Synopses & Reviews
The newest addition to John Brockmans Edge.org series explores life itself, bringing together the worlds leading biologists, geneticists, and evolutionary theorists—including Richard Dawkins, Edward O. Wilson, J. Craig Venter, and Freeman Dyson.
Scientists understanding of life is progressing more rapidly than at any point in human history, from the extraordinary decoding of DNA to the controversial emergence of biotechnology. Featuring pioneering biologists, geneticists, physicists, and science writers, Life explains just how far weve come—and takes a brilliantly educated guess at where were heading.
Freeman Dyson borrows from science fiction to contemplate real questions about what constitutes the stuff of life. Richard Dawkins and J. Craig Venter discuss the revelatory similarity of genes to digital information. Matt Ridley argues that nature and nurture are intricately intertwined.
Steven Strogatz celebrates the spectacular mathematical synchronicity of fireflies. Edward O. Wilson reveals what ants can teach us about building a superorganism—and, in turn, about how cells build an organism. Elsewhere, David Haig reports new findings on how mothers and fathers individually influence the human genome, while Robert Trivers explores the opposing functions of the conscious and unconscious minds. And theres much more in this fascinating volume.
We may never have all the answers. But the thinkers collected in Life are asking questions that will keep us dreaming for generations.
About the Author
The publisher of the online science salon Edge.org, John Brockman is the editor of The Universe, This Explains Everything, This Will Make You Smarter, and other volumes. He is the founder of the literary agency Brockman, Inc., and lives in New York City.