Stephen Jay Gould Knihy

Bohatě ilustrovaná publikace o vývoji života na naší planetě od jednobuněčných organismů po primáty. Dozvídáme se o změnách na povrchu naší planety, v její atmosféře, o podnebí, o pohybu pevninských ker a změnách flory i fauny. Autoři předkládají čtenáři nejen poslední výzkumy, ale také různé názory a rozepře vědců. Text je doplněn ilustracemi, tabulkami a grafy. V předmluvě se sestavovatel knihy zamýšlí nad způsobem znázorňování pravěké přírody.... celý text

Gould se v knize zabývá počátky paleontologie od 16. do 18. století, ukazuje snahu pochopit fosilie, zabývá se historickými omyly při výkladu nálezů fosilií (včetně samotného Galilea). Další eseje věnuje nejvýznamnějším osobnostem přelomu 18. a 19. st. (Lavoisier, Buffon, Lamarck). Zvláště eseje o historických omylech jsou čtenářsky velmi zajímavé. Gould se stal známým díky svým esejím v časopise Natural History. Zabýval se v nich fosiliemi, geologií, evoluční biologií a historií vědy. Po 27 letech psaní sloupků oznámil, že s nimi na konci roku skončí: těchto 24 esejů představuje poslední, co napsal. První dvě třetiny knihy věnuje neznámým nebo nepochopeným osobnostem renesance, osvícenství a viktoriánské éry. Například Johann Beringer, učenec z 18. století, napsal pojednání o úžasných „lživých kamenech“ z Wűrzburgu. Ve skutečnosti šlo o krutý vtip, který na něj nachystali kolegové, aby z něj udělali hlupáka. Beringer se nemohl více mýlit, ale dokázal moc paleontologie.

Je Darwinova teorie o přežívání nejkvalitnějších druhů jediným vysvětlením vývoje života na Zemi?

This seventh collection of Stephen Jay Gould's natural history essays covers subjects ranging from fossils to ship worms, starting with a solar eclipse in New York, and finishing with bus stops in Greece.

The definitive refutation to the argument of The Bell Curve.

Kniha esejů světově uznávaného amerického přírodovědce se zabývá dokonalostí a nedokonalostí, Darwinovou teorií, evolucí člověka, rozdíly mezi lidmi očima vědy a politiky, tempem změn, počátky života, velikostí a časem aj.

World-renowned primatologist, conservationist, and humanitarian Dr. Jane Goodall’s account of her life among the wild chimpanzees of Gombe is one of the most enthralling stories of animal behavior ever written. Her adventure began when the famous anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey suggested that a long-term study of chimpanzees in the wild might shed light on the behavior of our closest living relatives. Accompanied by only her mother and her African assistants, she set up camp in the remote Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanzania. For months the project seemed hopeless; out in the forest from dawn until dark, she had but fleeting glimpses of frightened animals. But gradually she won their trust and was able to record previously unknown behavior, such as the use—and even the making— of tools, until then believed to be an exclusive skill of man. As she came to know the chimps as individuals, she began to understand their complicated social hierarchy and observed many extraordinary behaviors, which have forever changed our understanding of the profound connection between humans and chimpanzees. In the Shadow of Man is “one of the Western world’s great scientific achievements” (Stephen Jay Gould) and a vivid, essential journey of discovery for each new generation of readers.

This text is a metaphor for the way individuals and unpredictable events influence history. In response history, suggests the author, is the best model for evolution. The author explores the science of improbable outcomes in this wide ranging book written on the evolutionary theme.

Contains thirty of the author's essays from monthly columns in Natural History Magazine.

There aren't many scientists famous enough in their lifetime to be canonized by the US Congress as one of America's 'living legends'. It is still more unlikely that the title should have been conferred on a man regarded by many in the US as a notorious ra

“Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” was Haeckel’s answer to 19th-century biology’s most vexing question: what is the relationship between individual development and the evolution of species and lineages? Gould documents the history of the idea of recapitulation from its first appearance among the pre-Socratics to its fall in the early 20th century.

The 31 essays in this collection share the theme of "quirkiness and meaning" and explore the idea that natural oddities - the snail that changes sex, the jellyfish that feeds upside down - are extraordinary for a vital reason: they have found their evolutionary niche.

This collection of essays from "Natural History" magazine illuminate and elucidate key scientific concepts and their history, ranging from the discovery of the new scourge of syphilis by Fracastoro in the 16th century to Freud's weird speculations about human phylogeny.

Basing his argument around the history of science's treatment of the fossils of the Burgess shale, the author presents a view of evolution as a non-progressive system, which saw a wide range of early designs for life winnowed down to the relatively few basic designs that exist today.

From leading scientists, lawyers, and educators-a decisive rebuttal to those who undermine science in the name of religion.

First published in 1988, a collection of review articles on modern science, in which the author provides fresh insight into geology and evolution, criticises the misuse of genetics for political purposes, and explores the uses and abuses of scientific methods.

