Contingency and Convergence

By Rachell Powell,

Book cover of Contingency and Convergence

Book description

Can we can use the patterns and processes of convergent evolution to make inferences about universal laws of life, on Earth and elsewhere?

In this book, Russell Powell investigates whether we can use the patterns and processes of convergent evolution to make inferences about universal laws of life, on Earth…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Contingency and Convergence as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

One of my favorite living writers is Rachell Powell. She writes on animal ethics, genetic engineering, and invertebrate intelligence, among other topics.

Powell’s brilliant 2020 book can be seen as a spiritual sequel to Gould’s aforementioned 1989 Wonderful Life. Hence, it makes sense to include both on the list. Powell takes Gould’s experiment on “replaying the tape” and updates it, given modern knowledge, while also establishing its relevance for the cutting-edge scientific field of astrobiology.

Astrobiology is the study of what we should look for when we look for signs of life beyond Earth. It’s a burgeoning field at…

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Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

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