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WORK TITLE: The Equations of Life
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 5/21/1967
WEBSITE:
CITY: Edinburgh
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
Phone: +44 (0)131 650 2961 https://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/people/charles-cockell
RESEARCHER NOTES: N/A
PERSONAL
Born May 21, 1967.
EDUCATION:University of Bristol, graduated, 1989; University of Oxford, D.Phil., 1994.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Astrobiologist, educator, and writer. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, National Academy of Sciences Associate, 1995-98; Stanford University, CA, visiting scholar; British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, England, microbiologist; Open University, Milton Keynes, England, professor; University of Edinburgh, Scotland, professor; UK Centre for Astrobiology, Edinburgh, Scotland, director, 2011—. Founder and chair of Earth and Space Foundation, 1994—.
MEMBER:Royal Society of Edinburgh (fellow), Astrobiology Society of Britain (former chair), Association of Mars Explorers (president, cofounder).
AWARDS:Sir Arthur Clarke Award, 2007, for Space on Earth.
WRITINGS
Also, contributor of articles to numerous academic journals.
SIDELIGHTS
Charles S. Cockell is a British astrobiologist, educator, and writer. He holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Bristol and a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. After earning the latter degree, Cockell moved to the United States, where he served as a National Academy of Sciences Associate at the NASA Ames Research Center. He went on to be a visiting professor at Stanford University. After returning to the UK, Cockell worked as a microbiologist at the British Antarctic Survey. He has taught at Open University and at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1994, Cockell founded the Earth and Space Foundation and has served as that organization’s chair. He also directs the UK Centre for Astrobiology.
Cockell has written many books on astrobiology and life in space, including Martian Expedition Planning, Space on Earth: Saving Our World By Seeking Others, Impossible Extinction: Natural Catastrophes and the Supremacy of the Microbial World, Extra-Terrestrial Liberty: An Enquiry Into the Nature and Causes of Tyrannical Government Beyond the Earth, Astrochemistry and Astrobiology: Physical Chemistry in Action, and Astrobiology: Understanding Life in the Universe. He has also contributed numerous articles to academic publications.
Project Boreas
In 2006, Cockell released Project Boreas: A Station for the Martian Geographic North Pole. In this volume, he chronicles the study he organized for the British Interplanetary Society. Cockell collaborated with more than twenty-five engineers and scientists on this project.
The group over which Cockell presided was assigned to design a space station to be placed on Mars’s Planum Boreum, which is located at the planet’s North Pole. They designed the structure to have the capacity to house up to ten astronauts at one time. Various robots would also be constructed to assist those astronauts in various tasks they would perform. Cockell and the members of his group considered the weather and other environmental concerns on Mars in the design of the project. They also discussed mental health issues that could affect the astronauts staying at the space station.
"Space and Society" Series
Cockell’s “Space and Society” series includes the books, Human Governance Beyond Earth: Implications for Freedom, The Meaning of Liberty Beyond Earth, and Dissent, Revolution, and Liberty Beyond Earth. In the first of the books, all of which Cockell edited, contributors discuss the concept of freedom is it may be experienced if and when humans begin living in space. They make conjectures on how governments will control where people are allowed to move in space, how governments will function in such an unwieldy space, and how important natural resources will be controlled and distributed. The contributors note that, with the many advances in space programs worldwide, human life in space could be a possibility in the near future.
In The Meaning of Liberty Beyond Earth, Cockell and the other contributors again comment on what it means for humans to live freely in space. They discuss the fact that humans will inherently be dependent on certain entities if they live in space because they will require oxygen, water, and food to survive away from Earth. They dependence could have implications on how free they are able to be.
Dissent, Revolution, and Liberty Beyond Earth finds Cockell and other contributors considering how people will go about expressing their feelings about the governing systems that are controlling them and, ultimately, how they might go about organizing a revolution. They explain that the confined habitats where people would be living in space could make it hard for them to organize protests and demonstrations. Another concern on this topic is the dependence of humans to systems that keep them alive, such as pressurization and the supply of oxygen. If governments become the controllers of those systems, it could keep people from expressing dissent for fear of being cut off from elements they need to survive. The contributors to this volume argue that there must be platforms for people living in space to express their opinions without fear of deadly retaliation.
