Creatures of Accident

Author: Wallace Arthur
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0809037017
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
The most important aspect of evolution, from a philosophical viewpoint, is the rise of complex, advanced creatures from simple, primitive ones. This "vertical" dimension of evolution has been downplayed, in large part because it was in the past associated with unsavory political views. This avoidance has, however, left evolutionary biology open to the perception that it deals merely with the diversification of similar creatures, all at the same level of "advancedness," from a common ancestor--for example, the classic case studies of finches with different beaks. The latest incarnation of creationism, dubbed Intelligent Design (or ID), has taken advantage of this. It portrays an evolutionary process that is guided--especially in its upward direction--by the hand of an unseen Creator, to ensure that it ends up producing humans. This book builds a persuasive picture of how "unaided" evolution produces advanced creatures from simple ones by an essentially accidental process.--From publisher description.

Creatures of Accident

Author: Wallace Arthur
Publisher: Hill and Wang
ISBN: 1466801794
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
The most important aspect of evolution, from a philosophical viewpoint, is the rise of complex, advanced creatures from simple, primitive ones. This "vertical" dimension of evolution has been downplayed in both the specialist and popular literature on evolution, in large part because it was in the past associated with unsavory political views. The avoidance of evolution's vertical dimension has, however, left evolutionary biology open to the perception, from outside, that it deals merely with the diversification of rather similar creatures, all at the same level of "advancedness" from a common ancestor—for example, the classic case studies of finches with different beaks or moths of different colors. The latest incarnation of creationism, dubbed intelligent design (or ID), has taken advantage of this situation. It portrays an evolutionary process that is constantly guided—especially in its upward direction—by the hand of an unseen Creator, who is able to ensure that it ends up producing humans. Creatures of Accident attacks the antiscience ID worldview, mainly by building a persuasive picture of how "unaided" evolution produces advanced creatures from simple ones by an essentially accidental process. Having built this picture, in the final chapter the book reflects on its religious implications.

Accident!

Author: Andrea Tsurumi
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 1328466523
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 48

Book Description
When a clumsy armadillo named Lola knocks over a glass pitcher, she sets off a silly chain of events, encountering chaos wherever she goes. But accidents happen—just ask the stoat snarled in spaghetti, the airborne sheep, and the bull who has broken a whole shop’s worth of china. In the tradition of beloved books like The Dot and Beautiful Oops, this charming, hilarious debut from author-illustrator Andrea Tsurumi shows that mistakes don’t have to be the end of the world.

On Accident

Author: Edward Eigen
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262534843
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 407

Book Description
Engaging essays that roam across uncertain territory, in search of sunken forests, unclassifiable islands, inflammable skies, plagiarized tabernacles, and other phenomena missing from architectural history. This collection by “architectural history's most beguiling essayist” (as Reinhold Martin calls the author in the book's foreword) illuminates the unfamiliar, the arcane, the obscure—phenomena largely missing from architectural and landscape history. These essays by Edward Eigen do not walk in a straight line, but roam across uncertain territory, discovering sunken forests, unclassifiable islands, inflammable skies, unvisited shores, plagiarized tabernacles. Taken together, these texts offer a group portrait of how certain things fall apart. We read about the statistical investigation of lightning strikes in France by the author-astronomer Camille Flammarion, which leads Eigen to reflect also on Foucault, Hamlet, and the role of the anecdote in architectural history. We learn about, among other things, Olmsted's role in transforming landscape gardening into landscape architecture; the connections among hedging, hedge funds, the High Line, and GPS bandwidth; timber-frame roofs and (spider) web-based learning; the archives of the Houses of Parliament through flood and fire; and what the 1898 disappearance and reappearance of the Trenton, New Jersey architect William W. Slack might tell us about the conflict between “the migratory impulse” and “love of home.” Eigen compares his essays to the “gathering up of seeds that fell by the wayside.” The seedlings that result create in the reader's imagination a dazzling display of the particular, the contingent, the incidental, and the singular, all in search of a narrative.

