Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe

Posted on 15 March 2019 by Peter D. Ward

What determines whether complex life will arise on a planet, or even any life at all Questions such as these are investigated in this groundbreaking book In doing so, the authors synthesize information from astronomy, biology, and paleontology, and apply it to what we know about the rise of life on Earth and to what could possibly happen elsewhere in the universe Everyone who has been thrilled by the recent discoveries of extrasolar planets and the indications of life on Mars and the Jovian moon Europa will be fascinated by Rare Earth, and its implications for those who look to the heavens for companionship. Download Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe By Peter D. Ward – kino-fada.fr Having read David Waltham s Lucky Planet, there isn t much in this older book which is new to me, even though he recommended it for further reading It s less up to date, of course, but that s because it s older and at least it does acknowledge stuff like the Viking lander biological experiments, which Waltham did not If you re interested in the evidence that s out there for the fact that our planet might be rare indeed in producing complex life, I d recommend Rare Earth over Lucky Planet Having read David Waltham s Lucky Planet, there isn t much in this older book which is new to me, even though he recommended it for further reading It s less up to date, of course, but that s because it s older and at least it does acknowledge stuff like the Viking lander biological experiments, which Waltham did not If you re interested in the evidence that s out there for the fact that our planet might be rare indeed in producing complex life, I d recommend Rare Earth over Lucky Planet The science is solid and thorough, and well explained.My problem with all books like this is always going to be we have a sample s...An intriguing book, it was written by two scientists Ward, a noted paleontologist, and Brownlee, an astronomer who sought to challenge the concept, rather widespread actually, that complex, even intelligent life, is probably common in the universe They felt that some of this bias in believing this stems from wishful thinking, no doubt fueled by science fiction, but also by science itself, notably the Drake Equation, put forth by astronomers Frank Drake and Carl Sagan This equation, one An intriguing book, it was written by two scientists Ward, a noted pal...This is a rare book, a book on science which is informative and inspiring without really trying to be If we destroy 5% of species on earth, we may be doing a lotthan just that, we may be destroying 5% of the species in this sector of the galaxy.The authors explain a wide variety of different topics in several different disciplines in a non dogmatic way, from astronomy and physics to biology and geography, just laying out what we think we know and how it relates to the formation of life on This is a rare book, a book on science which is informative and inspiring without really trying to be If we destroy 5% of species on earth, we may be doing a lotthan just that, we may be destroying 5% of the species in this sector of the galaxy.The authors explain a wide variety of different topics in several different disciplines in a non dogmatic way, from astronomy and physics to biology and geography, just laying out what we think we know and how it relates to the formation of life on earth This is a book in which I learned not just one new thing, but a whole bunch of different things that all relate to the question of the origin of complex life Simple life forms, they argue, may be quite common in the universe This book is sufficiently good so that it doesn t matter that much to me if the book is true although it is quite convincing I learned so much that the refutation, if it comes, will have to build on what I learned in this book A lot of the book is taken up with the single case of ...There are probably millions of other planets in the galaxy with bacteria, but according to this book, very very few with civilization or even animals The conditions that enabled life to develop may be very widespread in the universe, but Earth has been unusually stable for a long time due to conditions that are extremely unusual The Sun is brighter than 95% of stars, giving it a bigger Goldilocks zone The solar system is much richer in heavy elements than average, making rocky planets There are probably millions of other planets in the galaxy with bacteria, but according to this book, very very few with civilization or even animals The conditions that enabled life to develop may be very widespread in the universe, but Earth has been unusually stable for a long time due to condition...Note the subtitle of the book is Why COMPLEX Life Is Uncommon in the Universe The authors conclude that simple life is likely widespread throughout the universe and was very likely seeded here from space The SETI types rebutted Rare Earth with their own take, hilariously titled, Life Everywhere After all, if your funding was based on the belief that E.T is out there just around the next sun, you d be upset by this book too But once you ve read Rare Earth you ll understand why Newsday Note the subtitle of the book is Why COMPLEX Life Is Uncommon in the Universe The authors conclude that simple...Perhaps the most likely solution to the Fermi Paradox we are alone this books raises a lot of excellent points about our extraordinary existence on Planet Earth I wrote this a few years ago but recent discoveries have shown that Earth is not rare, that there are planets everywhere This book like so many science books is completely and utterly wrong which shows how great science is Still gets 5 stars for its readability and convincing arguments But don t go reading this for the Perhaps the most likely solution to the Fermi Paradox we are alone this books rai...This is a good and depressing book at the same time Good, solid reasoning for a sad perspective.Is there life in the Universe beyond Earth The authors contend that the Universe is probably teeming with microbial life Even on Earth one can find microbes living under most extreme conditions such as several thousand meters deep in the planet s crust or in the vicinity of deep sea hydrothermal ridges in complete darkness These earthly conditions are not better than the habitats a microbe can found, for instance, on Mars or Europa, a moon of Jupiter Enter the microbes penchant for Is there life in the Universe beyond Earth The authors contend that the Universe is probably teeming with microbial life Even on Earth one can find microbes living under most extreme conditions such as several thousand meters deep in the planet s crust or in the vicinity of deep sea hydrothermal ridges in complete darkness These earthly conditions are not better than the habitats a microbe can found, for instance, on Mars or Europa,...One of the most popular themes in science fiction is the prevalence of alien intelligent life in the Universe While the supposed real life abductions and UFO sightings may be silly, the scientific consensus has been that intelligent life is common in the Universe Peter D Ward and Donald Brownlee support the idea that simple life forms are common in the Universe, but contend in Rare Earth that any type of complex, multi cellular animal life is extremely rare Their book covers the Rare Earth One of the most popular themes in science fiction is the prevalence of alien intelligent life in the Universe While the supposed real life abductions and UFO sightings may be silly, the scientifi...This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers To view it, click here I consider this one of the best, most though provoking books, I ve ever read.It brings together an eclectic mix of concepts from Astronomy, Geology, Paleontology, Climatology, Genetics, and Evolotionary Biology.The thesis is simple That life in the Universe is probablycommon that we though 20 years ago, but that intelligent life is probably muchrare than we thought He doesn t offer proof, but he presents several independent concepts why the process of evolution created intelligent I consider this one of the best, most though provoking books, I ve ever read.It bring...

Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe

15 March 2019

Peter D. Ward