The Equations of Life
In 2018, Cockell released The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution. In this book, he makes the argument that the laws of physics have had an effect on how creatures have developed throughout time. One of the observations Cockell makes is that when conditions cause water to boil or freeze, very few biological organisms can survive. Therefore, water is requirement for biological life on Earth. Cockell makes conjectures about the role of water on other planets. He suggests that another liquid, such as methane of ammonia, could serve the same purpose on other planets as water does on earth. Cockell includes an equation meant to illustrate how force over area, or pressure, can dictate how an organism develops. He believes that this equation also dictates life on other planets.
A Kirkus Reviews critic commented: “Many readers will find the equations incomprehensible, but they will relish a lucid, provocative argument that the dazzling variety of organisms … may seem unbounded, but all follow universal laws.” Writing on the online version of Booklist, Ray Olson remarked: “Both magisterial and collegial, this may be the biology book of the year.” Chico Camargo, reviewer on the Science Magazine blog, suggested: “In a fascinating journey across physics and biology, Cockell builds a compelling argument for how physical principles constrain the course of evolution.” Camargo continued: “Much of the beauty of this book is in the diversity of principles it presents … a series of equations that one would probably not expect to see in a single textbook, as various branches of physics—from physical chemistry to optics—are discussed side by side.” A contributor to the Y Logs website described The Equations of Life as “a little difficult to get into at times … but definitely informative.” The contributor continued: “In the end, this was all fairly understandable, both the math and the writing itself.” The same contributor concluded: “All in all, this was a set of really interesting and intriguing theories, theories that make a lot of sense when you think about it and take time to observe nature around you.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2018, review of The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution.
ONLINE
Booklist Online, https://www.booklistonline.com/ (May 15, 2018), Ray Olson, review of The Equations of Life.
Science Blog, https:blogs.sciencemag.org/ (July 16, 2018), Chico Camargo, review of the Equations of Life.
Y Logs, http://ylogs.com/ (June 17, 2018), review of The Equations of Life.
Charles S. Cockell
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Charles Seaton Cockell FRSE (born 21 May 1967) is a British astrobiologist who is the current professor of astrobiology in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the UK Centre for Astrobiology.[1][2] He was previously the Professor of Geomicrobiology with the Open University and a microbiologist with the British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK. His scientific interests have focused on astrobiology, geomicrobiology and life in extreme environments including studies on volcanic[3] and impact crater environments.[4] He has also contributed to plans for the human exploration of Mars.[5][6] He led the design study Project Boreas, which planned and designed a research station for the Martian North Pole.[7][8][9][10] He was the first Chair of the Astrobiology Society of Britain.
Contents
1 Education and professional experience
2 Earth and Space Foundation
3 Association of Mars Explorers
4 Expeditions
5 Brief political career
6 Honours and awards
7 Selected bibliography
8 References
9 External links
Education and professional experience
Cockell received his first degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Bristol in 1989 and his D.Phil in Molecular Biophysics, University of Oxford in 1994. He was a National Academy of Sciences Associate at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field from 1995 to 1998 and then a visiting scholar at Stanford University.
Earth and Space Foundation
Cockell is Chair of the Earth and Space Foundation,[11] a registered British charity (1043871)[12] which awards grants to expeditions that successfully bridge the gap between environmentalism and the exploration and settlement of space by either using space technologies and ideas in environmental fieldwork or use environments on Earth to advance knowledge of other planets.[13][14][15] He founded the organisation in 1994. Since its establishment the Foundation has supported over 60 field projects around the world. Cockell proposed the inseparable links between environmentalism and space exploration in a book Space on Earth (Macmillan, 2006).[16][17] The book was winner of the best written presentation in the Sir Arthur Clarke Award 2007.
Association of Mars Explorers
Cockell was the first President of the Association of Mars Explorers,[18] a informal society he co-founded in California in 2002. The association, known as the Mars Club, is a society for aspiring explorers of Mars with a focus on the human exploration of Mars' mountains, poles, deserts, and canyon systems. Amongst the co-founders were Nobel laureate Baruch Blumberg, Christopher McKay and Imre Friedmann.