The Teleportation Accident

Author: Ned Beauman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1620400243
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 398

Book Description
Long-listed for the 2012 Man Booker Prize, The Teleportation Accident is a hilarious sci-fi noir about sex, Satan, and teleportation devices. When you haven't had sex in a long time, it feels like the worst thing that could ever happen. If you're living in Germany in the 1930s, it probably isn't. But that's no consolation to Egon Loeser, whose carnal misfortunes will push him from the experimental theaters of Berlin to the absinthe bars of Paris to the physics laboratories of Los Angeles, trying all the while to solve two mysteries: Was it really a deal with Satan that claimed the life of his hero, Renaissance set designer Adriano Lavicini, creator of the so-called Teleportation Device? And why is it that a handsome, clever, modest guy like him can't-just once in a while-get himself laid? Ned Bauman has crafted a stunningly inventive, exceptionally funny, dangerously unsteady and (largely) coherent novel about sex, violence, space, time, and how the best way to deal with history is to ignore it.

All the Creatures that Breathe

Author: D. R Dauphinee
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780986308925
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 422

Book Description
"From Harvard Yard to the Andes, a story of discovery, love, and loss." In 1985, three Harvard archaeology and anthropology graduate students travel to Peru to seek beauty, culture, and ancient ruins. While exploring the remote, snow-capped eastern slopes of the Andes, they witness an unspeakable tragedy - one they can do little about.Suddenly, their enchanting trip becomes a fight for survival.The three friends must come to terms with their experiences. Each student's healing process becomes intensely personal and offers different results.

Creaturepedia

Author: Adrienne Barman
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
ISBN: 0711295808
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 219

Book Description
Meet the animal kingdom's greatest talents in this illustrated encyclopedia of curious creatures! Drawn in a fun and vibrant style, this book groups animals by their special skills. Flick through these amazing animals that think, look, sound, and act in incredible ways! Introducing: 'the architects' Super-skilled animals that build objects using their legs, beaks, and mouths! the 'noisy neighbors' What’s all that racket?! Meet the loudest big mouths on the planet. the 'homebodies' These territorial creatures keep watch of the land around them. the 'forever faithfuls' Some animals mate for life! Discover which animals pair up. the ‘night owls’ These fascinating animals only come out at night. Filled with fascinating facts, curious creatures, and characterful cartoons, this book will keep young explorers busy for hours. The perfect gift for any young animal lover!

Transgalactic

Author: James Gunn
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0765380927
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 221

Book Description
When Riley and Asha now possess intellectual and physical powers beyond human limitations courtesy of the Transcendental Machine, but the a matter transmission device sends them to separate, unknown planets. Riley and Asha know that together they can change the galaxy, so they attempt to do the impossible--find each other.

The Art of the Accident

Author: Andreas Broeckmann
Publisher: V2_ publishing
ISBN: 9056620908
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
In the last two years a movement known as "trans-Architectures" has gotten under way among architects and media artists. Dedicated to the conceptual use of computers in the design process, the movement's practitioners might study such things as the form of a cloud or the surface of water through computer models -- in order to conceptualize a new kind of space. This book considers the concept of accident as explored in the November 1998 Dutch Electronic Art Festival by members of "trans-Architectures, " and provides project descriptions, illustrations, interviews and essays from the symposium. Contributors include Paul Virilio, John Rajchman, Greg Lynn, Humberto Maturana, Lieven de Cauter, Lars Spuybroek, Marcos Novak, Seiko Mikami, and Knowbotic Research.

Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures (Pip Bartlett #1)

Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 0545709288
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Book Description
From bestselling authors Maggie Stiefvater and Jackson Pearce comes an exciting new series full of magical creatures, whimsical adventures, and quirky illustrations. Here's a list of things Pip Bartlett can talk to:UnicornsMiniature Silky GriffinsBitterflunksBasically, all magical creaturesHere's a list of things she can't talk to (at least, not very well):ParentsTeachersBasically, all peopleBecause of a Unicorn Incident at her school (it was an accident!), Pip is spending the summer with her Aunt Emma at the Cloverton Clinic for Magical Creatures. At first, it's all fun, games, and chatting with Hobgrackles, but when Fuzzles appear and start bursting into flame at the worst possible places, Pip and her new friend Tomas must take action. Because if the mystery of the Fuzzles isn't solved soon, both magical and unmagical creatures are going to be in a hot mess of trouble.