Category Archives: Evolution

Rare Earth – why we may be the only intelligent species in the universe

Posted on June 2, 2019 by

Preface. I think that Ward & Brownlee’s 2000 book “Rare Earth: why complex life is uncommon in the universe” is one of the most profound books I’ve ever read.  What if we are the only intelligent species in the galaxy, … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Human Nature, Life Before Oil | Tagged | 11 Comments

How burning biomass made us human

Posted on November 15, 2016 by

[ This is a book review of Wrangham’s “Catching Fire: How cooking made us human”. Fire enabled us to have larger brains from the increased calories in cooked food, held carnivores at bay, killed bacteria, and gave us many other … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Evolution, Health, Wood | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on How burning biomass made us human

Republicans Brains are wired to deny science & reality

Posted on November 6, 2016 by

[ This is my book review of Chris Mooney’s 2012 “The Republican Brain. The Science of Why They Deny Science—and Reality”. After my review is the first chapter of Mooney’s book, and then my thoughts about Democratic versus Republican brains … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Human Nature | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Book Review of Paleofantasy: What Evolution really tells us about sex, diet, and how we live

Posted on August 3, 2013 by

Alice Friedemann’s review of: Marlene Zuk. 2013. Paleofantasy: What Evolution really tells us about sex, diet, and how we live. My first introduction to Evolutionary Psychology was “The Adapted Mind” which posited we’re unhappy because of the tremendous difference between … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Evolution, Health | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Book Review of Paleofantasy: What Evolution really tells us about sex, diet, and how we live

The Big 5 Personality Traits – psychobabble or science?

Posted on April 14, 2013 by

Alice Friedemann’s review of : Daniel Nettle.  2008.  “Personality, What makes you the way you are”.  Oxford University Press. Scientists have considered psychology to be a very soft science at best and quackery or psychobabble at worst.  But psychology is … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution | Comments Off on The Big 5 Personality Traits – psychobabble or science?

Getting in Touch With Your Inner Neanderthal

Posted on September 20, 2011 by

A review of: Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending. 2009. “The 10,000 Year Explosion. How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution”. Basic Books. This book makes the astounding claim that our evolution has sped up 100 times faster in the past 10,000 years … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Evolution | Comments Off on Getting in Touch With Your Inner Neanderthal