Expeditions
In 1993 Cockell piloted a modified microlight aircraft over the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia designed for catching moths over the canopy.[19] The Barnes Wallis Moth Machine had lights for nighttime flying, UV lights to attract moths and a net for scooping moths from the rainforest canopy.[20][21][22] The moth machine was flown during an expedition to the Kerinci-Seblat National Park which also collected plants and insects as part of a biodiversity study. The expedition had the patronage of RAF's No. 617 Squadron. During the expedition the moth machine clipped the top of a tree and crashed.[23] Over 5,000 moths were caught which were sent to Germany for biodiversity assessments. In 1997 he was elected an International Fellow of The Explorers Club. Cockell has led or taken part in scientific expeditions around the world, including the Arctic and Antarctic, the Atacama Desert, the Namib Desert, Iceland and elsewhere.
Brief political career
In 1992 Cockell stood as a parliamentary candidate in Huntingdon for the "Forward to Mars Party" against incumbent Prime Minister John Major. [24] The party advocated the increased involvement of Britain in the exploration of Mars, the European Space Agency's human exploration programme and the construction of a station on Mars. The party received 91 votes in the election.[25]
Honours and awards
In 2015 Cockell was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh[26].
Selected bibliography
Astrobiology: Understanding Life in the Universe. Second Edition (2019) Wiley Blackwell ISBN 978-1118913338
The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution (2018) Basic Books/Atlantic Books ISBN 978-1541617599
Life Beyond: From Prison to Mars (2018) British Interplanetary Society ISBN 978-1983289088
Astrobiology: Understanding Life in the Universe. First Edition (2016) Wiley Blackwell ISBN 978-1118913338
Dissent, Revolution and Liberty Beyond Earth (2016) (Editor) Springer ISBN 978-3319293493
Human Governance Beyond Earth: Implications for Freedom (2015) (Editor) Springer ISBN 978-3319180632
The Meaning of Liberty Beyond Earth (2015) (Editor) Springer ISBN 978-3319095660
Extraterrestrial Liberty: An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of Tyrannical Government Beyond the Earth (2013) Shoving Leopard ISBN 978-1905565221
Introduction to the Earth-Life System (2008) (with Corfield R, Edwards N, Harris N) Cambridge University Press ISBN 978-0521729536
Biological Effects Associated with Impact Events (2006) (with Koeberl C and Gilmour I) Springer ISBN 978-3540257356
Project Boreas: A Station for the Martian Geographic North Pole (2006) British Interplanetary Society ISBN 978-0950659794
Martian Expedition Planning (2003) (Editor) American Astronautical Association ISBN 978-0877035077
Ecosystems, Evolution and Ultraviolet Radiation (2003) (with Blaustein AR) Springer ISBN 978-1441931818
Space on Earth: Saving Our World by Seeking Others (2006) MacMillan ISBN 978-0230007529
Impossible Extinction: Natural Catastrophes and the Supremacy of the Microbial World (2003) Cambridge University Press ISBN 978-0521817363
References
http://www.astrobiology.ac.uk
http://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/research/groups-institutes
Cockell CS, Cady SL, McLoughlin N. 2011. Volcanism and Astrobiology: Life on Earth and Beyond. Astrobiology 11, 583-584
Cockell CS, Lee P, Osinski G, Horneck G, Broady P. 2002. Impact-induced microbial endolithic habitats. Meteoritics and Planetary Science 37, 1287-1298
Oliver Morton. 2002. Mapping Mars. Harper Collins
Robert Zubrin. 2003. Mars on Earth: The adventures of space pioneers in the high arctic. Penguin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-n343rNQdo
http://www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/projects/project-boreas
Baxter, S. 2008. Project Boreas: A Base at the Martian North Pole. Analog Science Fiction and Fact, March 2008
http://365daysofastronomy.org/2011/06/22/june-22nd-a-research-station-on-mars-the-boreas-project-part-i/
Earth and Space Foundation Home Page
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/
Charles Cockell, Don White, Douglas Messier, Dale Stokes. 2002. Fostering links between environmental and space exploration: The Earth and Space Foundation. Space Policy 18, 301-306
Oliver Morton. 2002. Mapping Mars. Harper Collins
Robert Zubrin. 2003. Mars on Earth. The adventures of space pioneers in the high arctic. Penguin
Chung SY et al. 2010. Synergies of Earth science and space exploration. Advances in Space Research 45, 155-168