The book critiques classical Darwinism by examining its fundamental components, historical development, and origins. It challenges established beliefs and proposes a new framework for understanding evolutionary theory, encouraging readers to rethink traditional concepts in light of contemporary insights.

Ever Since Darwin, Stephen Jay Gould's first book, has sold more than a quarter of a million copies. Like all succeeding collections by this unique writer, it brings the art of the scientific essay to unparalleled heights.

The title is a pun, and as always with Gould the joke has a point that illustrates the largest pattern of life's history. For millennia the animals that populated the earth had four toes on each foot, or six. If evolution had taken a tiny shift - if our a

This excursion into the ways we conceptualize the past explores a central dichotomy between time's arrow (an unilinear Newtonian succession of unique events) and time's cycle (the recursive patterns that re-appear in a world that remains fundamentally unchanged).

Stephen Jay Gould's writing remains the modern standard by which popular science writing is judged. Ever since the late 1970s up until till his death in 2002, his monthly essay in Natural History and his full-length books bridged the yawning gap between science and wider culture. schovat popis

In his characteristically iconoclastic and original way, Stephen Jay Gould argues that progress and increasing complexity are not inevitable features of the evolution of life on Earth.

UFO abductions...television sychics...creationism...Holocaust denial. Faced with the rapid changes and anxiety of modern life, many people are turning to the alluring comforts of pseudoscience and the occult. In Why People Believe Weird Things, science historian Michael Shermer, the publisher of Skeptic magazine and director of the Skeptics Society, explores the very human reasons we find supernatural phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. Shermer also reveals the darker and more fearful side of wishful thinking, including Holocaust denial, creationism, the recovered memory movement, alien abduction experiences, the satanic ritual abuse scare and other modern witch crazes, extreme Afrocentrism, and ideologies of racial superiority. A compelling and often disturbing portrait of our immense capacity for self-delusion, Why People Believe Weird Things celebrates the scientific spirit and the joy to be found in rationally exploring the world's greatest mysteries even if many of the questions remain unanswered. Foreword by Stephen Jay Gould. 20 illustrations. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Stephen Jay Gould's writing remains the modern standard by which popular science writing is judged. Ever since the last 1970s, his monthly essay in Natural History and his full-length books have bridged the yawning gap between science and the wider culture. This fascinating new collection of essays contains some of Gould's bestw riting on a variety of subjects ranging from Leonardo da Vinci and Martin Luther to fossils and the history of science. As always, these essays brillantly display his gift for colloquial and vivid explanation, and include fascinating oddities from the natural world and the printed word.

Where does our fascination with the Apocalypse come from? Is time cyclical or linear? Can society survive without ideology? Can children be philosophers? The contributors examine these questions and other of our preoccupations, cast back to the fears and hopes of previous generations and examine the challenges to come.

Completed shortly before his death, this is the last work of science from the most celebrated popular science writer in the world. In characteristic form, Gould weaves the ideas of some of Western society's greatest thinkers, from Bacon to Galileo to E. O. Wilson, with the uncelebrated ideas of lesser-known yet pivotal intellectuals. He uses their ides to undo an assumption born in the seventeenth century and continuing to this day, that science and the humanities stand in opposition. Gould uses the metaphor of the hedgehog - who goes after one thing at a measured pace, systematically investigating all; the fox - skilled at many things, intuitive and fast; and the magister's pox - a censure from the Catholic Church involved in Galileo's downfall: to illustrate the different ways of responding to knowledge - in a scientific, humanistic or fearful way. He argues that in fact each would benefit by borrowing from the other.

Examines the phenomenon of the millennium. The text explores the origins of the term in the biblical prophecies of the Book of Revelation and tackles questions such as: will 2000AD signal the end of time; and does the millennium end in 1999 or at the end of 2000AD.

In this captivating exploration of the fossil record, Niles Eldredge challenges the conventional view of evolution as a slow, inevitable process, demonstrating that lifeforms typically do not undergo significant evolution until after major extinction events. This concept, known as punctuated equilibria, is illustrated through fossilized remains of ancient flora and fauna. Accompanying Eldredge's text are 160 stunning color plates by distinguished photographer Murray Alcosser, showcasing over 250 different fossil specimens. The new paperback edition makes this work accessible to a wide audience, including natural history enthusiasts and students. Critics praise the book for its engaging text and exceptional photographs. Ernest Mayr, author of "The Growth of Biological Thought," calls it splendid, while Donald C. Johanson, author of "Lucy: The Beginning of Humankind," commends Eldredge for effectively linking our understanding of living organisms with insights from the fossil record, reinforcing evolution as the unifying concept in biology. New Scientist highlights the book's ability to bridge the gap between informative content and aesthetic pleasure, noting that it serves as more than just a picture book; it is a readable, informative text covering the history of life, geology, biology, and anthropology, including topics like living fossils, stratigraphy, extinction, and evolution.

