Lucky Planet
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| Author | : David Waltham |
| Publisher | : Basic Books |
| Total Pages | : 210 |
| Release | : 2014-04-08 |
| Genre | : Science |
| ISBN | : 0465080820 |
Why Earth’s life-friendly climate makes it exceptional—and what that means for the likelihood of finding intelligent extraterrestrial life We have long fantasized about finding life on planets other than our own. Yet even as we become aware of the vast expanses beyond our solar system, it remains clear that Earth is exceptional. The question is: why? In Lucky Planet, astrobiologist David Waltham argues that Earth’s climate stability is what makes it uniquely able to support life, and it is nothing short of luck that made such conditions possible. The four billion year-stretch of good weather that our planet has experienced is statistically so unlikely that chances are slim that we will ever encounter intelligent extraterrestrial others. Citing the factors that typically control a planet’s average temperature—including the size of its moon, as well as the rate of the Universe’s expansion—Waltham challenges the prevailing scientific consensus that Earth-like planets have natural stabilizing mechanisms that allow life to flourish. A lively exploration of the stars above and the ground beneath our feet, Lucky Planet seamlessly weaves the story of Earth and the worlds orbiting other stars to give us a new perspective of the surprising role chance plays in our place in the universe.
| Author | : David Waltham |
| Publisher | : Icon Books Ltd |
| Total Pages | : 248 |
| Release | : 2014-05-01 |
| Genre | : Science |
| ISBN | : 1848316887 |
Science tells us that life elsewhere in the Universe is increasingly likely to be discovered. But in fact the Earth may be a very unusual planet – perhaps the only one like it in the entire visible Universe. In Lucky Planet David Waltham asks why, and comes up with some surprising and unconventional answers. Recent geological, biological, and astronomical discoveries are bringing us closer to understanding whether we might be alone in the Universe, and this book uses these to question the conventional wisdom and suggest, instead, that the Earth may have had ‘four billion years of good weather’ purely by chance. If Earth-like worlds don’t have natural stabilising mechanisms, then intelligent observers such as ourselves will only ever look out onto those rare planets where, like the Earth, all the bad things that could have happened to the climate have fortunately cancelled each other out. So before you prepare to meet the aliens, consider that we are probably alone ...
| Author | : R. Mirman |
| Publisher | : iUniverse |
| Total Pages | : 535 |
| Release | : 2006 |
| Genre | : Consciousness |
| ISBN | : 0595378412 |
WHY GOD COULD NOT CREATE THE UNIVERSE WITH A DIFFERENT DIMENSION EVEN IF IT WANTED TO or perhaps anything else. Perhaps the universe must be the way it is. It seems that what is omnipotent is mathematics, elementary arithmetic, just counting. Yet even mathematics is not powerful enough to create a universe¿there are just too many conditions, conflicting. Existence is impossible. Beyond that for there to be structure is quite inconceivable. But the universe does exist, there are galaxies, stars, even the possibility of life. That life is possible merely allows it to exist but only with the greatest good fortune does it actually occur. Intelligence is vastly less likely, ability and technology far more improbable. That we are, what we are, seem so strange, inconceivable, that we are left merely with wonder¿and, as we seem unable to realize, the need for the deepest care, responsibility and gratitude. We have been given by the unbelievable benevolence of chance, no life, but life with the most wondrous part of the universe, the ability to think, to know, to create, to wonder¿and thus the demand that we use our most awesome gifts to protect them, to protect and preserve the world in which they exist, and the life, likely so rare if not unique in the universe, which has received these astounding favors of chance, that has been given by nature its most exalted constituents. What we are requires that we enhance what we are, what we are part of, to see, understand and be grateful. An exploration of the precise conditions required for the existence of humans in the universe. ...the author does an admirable job delineating the laws of physics without becoming too bogged down in complicated jargon, and he maintains a sense of wonder about the unique and random nature of the universe. He repeatedly celebrates our highly improbable achievements as a species, marveling at our ability to use the language of abstract mathematics to unravel the mysteries of existence. ... the prevailing tone of the narrative is clear and confident, marked by a meticulous attention to detail. An...often fascinating journey through the history of the universe and mankind. -Kirkus Discoveries
| Author | : O.G. Sorokhtin |
| Publisher | : Elsevier |
| Total Pages | : 597 |
| Release | : 2010-10-29 |
| Genre | : Science |
| ISBN | : 0444537589 |
The book reviews the current physical theory of Earth's global evolution, its origin, structure and composition, the process of Earth's core formation, Earth's energy, and the nature of its tectonomagnetic activity. The book also deals with the origin of the Moon and its influence on our planet's evolution. Based on the integral positions of this theory, the book analyzes the issues of the origin of the hydrosphere and atmosphere, and the conception and evolution of life on Earth. The monograph also reviews the adiabatic theory of the greenhouse effect developed by the authors, and the effects of nitrogen-consuminging bacteria and of periodic changes in the precession angle on its climate. In particular, these effects cause the onset and periodicity of ice ages and a significant climate warming during the periods of supercontinent appearance (like Pangaea in the Mid-Mesozoic). - Challenges current thinking about climate change on the basis of sound geological data - Helps the reader make informed decisions about Earth-process related problems - Challenges the reader to critically analyze both theory and data
