction very soon,) a theory effectively refuted by Mendel; and Lord Kelvin's assertion that the earth would have been too hot for too long for evolution to have occurred. Nuclear physics has, of course, proven him to be wrong.
The final chapter speculates on the future successful adaptability of humans. Generally, the most successful species are those that adapt easily, inhabit a fairly wide niche, and those that are the most generalized. Man's brain provides an ability to adapt to almost any environment; indeed, to some species, "obligate parasites," are organisms which can survive only in concert with their hosts; e.g., the louse that lived on the heath hen died when the last heath hen died in the 1930s. Are humans the parasites of the earth? If the earth dies so shall we, so it would seem logical that we not "abuse the host." If our intelligence enables us to so change the environment for our short-term comfort, or through nuclear holocaust destroy our surroundings, have we perhaps overspecialized on the brain and over-manipulated ourselves right out of existence?
November 1, 2008
I look at this book from 4 different perspectives. Two of them are great and the other two are fairly lame but ignorable. First, the book is a lesson in how to create a strawman argument. On several occasions the authors state that the only reason people don't believe in evolution is because they believe the Bible in a very literal way. That's simply not true. The second unimpressive aspect of the book was the dealing with Australopithecus. The author first presents a list of fossil evidence then proceeds to explain how the "family tree" looks based on this evidence. Then the author changes his mind and does it again. Then a third time. By this time you lose all confidence in the way the family tree is created. In fact, contemporary scientists (not ten years ago) lay it out completely differently.
Those are the two areas that I didn't enjoy. But they can be ignored. The best part of the book was the middle section that gave a fairly detailed crash course in cellular biology and genetics. It was very interesting to see how this stuff works. None of this was explicitly tied to evolution. Instead it provided the background needed to understand the proposed evolutionary process.
The last thing that I took from the book was a great biographical sketch of Darwin and his time. I am questioning the veracity of the account a bit. The authors seemed to be a bit smitten with Darwin and that could have colored their reflections.
Over all it was an informative and interesting book.
See more...
Those are the two areas that I didn't enjoy. But they can be ignored. The best part of the book was the middle section that gave a fairly detailed crash course in cellular biology and genetics. It was very interesting to see how this stuff works. None of this was explicitly tied to evolution. Instead it provided the background needed to understand the proposed evolutionary process.
The last thing that I took from the book was a great biographical sketch of Darwin and his time. I am questioning the veracity of the account a bit. The authors seemed to be a bit smitten with Darwin and that could have colored their reflections.
Over all it was an informative and interesting book.
See more...
July 28, 2010
A very well written and approachable book that goes into the genetics behind what we know of evolution. It's somewhat dated by now but was a good read and I've used it in my classes at times.
January 27, 2011
If you're interested in the history of evolutionary thought, this is probably the book you should read.
December 2, 2022
From the authors of the best-selling Lucy: the beginnings of humankind
This is a good general overview of the evolution and all the people that were involved in history writing about it. It includes the previous speculations that advanced what we know about evolution and how various people did that. It’s almost a book on the evolution of evolution.
Because the authors started with a book on “Lucy”, she still gets a good chunk of this book however we also end up with Gregor Mendel’s peas, DNA, and various other supporting information.
In the softcover version, there are two sections for monochrome pictures, several graphs and charts, a good bibliography, and an excellent index.
This is a good general overview of the evolution and all the people that were involved in history writing about it. It includes the previous speculations that advanced what we know about evolution and how various people did that. It’s almost a book on the evolution of evolution.
Because the authors started with a book on “Lucy”, she still gets a good chunk of this book however we also end up with Gregor Mendel’s peas, DNA, and various other supporting information.
In the softcover version, there are two sections for monochrome pictures, several graphs and charts, a good bibliography, and an excellent index.
Read
August 20, 2023" We are so accustomed to thinking of our bodies as discrete hunks of protoplasm that begin in conception and end in death that we tend to forget the small coil at the center of each reproductive cell that does not die. It connects one generation to the another as long as life is life. Somewhere in all of us, there may lurk bits of original DNA that actually are more than three billion years old." P. 278
October 7, 2020
this book was outstanding. It explained evolution in a way that anyone could understand and also provided a format for me to discuss with some of my idiot relatives who do not believe in evolution a basis for rational and compelling discussion in which to effect change in their idiocy. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
June 30, 2024
Enjoyable read that occasionally went densely scientific through the middle. Makes me scratch my head as to how anyone can still believe in creationism, and provokes my wonder at the evolution of life.