Waren die Dinosaurier wirklich dümmer als Eidechsen? Warum werden eigentlich immer ungefähr gleich viele Männer wie Frauen geboren? Wie kam der berühmte Dr. Down zu seiner »Mongolismus«-Theorie und ihren rassistischen Implikationen? Inwiefern spiegelt die Entwicklung der Mickey Mouse unsere eigene Entwicklung wider? Was erzählen uns der magische »Daumen« des Pandas und die endlose Wanderung der Seeschildkröte über die Unvollkommenheiten, die die Evolution beweisen? Bei aller Vielfalt ihrer Themen stehen die brillanten Essays Stephen Jay Goulds doch in einem präzisen Zusammenhang: in ihrem Bezug zur Evolutionstheorie, die Gould in ihrer avanciertesten Version vertritt.

Stephen Jay Gould, el más famoso de los científicos naturales de nuestro tiempo, nos ha enseñado a entender la ciencia y a comprender el mundo con agudeza y buen humor. Todos sus libros son piezas esenciales del bagaje cultural que necesitamos. En este libro nos muestra el poder explicativo de la teoría evolutiva a partir de singularidades aparentemente misteriosas e intrigantes: «¿Por qué ningún gran animal se desplaza sobre ruedas? ¿Cómo puede inducirse a las gallinas a que desarrollen dientes, cuando hace más de cincuenta millones de años que no se han formado en ninguna ave? ¿Por qué coincidió la desaparición de los dinosaurios con la extinción de gran parte de los invertebrados marinos? Las cebras, ¿Son blancas con franjas negras, o negras con franjas blancas?»

La sfida della complessità nasce dall'irruzione dell'incertezza nelle nostre conoscenze, dallo sgretolarsi dei miti che per secoli hanno regolato il cammino della scienza moderna. Ma d'altra parte la fine della certezza, della completezza, dell'esaustività e dell'onniscienza non segnala soltanto la fine di un ordine, ma rende ineludibile una trasformazione delle domande e delle risposte su cui è basato il nostro sapere. Chiamati a raccolta da Gianluca Bocchi e Mauro Ceruti a metà degli anni ottanta, scienziati e pensatori come Ilya Prigogine e Francisco Varela, Stephen Jay Gould e Heinz von Foerster presentano e confrontano i loro itinerari nella “nuova scienza”, in un'opera che ha mantenuto intatta la sua freschezza ed esemplarità.

Dieses Buch versammelt die letzten naturwissenschaftlichen Essays des großen Evolutionsbiologen. Die Antworten sind erheiternd, verwirrend, erhellend und immer auch unterhaltsam. In diesen Texten zeigt sich erneut, mit welcher Virtuosität und Klarheit der 2002 verstorbene Naturwissenschaftler uns an der gesamten Breite und Komplexität seines Wissens teilhaben lässt und welch ein Optimismus aus den Texten spricht. Eine intelligente und spannende Reise quer durch die Evolutionsgeschichte und zugleich das persönlichstes Buch von Gould.

Was genau ist ein 'Millennium'? Und wie wurde aus diesem Begriff für die verheißene tausendjährige Regentschaft Christi auf Erden die säkulare, kalendarische Einheit des Jahrtausends? Wann beginnt das nächste Jahrtausend eigentlich? Am 1. Januar 2000 oder erst ein Jahr später? Warum überhaupt messen wir kalendarischen Fragen so große Bedeutung bei? Warum legen wir uns in der Silvesternacht 1999 nicht einfach schlafen, um am nächsten Morgen ausgeruht aufzuwachen? Von diesen Fragen ausgehend, widmet sich Stephen Jay Gould in seinem neuen Buch der menschlichen Obsession, alles in numerische Ordnungen zu bringen. Er erkundet, welchen Schemata solche Systeme folgen (vor allem Dichotomien, Dreier-, Fünfer- und Siebenerordnungen), welche Annahmen und/oder Irrtümer ihnen zugrunde liegen, und er zeigt, mit welchen Unregelmäßigkeiten wir trotz unseres Ordnungswahns leben, leben müssen: Monaten mit 28, 30 und 31 Tagen, Jahren mit mal 365, mal 366 Tagen, verschiedenen kalendarischen Reformen und dergleichen mehr. Stephen Jay Gould ist ein 'bezauberndes Buch' (so die New York Times) gelungen, in dem er auf sympathische, leichte und spielerische Weise mit vielen menschlichen Mythen und Illusionen aufräumt, die nur vermeintlich rational sind, weil sie auf angeblich unerschütterlichen numerischen Gesetzen beruhen.

Reich illustrierte Geschichte des Lebens - von seiner Entstehung vor rund 4 Milliarden Jahren bis zur Entwicklung des Menschen vor 100000 Jahren.

Der berühmte amerikanische Paläontologe und Biologe Stephen J. Gould beschreibt hier eine der dramatischsten Episoden in der Geschichte der neuzeitlichen Naturforschung: die Entdeckung der schier unbegreiflichen Unermeßlichkeit der Vorgeschichte unserer Erde, der Tiefenzeit. Den großen Revolutionen durch Kopernikus und Darwin vergleichbar, hatte diese geologische Entdeckung im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert das alte Weltbild erschüttert.