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/02/world/europe/astrobiology-aliens-environment-opinion/index.html
Association of Mars Explorers
George McGavin. Expedition Field Techniques: Insects and Other Terrestrial Arthropods. Royal Geographical Society, 2007
Nick Nutall: Those men in their moth machines, The Times, 13 March 1993, TM62
Roger Highfield: This is the world's first and finest flying moth-collecting machine. Daily Telegraph, 1 April 1993, 5
Expeditions to Indonesia Handbook: Expedition Sumatra 1993 (The Barnes Wallis Moth Machine). ISBN 0951702114
Bernard Levin. 'Of Moths and Flames' The Times, Editorial, 23 November 1993, p. 18
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-04-08/news/9202010314_1_marcos-family-body-of-ferdinand-marcos-pravda
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/person/1014/c-cockell
"Professor Charles Seaton Cockell FRSE - The Royal Society of Edinburgh". The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
Charles Cockell is Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the UK Centre for Astrobiology, which he established in 2011. His academic interests encompass life in extreme environments, the habitability of extraterrestrial environments and the exploration and settlement of space. He has previously worked at NASA and the British Antarctic Survey. His work has taken him to both poles and many other extreme environments. He has published over 300 scientific papers and numerous books, including a series on the conditions for liberty beyond Earth. He is Chair of the Earth and Space Foundation, a non-profit organisation he established in 1994.
QUOTED: "Many readers will find the equations incomprehensible, but they will relish a lucid, provocative argument that the dazzling variety of organisms ... may seem unbounded, but all follow universal laws."
Print Marked Items
Cockell, Charles S.: THE EQUATIONS OF LIFE
Kirkus Reviews.
(Apr. 15, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Cockell, Charles S. THE EQUATIONS OF LIFE Basic (Adult Nonfiction) $32.00 6, 19 ISBN: 978-1-5416-1759-9
An insightful argument that evolution, despite producing complex creatures as different as bacteria, bugs, and humans, must obey scientific laws.
"Physics explains much about why living things look like they do; evolutionary biology provides much of the explanation about how they
become like they are." So writes Cockell (Astrobiology/Univ. of Edinburgh; Astrobiology: Understanding Life in the Universe, 2015), the
director of the UK Centre for Astrobiology, in his latest, and he proceeds to make a convincing case. Laws set limits. There is life at temperatures
above that of boiling water and below freezing, but not by much. When water is absent or locked up in extremely salty environments, life cannot
exist. Honey doesn't spoil not because it contains any toxins but because its water is unavailable. Our planet's life is carbon-based and requires a
universal solvent, water. Might creatures elsewhere in the universe form themselves from closely related silicon and prefer other common liquids
such as ammonia or methane? Moving smoothly from physics to chemistry, biology, and beyond, the author is an amiable guide through some
knotty scientific thickets. Ignoring the taboo on equations in popular science writing, Cockell sprinkles them liberally to illustrate their (relative)
simplicity. Perhaps the simplest, P = F/A (pressure equals force over area), is critical to the mole, a burrowing animal designed to shift soil by
maximizing the force over a small area. Evolution eliminates less efficient burrowers, so all moles, many entirely unrelated, look alike. "If
physics and biology are tightly coupled," writes Cockell, "then life outside Earth, if such life exists, might be remarkably similar to life on Earth,
and terrestrial life might be less an idiosyncrasy of one experiment in evolution, but a template for much of life in the universe."
Many readers will find the equations incomprehensible, but they will relish a lucid, provocative argument that the dazzling variety of organisms
produced by 4 billion years of evolution may seem unbounded, but all follow universal laws.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Cockell, Charles S.: THE EQUATIONS OF LIFE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A534375182/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b3bfe5fe. Accessed 15 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A534375182
QUOTED: "Both magisterial and collegial, this may be the biology book of the year."