| Author | : Barrie Dolnick |
| Publisher | : Harmony |
| Total Pages | : 256 |
| Release | : 2007-11-06 |
| Genre | : Mathematics |
| ISBN | : 0307405303 |
Have you ever noticed that you talk about luck every day of your life? Luck is your silent companion, sometimes bringing awesome parking spaces, a chance meeting with a new love interest, or a small windfall. Most of the time you probably don’t even pay attention to luck. Chances are, you only really think about luck when you buy a lottery ticket or participate in a contest. Luck is so much more than that. If you take steps to live longer by eating right and exercising, why wouldn’t you also take similar steps to improve your good fortune? Barrie Dolnick and Anthony Davidson asked themselves this very question, and set out to study luck and decipher how it works. In this insightful and engaging book, they share the secrets they’ve uncovered so you can use luck more effectively in your day-to-day life. Where does luck originate? Does one need to be “born lucky” in order to be lucky? Answering these and many other pressing questions, Dolnick and Davidson investigate both ancient and scientific approaches to luck. From early man to famous rationalists, luck has been prayed for, played with, and courted. You’ll learn how ancient practices such as the I Ching, astrology, tarot, and numerology have been used to understand luck, and how great mathematicians studied luck–some guided by their own interest in gambling. Every- one wants to be lucky. Once you know the fundamentals of luck, the authors take you through your own Personal Luck Profile so that you can use this wisdom and try your luck. People do a lot of weird things to improve their luck–and now you can make smart choices and informed decisions about how to play with yours.
| Author | : Dinesh D'Souza |
| Publisher | : Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. |
| Total Pages | : 290 |
| Release | : 2008 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 1414326017 |
Examines the assumptions of Christianity and atheism, and argues, among other issues, that Christianity explains what modern science tells us about the universe and our origins better than atheism.
| Author | : Lisa Campbell Ernst |
| Publisher | : Aladdin Paperbacks |
| Total Pages | : 0 |
| Release | : 1999 |
| Genre | : Fortune |
| ISBN | : 9780689824265 |
When he learns that Lucky is not his real name, but only a nickname given to him by his grandfather, a young boy's outlook on his whole life changes.
| Author | : Richard Dawkins |
| Publisher | : W. W. Norton & Company |
| Total Pages | : 478 |
| Release | : 2015-09-28 |
| Genre | : Science |
| ISBN | : 0393353095 |
Richard Dawkins’s classic remains the definitive argument for our modern understanding of evolution. The Blind Watchmaker is the seminal text for understanding evolution today. In the eighteenth century, theologian William Paley developed a famous metaphor for creationism: that of the skilled watchmaker. In The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins crafts an elegant riposte to show that the complex process of Darwinian natural selection is unconscious and automatic. If natural selection can be said to play the role of a watchmaker in nature, it is a blind one—working without foresight or purpose. In an eloquent, uniquely persuasive account of the theory of natural selection, Dawkins illustrates how simple organisms slowly change over time to create a world of enormous complexity, diversity, and beauty.
| Author | : Stephen Watson |
| Publisher | : Lulu.com |
| Total Pages | : 325 |
| Release | : 2016-02-29 |
| Genre | : Fiction |
| ISBN | : 1326578278 |
"She seemed quite nice really. At least as far as a weird ghostly spirit that introduces itself in a dark wood at night can be nice." Don't mess with Melia! She's a feisty dryad - and she's angry. Ever since her ash tree was cut down to make way for a new road she's been out for revenge. On the whole human race. But when Melia and fellow tree spirits Betula and Quercus try to attack tree-loving Jake and his family, they find that everything is more complicated than it seems. Soon they are working together - and their plan to save Nightingale Copse from being splatted by an airport runway is about to shake the government...
| Author | : Angelo Peccerillo |
| Publisher | : Springer Nature |
| Total Pages | : 236 |
| Release | : 2021-10-03 |
| Genre | : Science |
| ISBN | : 3030780139 |
The book describes the structure, composition and evolution of the Earth, the main geological processes occurring on it, and how some crucial environmental matters that are amply debated in the media (e.g. pollution, greenhouse effect) can be fully understood by placing them in the holistic context of the system Earth as a whole. It provides basic information on a series of key geological issues, from the structure and composition of the Earth to the large-scale processes that characterize our planet, such as rock alteration and sedimentation, magmatism, geomagnetism, seismicity, plate tectonics, cyclical migration of chemical elements through various Earth reservoirs (Geochemical Cycles), and evolution of the planet from Hadean to present. It intends to reach a wide readership, which is interested in our planet and wish to have a general and comprehensive view of its origin, evolution and activity. Potential readership includes undergraduate and advanced undergraduate students in Geology and other scientific disciplines, and any moderately- to well-educated people interested in the surrounding world and eager to gain a basic knowledge of the Earth and to reach an integrated view of how our planet is working.
