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The Cosmic Zoo - Complex Life on Many Worlds (Paperback, 1st ed. 2017)
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The Cosmic Zoo - Complex Life on Many Worlds (Paperback, 1st ed. 2017)
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Are humans a galactic oddity, or will complex life with human
abilities develop on planets with environments that remain
habitable for long enough? In a clear, jargon-free style, two
leading researchers in the burgeoning field of astrobiology
critically examine the major evolutionary steps that led us from
the distant origins of life to the technologically advanced species
we are today. Are the key events that took life from simple cells
to astronauts unique occurrences that would be unlikely to occur on
other planets? By focusing on what life does - it's functional
abilities - rather than specific biochemistry or anatomy, the
authors provide plausible answers to this question. Systematically
exploring the various pathways that led to the complex biosphere we
experience on planet Earth, they show that most of the steps along
that path are likely to occur on any world hosting life, with only
two exceptions: One is the origin of life itself - if this is a
highly improbable event, then we live in a rather "empty universe".
However, if this isn't the case, we inevitably live in a universe
containing a myriad of planets hosting complex as well as microbial
life - a "cosmic zoo". The other unknown is the rise of
technologically advanced beings, as exemplified on Earth by humans.
Only one technological species has emerged in the roughly 4 billion
years life has existed on Earth, and we don't know of any other
technological species elsewhere. If technological intelligence is a
rare, almost unique feature of Earth's history, then there can be
no visitors to the cosmic zoo other than ourselves. Schulze-Makuch
and Bains take the reader through the history of life on Earth,
laying out a consistent and straightforward framework for
understanding why we should think that advanced, complex life
exists on planets other than Earth. They provide a unique
perspective on the question that puzzled the human species for
centuries: are we alone?
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