Nature's Magic : Synergy in Evolution and the Fate of Humankind
Editorial Reviews
Review
'If you are under the impression that synergy is not particularly important, just try to tie your shoes with a single hand. The book will appeal to anyone interested in the place of evolutionary thinking in general intellectual culture. It will also be esteemed a particularly valuable contribution to the emerging discipline of bioeconomics.' Professor Michael Ghiselin, California Academy of Sciences
'I like this book. It's exciting, well-documented, and well-argued. It's very informative both for professional biologists and well-read lay people; it will change their minds and get them to see synergies everywhere.' Professor Jack Cohen, Warwick University, author of Figments of Reality, and Evolving the Alien (with Ian Stewart).
'... a must for all who are interested in understanding the evolutionary process generally, as well as understanding human evolution and evolutionary perspectives on human behaviour ... Nature's Magic is one of those rare books that will really make you see reality in a new way.' TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution
Book Description
In Nature's Magic Peter Corning states that synergy--a vaguely familiar term to many of us--has been a wellspring of creativity in the natural world and has played a key role in the evolution of cooperation and complexity at all levels, from physics and chemistry to the latest human technologies. The 'Synergism Hypothesis' asserts that synergy is more than a class of interesting and ubiquitous effects. It has also been a major causal agency in evolution; it represents a unifying explanation for biological complexity and represents a different perspective on the evolutionary process. In contrast to gene-centered theories, or postulates of self-organization and emergent 'laws' of complexity, the Synergism Hypothesis represents, in essence, an 'economic' (or bio-economic) theory of complexity. Peter A. Corning, Ph.D., is the Director of the Institute for the Study of Complex Systems in Palo Alto, California. He has published numerous research papers and articles and three previous books, one of which was a theoretical monograph on the role of synergy in evolution, The Synergism Hypothesis: A Theory of Progressive Evolution (McGraw-Hill, 1983).
Nature's Magic : Synergy in Evolution and the Fate of Humankind
Nature's Magic: Synergy in Evolution and the Fate of Humankind,Peter Corning,Cambridge University Press,0521825474,Evolution (Biology),Human evolution,Life Sciences - Biology - General,Life Sciences - Evolution,Science,Science/Mathematics,Ecological science, the Biosphere,Evolution,Popular science,Science / Evolution
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