June 20, 2014
Facts of nature can sometimes win
Having this 1989 book on the shelves for so long, I feared its contents may be dated – not so. Why? Because it’s about how the idea of evolution evolved, from the 1700’s to modern times. The authors make concepts clear with good analogies, and periodically segue into conversation between themselves to clarify ideas. It works well, anticipating reader questions. Besides a step-by-step accumulation of evidence that built this theory, what the authors do best is presentation of the personal lives behind this drama. The mountainous insecurity faced by telling truth to dogma; fierce resistance to natural reality; human arrogance and missteps on both sides along the way. Many heroes go unrecognized or ridiculed and ostracized until long after their death. The scene between Archbishop Wilberforce and Darwin’s bulldog, the dazzling and sulfurous T.H. Huxley in a packed public forum of raucous onlookers was a thrill to read three times. The whole story is a prime example of how facts of nature can sometimes win against more comfortable and entrenched ignorance – at least in those nations and those times confident enough in themselves to accept that nature really has no political party.
The evolution of evolution did not begin with fossils of extinct human lineage, but with geology’s requirement of an earth billions of years old (rather than created on October 23, 4004 BC at 9 a.m.), and witness of living animals in constant transition thanks to environmental change (natural selection). Fossils began to echo the same theme. Mendel’s peas pleading for recognition of heritable genes; Darwin’s first flashes of insight on the Beagle; fistfights for the Nobel for being first to decipher DNA’s structure where we find natural selection at the molecular level, and, finally, how species try to stay the same while changing – a story well worth knowing.
Having this 1989 book on the shelves for so long, I feared its contents may be dated – not so. Why? Because it’s about how the idea of evolution evolved, from the 1700’s to modern times. The authors make concepts clear with good analogies, and periodically segue into conversation between themselves to clarify ideas. It works well, anticipating reader questions. Besides a step-by-step accumulation of evidence that built this theory, what the authors do best is presentation of the personal lives behind this drama. The mountainous insecurity faced by telling truth to dogma; fierce resistance to natural reality; human arrogance and missteps on both sides along the way. Many heroes go unrecognized or ridiculed and ostracized until long after their death. The scene between Archbishop Wilberforce and Darwin’s bulldog, the dazzling and sulfurous T.H. Huxley in a packed public forum of raucous onlookers was a thrill to read three times. The whole story is a prime example of how facts of nature can sometimes win against more comfortable and entrenched ignorance – at least in those nations and those times confident enough in themselves to accept that nature really has no political party.
The evolution of evolution did not begin with fossils of extinct human lineage, but with geology’s requirement of an earth billions of years old (rather than created on October 23, 4004 BC at 9 a.m.), and witness of living animals in constant transition thanks to environmental change (natural selection). Fossils began to echo the same theme. Mendel’s peas pleading for recognition of heritable genes; Darwin’s first flashes of insight on the Beagle; fistfights for the Nobel for being first to decipher DNA’s structure where we find natural selection at the molecular level, and, finally, how species try to stay the same while changing – a story well worth knowing.
March 11, 2016
The book was really informative and interesting. Takes you through the struggle and the apprehension that Darwin and scientists of his time had to overcome to even discuss or publish ideas that went contrary to the accepted Christian values of that time. The Church was a major impediment to the adoption of new ideas and the thinkers and scientists of that time had to overcome that factor, often times risking their lives for their beliefs and findings.
The authors take you through the journey of the development of the theory of evolution ; from theory to proof..geology, biology, anthropology, statistics...all these fields contributed to the growth and acceptance of this theory. The books walks you through the lives of the scientists who contributed to the advancement of the theory of evolution and to the development of the field of genetics.
The only irritants, as other reviewers have pointed out, is this tendency of the authors to switch to a "conversational" mode from time to time and also the example of the bicycle factory that they use to explain the functioning of the cell and DNA within it.
All in all, a good book for someone interested in science and the theory of evolution and growth of the field of genetics.
The authors take you through the journey of the development of the theory of evolution ; from theory to proof..geology, biology, anthropology, statistics...all these fields contributed to the growth and acceptance of this theory. The books walks you through the lives of the scientists who contributed to the advancement of the theory of evolution and to the development of the field of genetics.
The only irritants, as other reviewers have pointed out, is this tendency of the authors to switch to a "conversational" mode from time to time and also the example of the bicycle factory that they use to explain the functioning of the cell and DNA within it.
All in all, a good book for someone interested in science and the theory of evolution and growth of the field of genetics.
February 18, 2012
This is a work that is fairly comprehensive in scope, but which can be easily understood by the lay person. It does tend to read like a textbook at times, but the concepts are laid out in a way that everyone should be able to comprehend.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews