Awesome Insights into the Living World
A large portion of my knowledge in the realm of biology is thanks to informative literature.I have learned a lot about biology from books. In this biology book review, I will briefly highlight the 5 most influential books thus far:
Note: The links at the end of each review link to Amazon product pages. If you buy these products through my links, I get a small commission from Amazon (at no cost to you).
Before I write about the various wonders of the biological world I will answer a biological question common to us all: what is the story of human beings in the grand scheme of nature? What is the story of human evolution? We are aware that our species excels at communication, and is very adaptable through culture but it is rather hard to find a source that narrates our strengths and weaknesses as a creature of the Earth.
For the purpose of this post, I will avoid descriptions of each ancestral species leading up to humans but will instead summarize and emphasize the important characteristics (mutations) that are worth noting.
During my senior year of high school, I developed the habit of saving my coin change. When I went out for food with my friends, they always tried to pay separately. On the unfortunate occasions that they didn’t, the waiter would leave the table with a large handful of assorted coins, and a very annoyed expression.
Although I may be violating some social norms, I am following the same principle every organism on Earth has followed since the dawn of life.
To understand the origin of life in a comprehensive way, you must begin my understanding the basic law driving the universe: all forms of matter attempt to reach their most stable state.
We don’t like to balance on the tips of our toes while waiting in a long line. Most people would much rather stand, sit or, better yet, lay down until the wait ends. The same rules apply for all matter in the universe. In fact, as Richard Dawkins put it in his novel The Selfish Gene, Darwin’s idea of survival of the fittest is just a narrower interpretation of the universal law called the survival of the stable.