Few people have done as much to change how we view the world as
Charles Darwin. Yet On the Origin of Species is more cited than
read. Some of it is considered outdated; in some ways, it has been
consigned to the nineteenth century. In The Theory That Changed
Everything, the renowned cognitive scientist Philip Lieberman
demonstrates that there is no better guide to the world's living
things than Darwin, as the phenomena that he observed are still
being explored at the frontiers of science. In a wide-ranging
voyage from Darwin's transformative trip aboard the Beagle to
Lieberman's own sojourns in the remotest regions of the Himalayas,
this book relates contemporary findings to the major concepts of
Darwinian theory. Drawing on his own research into the evolution of
human linguistic and cognitive abilities, Lieberman explains the
paths that adapted human anatomy to language, the acrobatics of the
lungs and larynx and a tongue that facilitates speech at the cost
of the peril of choking. He demystifies the role of recently
identified transcriptional and epigenetic factors encoded in DNA,
explaining how nineteenth-century Swedish famines alternating with
years of plenty caused survivors' grandchildren to die many years
short of their life expectancy. Lieberman is equally at home
decoding supermarket shelves and climbing with the Sherpas as he
discusses how natural selection explains features from lactose
tolerance to ease of breathing at Himalayan altitudes. With
conversational clarity and memorable examples, Lieberman relates
the insights that led to groundbreaking discoveries in both
Darwin's time and our own while asking provocative questions about
what Darwin would have made of controversial issues today.
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