Undeniable Evolution and the Science of Creation

by Nye, Bill; Powell, Corey S.

• ISBN13: 9781250007131
• ISBN10: 1250007135
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-11-04
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

"Evolution is one of the most powerful and important ideas ever developed in the history of science. Every question it raises leads to new answers, new discoveries, and new smarter questions. The science of evolution is as expansive as nature itself. It is also the most meaningful creation story that humans have ever found."—Bill Nye

Sparked by a controversial debate in February 2014, Bill Nye has set off on an energetic campaign to spread awareness of evolution and the powerful way it shapes our lives. In Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation, he explains why race does not really exist; evaluates the true promise and peril of genetically modified food; reveals how new species are born, in a dog kennel and in a London subway; takes a stroll through 4.5 billion years of time; and explores the new search for alien life, including aliens right here on Earth.

With infectious enthusiasm, Bill Nye shows that evolution is much more than a rebuttal to creationism; it is an essential way to understand how nature works—and to change the world. It might also help you get a date on a Saturday night.

Author Biography

Bill Nye is a scientist, engineer, comedian, and inventor. He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University where he studied under Carl Sagan, and worked on the 747 as an engineer at Boeing before creating and hosting his much-loved Emmy award-winning PBS/Discovery Channel show "Bill Nye the Science Guy." He holds three Honorary Doctorate degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Goucher College, and Johns Hopkins, and teaches at Cornell regularly as a visiting professor.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1 Introduction: Me and You and Evolution, Too
2 The Great Creationism Debate
3 Creation and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
4 Bottom-Up Design
5 Deep Time—Dive in
6 On the Origin of Evolution
7 Lamarck and His Not-Acquired Traits
8 My Prom and Sexual Selection
9 The Red Queen
10 Dogs Are All Dogs
11 The Tree of Life—Or Is It a Bush?
12 Biodiversity Comes in the Territory
13 Fossil Records and Explosions
14 Mass Extinctions and You
15 Ancient Dinosaurs and the Asteroid Test
16 Punctuated Equilibrium
17 Contingency, Bottlenecking, Founding
18 Mosquitoes in the Tube
19 Convergence, Analogy, and Homology
20 What Good Is Half a Wing?
21 Human Bodies Are Walking Talking and Good Enough
22 Evolution Is Why We Don't Believe in Evolution
23 Micro or Macro—It’s Evolution
24 Michael Faraday and the Joy of Discovery
25 Medicine and You—Evolution at the Doctor’s Office
26 Antibiotic Drug Resistance—Fight Back
27 The Urge of Altruism
28 Games Species Play
29 Costly Signals
30 Genetically Modified Foods—What the GMF?
31 Human Cloning—Not Cool
32 Our Skin Colors
33 Is the Human Species Still Evolving?
34 Astrobiologically Speaking—Is There Anyone Out There?
35 The Sparks That Started It All
36 A Second Genesis—of Life?
37 Life’s Cosmic Imperative