City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Evolutions, fifteen myths that explain our world, Oren Harman

eng

illustrations

no index present

non fiction

Evolutions

Oren Harman

fifteen myths that explain our world

A lyrical evocation of the history of evolution from the Big Bang to the present day, told in terms of fifteen creation myths. We don't think anymore, like the ancient Chinese did, that the world hatched from an egg, or, like the Maori, that it came from the tearing apart of a loving embrace. We now use genes and natural selection to explain fear and desire, and physics the workings of the universe. Science is an astounding achievement. But are we really any wiser than the ancients? Has science revealed to us the secrets of fate and immortality? Has it provided protection from jealousy or love? There are those who believe that science has replaced faith. But must it also be a death knell for mythology? Evolutions brings to life our latest scientific thinking on the birth of the universe and the solar system, the journey from a single cell all the way to our human minds. Reawakening our sense of wonder and terror at the world around us, Oren Harman uses modern science to create new and original mythologies. Here you'll find Earth and moon presenting a cosmological view of motherhood, a panicking mitochondrion introducing sex and death to the world and the loneliness of consciousness emerging from the memory of an octopus. Science may not solve our existential puzzles, but like the age-old legends, its magical discoveries can help us continue the neverending search