In this book, David Quammen delves into the recent discoveries in molecular biology that have significantly altered our understanding of evolution and the history of life. He discusses the concept of horizontal gene transfer (HGT), which reveals that genes have moved across species lines, including the fact that roughly eight percent of the human genome arrived through viral infections. The book highlights key scientists such as Carl Woese, Lynn Margulis, and Tsutomu Wantanabe, and their contributions to understanding the complex 'tangled tree' of life. Quammen also explores how these discoveries impact our understanding of public health issues, such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and how new technologies allow us to alter our genetic composition in ways nature has long been doing.
Lynn Margulis's "Symbiotic Planet" presents a revolutionary view of evolution, emphasizing the role of symbiosis in shaping the diversity of life. Margulis challenges the traditional Darwinian view, arguing that cooperation and symbiosis are as important as competition in driving evolutionary change. The book explores numerous examples of symbiosis across different domains of life, from the origins of eukaryotic cells to the complex interactions within ecosystems. Margulis's work highlights the interconnectedness of life and the importance of understanding the collaborative relationships between organisms. Her insights have significantly influenced our understanding of evolution and the dynamics of life on Earth.
While not a single published book, Charles Darwin's notebooks contain a wealth of his observations, sketches, and early formulations of evolutionary theory. These notebooks document his journey of discovery, from initial observations on the Galapagos Islands to the development of his groundbreaking theory of natural selection. They offer a glimpse into the evolution of his thinking, revealing the gradual refinement of his ideas over time. The notebooks are invaluable for understanding the scientific process and the development of one of the most influential scientific theories in history. They showcase Darwin's meticulous approach to data collection and his ability to synthesize diverse observations into a coherent framework.
In 'The Singularity Is Near', Ray Kurzweil discusses the concept of the technological singularity, where technological change becomes so rapid and profound that it transforms human civilization. He predicts that by 2045, machine intelligence will exceed human intelligence, leading to a human-machine civilization where experiences shift from real to virtual reality. Kurzweil envisions significant advancements in fields like nanotechnology, genetics, and robotics, which will solve issues such as human aging, pollution, world hunger, and poverty. The book also considers the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes, maintaining a radically optimistic view of the future course of human development.
You've heard a million times that the history of life on earth is one of systems tending toward ever-increasing complexity, but in this episode, we argue evolutionary history is best conceptualized as one of ever-expanding boundaries of selfhood. In so doing, we apply a unique lens to questions with concrete strategic implications which have vexed environmental politics for generations: is the trend toward increasing scale and complexity in human societies intrinsically bad? Is nature whatever humans aren't doing? Can we exert conscious influence on ecosystems and revere them at the same time? We make a case for a politics in alliance with the broad tendency of life on earth to increase the scale of the “self,” arguing that while people have clearly lost hope in the revolutionary mythologies they invented out of psychological need, this particular mythology of expanding selfhood is real, and therefore durable.
Somewhere along the way, we note how the power exercised in extractive hierarchical societies precisely recapitulates the logic of cancer: when the perceived boundaries of the “self” shrinks, cells (or people) begin treating the systems of which they are a part as “other.” We also see how central nervous systems evolved repeatedly in different animal lineages, complex cell anatomy resulted from organisms failing to digest what they had eaten, octopus arms might be independently conscious, and domestication can be broken down into sub-components by relevant brain system. To top it all off, Arnold cries just a little at the very end. What more could you possible ask for? If your answer is “a video where a bunch of very interesting people who met through Fight Like An Animal talk about some of these same themes,” here's a link to a video called Scientific Animism: The Computational Boundaries of an Octopus.
Fight Like An Animal 