The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution.
Cockell, Charles S. (author).
June 2018. 352p. Basic, hardcover, $32 (9781541617599); e-book (9781541644595). 576.801.
REVIEW.
First published May 15, 2018 (Booklist).
As an astrobiologist, Cockell is involved with the question of whether there is life on other planets. Unable to do personal fieldwork, he and his scientific fellows apply knowledge about life on Earth—what it’s made of and what it does—to the findings of spectroscopy, telescopy, and other long-distance methods of research about other objects in space. That what’s out there and what’s here are made of the same elements indicates that the laws of physics account for what’s happening there as well as here, which is evolution, and in the same manner. Life, therefore, is universal, made out of the same cluster of elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur), with water as the best medium of combination. Cockell leads up to that big message in gratifying chapters about much smaller things—ants, moles, cells, molecules, and atomic particles—and the physics that explains them and their biological functions. The last chapter reconsiders the role of contingency—the chance occurrence that changes something—in light of what the melding of physics and biology reveals about life processes and forms. Both magisterial and collegial, this may be the biology book of the year.
— Ray Olson
QUOTED: "In a fascinating journey across physics and biology, Cockell builds a compelling argument for how physical principles constrain the course of evolution."
"Much of the beauty of this book is in the diversity of principles it presents."
An astrobiologist argues that alien life will likely look a lot like life on Earth
By Chico Camargo 16 July, 2018
The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution
Charles S. Cockell
Basic Books
2018
348 pp.
Purchase this item now
Picture a ladybug in motion. The image that came into your head is probably one of a small, round red-and-black insect crawling up a leaf. After reading Charles Cockell’s The Equations of Life, however, you may be more likely to think of this innocuous organism as a complex biomechanical engine, every detail honed and operating near thermodynamic perfection.
In a fascinating journey across physics and biology, Cockell builds a compelling argument for how physical principles constrain the course of evolution. Chapter by chapter, he aims his lens at all levels of biological organization, from the molecular machinery of electron transport to the social organisms formed by ant colonies. In each instance, Cockell shows that although these structures might be endless in their detail, they are bounded in their form. If organisms were pawns in a game of chess, physics would be the board and its rules, limiting how the game unfolds.
Much of the beauty of this book is in the diversity of principles it presents. In the chapter dedicated to the physics of the ladybug, for example, Cockell first describes an unassuming assignment in which students are asked to study the properties of the insect. Physical principles emerge naturally: from the surface tension and viscous forces between the ladybug’s feet and vertical surfaces, to the diffusion-driven pattern formation on its back, to the thermodynamics of surviving as a small insect at water-freezing temperatures. These discussions are accompanied by a series of equations that one would probably not expect to see in a single textbook, as various branches of physics—from physical chemistry to optics—are discussed side by side.
Physics itself is different at different scales. A drop of water, for example, is inconsequential to a human being. If you are a ladybug, however, water surface tension is a potential problem: Having a drop of water on your back might become as burdensome as a heavy backpack that can’t be discarded. For a tiny ant, a droplet large enough can turn into a watery prison because the molecular forces in play are too strong for the insect to escape.
BIOSPHOTO/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Constrained by the same laws of physics, alien life forms should look familiar to us, argues Cockell.
Cockell also describes how physical constraints make evolution possible by causing different DNA sequences to be translated into the same amino acids, leading amino acids to form proteins with the same shapes. If one were to consider, for example, that every position in a chain of 300 amino acids—not far from the length of an average protein—could be one of 20 possible amino acids, a simple calculation would reveal that there are approximately 2 × 10^390 potential combinations. If each of those chains were to adopt a different shape, evolution would never lead to the same protein shape twice. But because of the laws of physics, most proteins assume a very limited set of shapes, combining patterns of alpha-helices and beta-sheets.
At the end of every chapter, the reader is reminded of how the laws of physics nudge, narrow, mold, shape, and restrict the “endless forms most beautiful” that Charles Darwin once described. Cockell’s persistence pays off as he gears up for his main argument: If life exists on other planets, it has to abide by the same laws as on Earth.
