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Title: Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin by Stephen Jay Gould, Efram Zimbalist, Efrem, Jr. Zimbalist ISBN: 0-7871-1125-2 Publisher: Dove Books Audio Pub. Date: September, 1996 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 6 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.46 (41 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Full House: The Spred of Excellence from Plato to Darwin
Comment: Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin written by Stephen Jay Gould is a book that is anthropocentic in view, but nonetheless, eloquently argumentive for the new paradigm of progress in which variety, not complexity, is the true measure of excellence.
Gould is a master at writing about science, an explainer of difficult ideas and concepts, bringing a wealth of history in his writing for a well gounded in fact argument. Contentious and polemics are just two of Gould's passionate, but eloquent techniques for getting your attention. As you read this book you'll begin to understand why Gould is so popular as a writer... he's a wonderful storyteller.
"Full House" takes the reader on a journey to reconceptualize our view of natural reality in a fundamental way... making the argument... that variation is the ultimate reality of excellence as a function shaped by selection. Gould gets a little anecdotal as he works his arcana into his arguments, making the reading go by quickly, but more importantly you are learning all along.
Yes, if you've read a lot of Gould's work you'll read many points that Gould has brought to the table before. This being said, these are reconceptualized here, as Gould shows you what we intuitively know to be true. The dare-devilish humor and wit of Gould are evident in this work, bringing the reader along the thought-trail as he transcends one paradigm to another with fervor and intelligence.
This is a well written book as all of Gould's work... unintimidating with masterful storytelling technique.
Rating: 4
Summary: 5 Stars for Content & Substance, 4 for Style
Comment: Professor Gould has made a powerful argument in his usually convincing manner. The book presents a strong case against the popular anthropocentric view of natural evolution. Gould offers an extension to Darwin's natural selection by giving learned opinions on statistical evidence (the disappearing of 0.400 batting average) and a philosophical amalgamation of logical deductions. The author's intelligence and knowledge shine through his articulate lather of collegiate vocabulary (some of which in Latin--that's the reason for the not-so-generous 4 stars.) Gould is an excellent science writter whose passion for his beloved field is self evident. I believe he too, as a human being, scholar and writer, is one of those rare points at the 'right wall' of extreme achievements. Three themes are particaularly noteworthy: variations (not complexity) breed excellence, natural selection implies no progress, humans are not the epitome of life in the universe but merely an actualization of an improbable chance in evolution. Some readers may appreciate his obvious exclusion of religious counterpoints; an argument, however, could be made that such otherwise inclusion of an diametrically opposing view would have shown academic well roundedness. The book is an intellectually entertaining work. If a reader is open to a paradigm shift, Gould is likely the author to do the shifting. His recent death is our national loss.
Rating: 5
Summary: Natural selection is not a synonym of progress
Comment: This book is a forceful illustration of some basic theorems presented by G.C. Williams in his book 'Adaptation and Natural selection': 'there is nothing in the basic structure of the theory of natural selection that would suggest the idea of any kind of cumulative progress' and 'Evolution was a by-product of the maintenance of adaptation'.
Gould corroborates these theorems by showing that the main modus of life on this planet is and has always been 'bacterial'.
He explains clearly that the second law of thermodynamics is only valid for closed systems, not for the earth.
He stresses also that cultural changes are fundamentally different from Darwinian evolutions. The former are Lamarckian, the latter are forced by the less efficient process of natural selection.
But Gould warns rightly that the enormous technological revolutions are not necessarily cultural or moral improvements because of the real risk of, e.g., environmental poisoning or a nuclear catastrophe.
One needs a basic knowledge of statistics to fully understand the book.
In his vigorous and persuasive style, S.J. Gould puts some good-looking scientific and moral ideas into a coffin.
Not to be missed.
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Title: Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms : Essays on Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould ISBN: 0609804758 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 02 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Dinosaur in a Haystack : Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould ISBN: 0517703939 Publisher: Harmony Books Pub. Date: 12 December, 1995 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Hedgehog, the Fox, and the Magister's Pox : Mending the Gap Between Science and the Humanities by Stephen Jay Gould ISBN: 0609601407 Publisher: Harmony Books Pub. Date: 08 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design by Richard Dawkins ISBN: 0393315703 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: September, 1996 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Rocks of Ages : Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life by Stephen Jay Gould ISBN: 034545040X Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 26 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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