[PDF] Islands In The Cosmos eBook

Author : Dale A. Russell
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 481 pages
File Size : 15,37 MB
Release : 2009-07-14
Category : Science
ISBN : 0253023912

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How is it that we came to be here? The search for answers to that question has preoccupied humans for millennia. Scientists have sought clues in the genes of living things, in the physical environments of Earth from mountaintops to the depths of the ocean, in the chemistry of this world and those nearby, in the tiniest particles of matter, and in the deepest reaches of space. In Islands of the Cosmos, Dale A. Russell traces a path from the dawn of the universe to speculations about our future on this planet. He centers his story on the physical and biological processes in evolution, which interact to favor more successful, and eliminate less successful, forms of life. Marvelously, these processes reveal latent possibilities in life's basic structure, and propel a major evolutionary theme: the increasing proficiency of biological function. It remains to be seen whether the human form can survive the dynamic processes that brought it into existence. Yet the emergence of the ability to acquire knowledge from experience, to optimize behavior, to conceptualize, to distinguish "good" from "bad" behavior all hint at an evolutionary outcome that science is only beginning to understand.

Author : Roger Just
Publisher : James Currey Publishers
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 39,56 MB
Release : 2000
Category : Literary Collections
ISBN : 9780852552681

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This volume reveals the historical dynamism of what appears at first sight to be a forgotten backwater.

Author : Austin Aslan
Publisher : Wendy Lamb Books
Page : 386 pages
File Size : 20,27 MB
Release : 2014-08-05
Category : Young Adult Fiction
ISBN : 0385374216

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In this fast-paced survival story set in Hawaii, electronics fail worldwide, the islands become completely isolated, and a strange starscape fills the sky. Leilani and her father embark on a nightmare odyssey from Oahu to their home on the Big Island. Leilani’s epilepsy holds a clue to the disaster, if only they can survive as the islands revert to earlier ways. A powerful story enriched by fascinating elements of Hawaiian ecology, culture, and warfare, this captivating and dramatic debut from Austin Aslan is the first of two novels. The author has a master’s degree in tropical conservation biology from the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Praise for Islands at the End of the World: “A riveting tale of belonging, family, overcoming perceived limitations, and finding a home.”--School Library Journal, Starred "Aslan’s debut honors Hawaii’s unique cultural strengths--family ties and love of home, amplified by geography and history--while remaining true to a genre that affirms the mysterious grandeur of the universe waiting to be discovered."--Kirkus Reviews, Starred "Aslan’s debut is a riveting tale of belonging, family, overcoming perceived limitations, and finding a home."--School Library Journal, Starred

Author : Marcelo Gleiser
Publisher : Civitas Books
Page : 370 pages
File Size : 15,40 MB
Release : 2014-06-03
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0465031714

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Why discovering the limits to science may be the most powerful discovery of allHow much can we know about the world? In this book, physicist Marcelo Gleiser traces our search for answers to the most fundamental questions of existence, the origin of the universe, the nature of reality, and the limits of knowledge. In so doing, he reaches a provocative conclusion: science, like religion, is fundamentally limited as a tool for understanding the world. As science and its philosophical interpretations advance, we face the unsettling recognition of how much we don't know. Gleiser shows that by aband.

Author : Alan P. Lightman
Publisher : Pantheon
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 16,22 MB
Release : 2018
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1101871865

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In this meditation on religion and science, Lightman explores the tension between our yearning for permanence and certainty, and the modern scientific discoveries that demonstrate the impermanent and uncertain nature of the world. As a physicist, he has always held a scientific view of the world. But one summer evening, while looking at the stars from a small boat at sea he was overcome by the sensation that he was merging with a grand and eternal unity, a hint of something absolute and immaterial. This is his exploration of these seemingly contradictory impulses, and the journey along the different paths of religion and science that become part of his quest. -- adapted from publisher info.

Author : Phillip Sidney Horky
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 371 pages
File Size : 37,70 MB
Release : 2019-07-04
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1108423647

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Traces the concept of kosmos as order, arrangement, and ornament in ancient philosophy, literature, and aesthetics.

Author : Manasvi Lingam
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 1089 pages
File Size : 45,91 MB
Release : 2021-06-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 0674987578

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A rigorous and scientific analysis of the myriad possibilities of life beyond our planet. ÒAre we alone in the universe?Ó This tantalizing question has captivated humanity over millennia, but seldom has it been approached rigorously. Today the search for signatures of extraterrestrial life and intelligence has become a rapidly advancing scientific endeavor. Missions to Mars, Europa, and Titan seek evidence of life. Laboratory experiments have made great strides in creating synthetic life, deepening our understanding of conditions that give rise to living entities. And on the horizon are sophisticated telescopes to detect and characterize exoplanets most likely to harbor life. Life in the Cosmos offers a thorough overview of the burgeoning field of astrobiology, including the salient methods and paradigms involved in the search for extraterrestrial life and intelligence. Manasvi Lingam and Abraham Loeb tackle three areas of interest in hunting for life Òout thereÓ: first, the pathways by which life originates and evolves; second, planetary and stellar factors that affect the habitability of worlds, with an eye on the biomarkers that may reveal the presence of microbial life; and finally, the detection of technological signals that could be indicative of intelligence. Drawing on empirical data from observations and experiments, as well as the latest theoretical and computational developments, the authors make a compelling scientific case for the search for life beyond what we can currently see. Meticulous and comprehensive, Life in the Cosmos is a master class from top researchers in astrobiology, suggesting that the answer to our age-old question is closer than ever before.

Author : Efrosyni Boutsikas
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 34,89 MB
Release : 2020-10-29
Category : History
ISBN : 110848817X

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Reconstructs ancient rituals in their day/night/season combining them with relevant mythology and astronomical observations to understand the ritual's cosmological links.

Author : Irene Edwards
Publisher : Magic Islands
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 32,96 MB
Release : 2020-10-05
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9781838075217

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'Chaos in the Cosmos, ' is a fantasy narrative for children aged between 8 to 12 years. Written with much lyrical fun in mind for children, there is, of course, some serious underlying elements... those of fostering climatic awareness, and the realisation our planet is very precious to us all

Author : John Campbell
Publisher : Jovian Press
Page : 131 pages
File Size : 47,59 MB
Release : 2017-12-04
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 1537803948

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John Campbell's book was written as a sequel to The Black Star Passes, and believe me, it was a world-beater in those days. Arcot, Wade, Morey and their computer, Fuller, put together a ship which will travel faster than light, they give us what may have been the first space-warp drive. The concept was simple; to make it plausible wasn't - unless you were John Campbell.