Because the atoms in the Milky Way behave the same as in any other galaxy, Cockell argues that water in other galaxies will still be an abundant solvent, carbon should still be the preferred choice for self-replicating complex molecules, and the thermodynamics of life should still be the same. Sure, a cow on a hypothetical planet 10 times the diameter of Earth would need wider, stronger legs, but there is no reason to believe that replaying evolution on another planet would lead to unimaginable life forms. Rather, one should expect to see variations on the same theme.
Cockell ends the book by celebrating the elegant equations that represent the relations between form and function. Rather than being a lifeless form of reductionism, equations, he argues, are our window into what physics renders possible (or impossible) for life to achieve. In equations, we express how our biosphere is full of symmetry, pattern, and law. Within them, we express the boldest claim of them all: that these limitations should be no less than universal.
About the author
The reviewer is at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3JS, UK.
QUOTED: "a little difficult to get into at times ... but definitely informative."
"In the end, this was all fairly understandable, both the math and the writing itself."
"All in all, this was a set of really interesting and intriguing theories, theories that make a lot of sense when you think about it and take time to observe nature around you."
Posted on June 17th, 2018 @ 20:28
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The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes EvolutionThe Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution by Charles S. Cockell
My rating: ★★★★★
Blurb:
A groundbreaking new view on the theory of evolution, arguing that life develops in predictable ways
We are all familiar with the popular idea of strange alien life wildly different from life on earth inhabiting other planets. Maybe it’s made of silicon! Maybe it has wheels! Or maybe it doesn’t. In The Equations of Life, biologist Charles S. Cockell makes the forceful argument that the laws of physics narrowly constrain how life can evolve, making evolution’s outcomes predictable. If we were to find on a distant planet something very much like a lady bug eating something like an aphid, we shouldn’t be surprised. The forms of life are guided by a limited set of rules, and as a result, there is a narrow set of solutions to the challenges of existence.
A remarkable scientific contribution breathing new life into Darwin’s theory of evolution, The Equations of Life makes a radical argument about what life can–and can’t–be.
Review:
[I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.]
Well, that was a pretty informative read. A little difficult to get into at times (although I suspect half of it was because I was trying to read it when I was too tired), but definitely informative.
To be honest, I’m not that well-versed in equations in general. I can solve basic linear equations with two unknowns, that kind of thing; just don’t ask me to memorise really complex ones. So, I admit that, at first, I was hesitant to request this book, thinking that maybe it’d be out of my reach. Fortunately, while it does deal with equations, it’s not just page after page filled with numbers and symbols, and the author does explain what each term of each equation stands for. In the end, this was all fairly understandable, both the math and the writing itself.
The book doesn’t simply deal with equations either, and delves into astrobiology and basic atomic and particles physics (electrons -are- subatomic particles, after all, and knowing what part they play in atomic interactions is useful to understand what exactly happens at the biological molecular level, too). In fact, I found that a couple of chapters do fit in nicely with quantum theory, if you’re interested in that as well, since they explain essential interactions at shell level. I hadn’t studied chemistry since… at least 21 years, but this sent me back to my old classes, and I realised that I still possessed the required knowledge to get what the author was talking about. Which is great, because 1) I’m interested, 2) I like it when I grasp something that old me would’ve dismissed as ‘too hard’, 3) did I say I’m interested?
Last but not least, the book also contains a list of references that I’ll try to check at some point. Not all of them, of course, but since he points to Sean B. Carroll and his works on evo-devo, that’s a win in my little world.
All in all, this was a set of really interesting and intriguing theories, theories that make a lot of sense when you think about it and take time to observe nature around you. (Why did animals develop legs and not wheels? Well, inequal terrain and all that… Logics, logics…) And if you’re wondering about the possibility of other forms of life, either carbon-based on other planets or not even carbon-based, the author also explores this, going to demonstrate why it may or may not work (hence why a basic lesson in chemistry is provided). A solid 4.5 stars for me (I just think it dragged slightly in the last chapter).