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Plenty of provocative ideas in this grand sweep of evolutionary biology and anthropology: not surprising for this MacArthur ``genius'' Award-winner, Natural History columnist, and UCLA Medical School physiology professor. With only 1.6 percent difference between the human genome and the genomes of two species of chimps, Diamond declares that we should call ourselves ``the third chimpanzee.'' (Curiously, he fails to mention neoteny as making a world of genetic difference.) Diamond first reviews human evolution, ending with the great leap forward that he attributes to language. New in this area is a discussion of animal art and communication (e.g., bowerbird constructions, vervet-monkey talk) and creolization (the development of sophisticated human languages from pidgin forms). With respect to other human features, Diamond reprises all the theories you've ever heard about sexual behavior, selection, menstruation, menopause, etc. Ditto for aging. He steers a common- sense course between extremes, opting for the games-theory approach of optimizing one's genes and of group survival. Old-but-not- fertile elders are essential imparters of knowledge for the group. A chapter on self-destructive behaviors (smoking, drinking, drug abuse) offers the peculiar theory that we do it to advertise that we are really superior because we can flaunt handicaps! No mention is made of the fit of the chemicals to receptors in the brain and to circuits evoking pleasure. Later, drawing on his special knowledge of New Guinea, Australia, and Polynesia, and his research on birds, Diamond provides a fascinating if overwhelmingly pessimistic view of human predation through genocide, species and resource destruction, and potential nuclear disaster. Conclusions of continued human, species, and planetary destruction are inescapable, in spite of Diamond's optimism that we can learn from the past and some modest success he has had with conservation programs. Quirky arguments at times, yes, but generally Diamond is as sharp as his name.
內容簡介
The Development of an Extraordinary Species
We human beings share 98 percent of our genes with chimpanzees. Yet humans are the dominant species on the planet -- having founded civilizations and religions, developed intricate and diverse forms of communication, learned science, built cities, and created breathtaking works of art -- while chimps remain animals concerned primarily with the basic necessities of survival. What is it about that two percent difference in DNA that has created such a divergence between evolutionary cousins? In this fascinating, provocative, passionate, funny, endlessly entertaining work, renowned Pulitzer Prize–winning author and scientist Jared Diamond explores how the extraordinary human animal, in a remarkably short time, developed the capacity to rule the world... and the means to irrevocably destroy it.
作者簡介
Jared Diamond is the author of the bestselling Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel. A professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, he has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He is a MacArthur Fellow and was awarded the National Medal of Science
精彩書評
"The Third Chimpanzee will endure." --
-- Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University
"Everyone will enjoy reading this brilliant book. It helps us understand what it means to be human."
-- Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University, and author of The Population Bomb
"Plenty of provocative ideas ... Diamond is as sharp as his name."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"Wonderful . . . Jared Diamond conducts his fascination study of our behavior and origins with a naturalist's eye and a philosopher's cunning."
-- Diane Ackerman, author of A Natural History of the Senses
前言/序言
The Third Chimpanzee[第三種猩猩] 英文原版 [平裝] epub pdf mobi txt 電子書 下載 2024
The Third Chimpanzee[第三種猩猩] 英文原版 [平裝] 下載 epub mobi pdf txt 電子書
評分
☆☆☆☆☆
Love reading, love Jing Dong!
評分
☆☆☆☆☆
搞不清是不是正版。我原來有一本正版的,丟瞭,感覺比現在這個重。
評分
☆☆☆☆☆
This book has been described as a world-class masterpiece and indeed fascinating like so. Once I open this book, I just can’t put it down. Thus I recommend this book for all of you, my dear friends.
評分
☆☆☆☆☆
文筆流暢,引人入勝的佳創。 作者本身是地質科學傢, 有深厚的科學底蘊。
評分
☆☆☆☆☆
關注這本書有一段時間瞭,一直沒有時間讀,這次旅行抽空看瞭幾頁。
評分
☆☆☆☆☆
過瞭這麼多年,作者一定又有很多新的想法,思考有更進一步
評分
☆☆☆☆☆
take them away. A very good book, but depressing if
評分
☆☆☆☆☆
Love reading, love Jing Dong!
評分
☆☆☆☆☆
便宜實惠量又足啊量又足