Thermodynamics, evolution & fuds
The range of topics discussed on this great forum never ceases to amaze, interest & inform me.
OK, I'm a science geek, as some of you know. (Well, you did mention an interest in 'non-fiction'.)
Even worse, I'm a biologist fascinated by biological evolution.
Here are my current top three non-fiction - in no particular order - all dealing with how we got here from a scientific, evolutionary perspective:
Franklin Harold,
The Way of the Cell: Molecules, Organisms & the Order of Life. THE BEST biology book I've ever read (and I've got a Ph.D. in the stuff). {see PS below re Ph.D., also called a "fud".}
This book rocks, even if it's pretty thick if you've never had a biology class. Fascinating journey through cell/molecular biology, what we've learned about cells in the last half century, focusing on bioenergetics (how living systems process energy to drive their lives) and morphogenesis (the origins of shapes in biological systems); major contemporary questions, punctuated by (chapter 10, especially) the revolution going on now in biology that is bigger than Darwin, addressing questions that Darwin never even dreeamed of. (But for that matter, neither did Einstein.)
Harold Morowitz,
The Emergence of Everything: How the World Became Complex. Morowitz is one of the most notable biologists of our time with a solid grounding in thermodynamics (rare for biologists). He offers a fascinating explanation of the origins of everything from the Universe at the Big Bang to matter, atoms, the solar system, Earth, life, cells, organisms, civilization, religion & spirituality. Guaranteed to simultaneously inform & inflame (at least some). {PS: I don't necessarily agree with nor support all of Morowitz's more philosophical musings, but they are fun to discuss, and the science described in rest of the book makes wading through the other less-agreeable parts well worthwhile.}
Eric Schneider & Dorion Sagan,
Into the Cool: Energy Flow, Thermodynamics and Life. Have questions about how life evolved given the reality of the second law of thermodynamics? Read this. Welcome to 21st century biology. (Note: Dorion Sagan is Carl Sagan's son by internationally renowned biologist Lynn Margulis, who i believe will be remembered as Darwin's equal for her theories about the evolution of the eukaryotic {nucleated} cell, which is now standard knowledge in all college-level biology texts from introductory to graduate.)
Not necessarily fun reading for creationists and the "intelligent design" crowd.
________
{
PS1 added via edit: i think that everyone knows this, at least, I hope so, but just for the record, because people with such degrees
can be arrogant, please let me add this: the fact that I've got a Ph.D. does NOT mean that i'm any smarter (or better in ANY way) than anyone else. In many cases, it's just the opposite. After all that time, work & money, i still can't frame a house, repair my truck, or repair a roof like a lot of others can, and i admire them for those abilities. I'm on this forum because even though I understand the biological reasons that a [name your life form] dies when hit with a [name your caliber} round, I don't have basic knowledge of home defense with a 12 ga. (But I'm learning LOTS about that on this forum. Thanks for sharing.)
When the SHTF, knowing how to frame a shelter is probably going to be more immediately useful than knowledge of the insides of cells. In the mean time, imaginary & intellectual journeys into cells give me joy. It drove me to do the "fud" (sure as hell wasn't the pay).
That "degree" means i know more biology than the average person since i spent a LONG time (8 years on that degree alone, and i've got 3 others) studying biology (out of pure love of the knowledge about life) while living below the poverty line, doing grunt work for profs, and sometimes licking the metaphorical boots of my "superiors"...don't get me started
.
(My doctoral comprehensive written exams set a new departmental record: 96 hours writing. They set limits after that. My orals were probably the most ... um, humbling
experience I've ever had that I hope never to repeat. I passed the writtens flying because i'm a good writer. I passed stumbling through the orals because i don't always think well on my feet under pressure, and the aspects of neo-Darwinism that i was being grilled on did not make sense. It was not until after my degree was finished that i began to understand why: it was bull s**t.)
________
PS2: added via edit: to creationists and any interested in the intelligent design idea. I'm not going to turn this great thread on reading lists into an argument about that. Maybe some other day, some other thread.
Suffice to say for now, just to be clear: I support anyone's first amendment rights to believe anything they wish to believe, including the intelligent design folks and the creationists. I will stand and fight for that if I must.
I even agree with them about one thing (but one thing only, in a scientific sense about evolution per se): neo-Darwinism, as it is now taught in most US schools, colleges & universities, is seriously inadequate as a paradigm to explain biological evolution. Parts of it ARE part of the story - in particular, Darwin's idea of natural selection - but it is not the whole story. There is
significantly more to the story than the neo-Darwinists are allowing into the argument.
But that's where my agreement with the intelligent design folks ends on the topic of evolution. I have major issues with "id" other than that, but again, will not discuss them on this thread. The books I listed above address new developments in science offering a third, much more plausible option, imo, besides neo-Darwinism or intelligent design.
This is particularly relevant in a day and time when the latter are understandably attacking the reliability of the principles of the former in an attempt to get their own views included in school curricula. Again, there is a third option that is getting neither consideration by school boards or by the media.
The ideas in those books are scientifically sound; numerous Nobel laureates have been involved in their development and they are published in mainstream top science journals like Science & Nature. But they are neither quick nor easy to understand and explain if you've not been exposed to them before. (And they aren't yet included in any comprehensive way in college undergraduate classes, so most have not.)
If anyone wants more info
after exploring those suggested books, or my major issues with id, send me a PM. I'm happy to suggest more reading.
N~
