For all that science knows about the living world, there are even more things that we don't know, genuine evolutionary mysteries that perplex the best minds in biology. And paradoxically, many of these mysteries are very close to home: They involve some of the most personal aspects of being human, including such unresolved questions as why do women experience orgasm, menstruation and menopause, why do men have a shorter lifespan than women, and why does
homosexuality exist? Ditto for other evolutionary mysteries of our own species: Why is religion a "cross-cultural universal," along with a fondness for the arts? Why do we have such large brains, and why does consciousness exist? Homo Mysterious examines these and other evolutionary mysteries, exploring things
that we don't (yet) know about ourselves, laying out the best current hypotheses and pointing toward insights that scientists are just beginning to glimpse. Readers are invited to share the thrill of science at its exploratory margins, where we know what we don't know, and, moreover, we know enough to come up with some compelling and seductive explanations.
Homo Mysterious is a guide to creative thought and future explorations, based on the most current thinking of evolutionary scientists. For those who are interested in stretching their scientific imaginations, this book will expose the lure of the not yet known.
- ISBN10 6613625426
- ISBN13 9786613625427
- Publish Date 5 May 2012
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 17 July 2012
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Oxford University Press, USA
- Format eBook
- Pages 340
- Language English