Wonderful Life
Ratings4
Average rating5
15
Ratings4
Average rating5
What would the world have been like, if George Bailey of "It's A Wonderful Life" hadn't been born?
George was lucky enough to have an angel that could roll back the tape of life and show him how things would have been different. He learned that one contingency changes everything.
In "Wonderful LIfe", an homage to the American classic film, "It's A Wonderful Life", Stephen J. Gould plays the role of the angel, rolling back the tape of life a half billion years for his readers through the lens of the Burgess Shale (British Columbia), arguably the most important fossil site on the planet. His theme of contingency plays out as he discusses the many unique forms of life that might have, if things had gone differently, become the dominant forms on this planet, and how they contrast with those of today -- the one's that survived. Along the way he tells the story of the discovery and discovers of the Shale, how it was first interpreted in terms of prevalent beliefs about the origins of life, and how it has subsequently been re-interpreted in light of knowledge.
So enjoy the "film", but be sure to bring along a cup of coffee and a dictionary -- with Gould's intense writing style you're likely to need both!
Reviews with the most likes.
A marvelous work of popular science. Gould does not merely describe the fauna of the Burgess Shale: he tells the story of how scientists have reinterpreted their classification, and he argues that this revision fundamentally reframes our understanding of life on earth. Essentially, Gould's thesis is that there is no such thing as an inevitable evolutionary trend towards progression, and that our presence on this world is just as much the product of fortunate circumstances as it is of consistent evolutionary principles.
Gould writes in an engaging and beautiful way. He explains technical concepts clearly and enriches his presentation with a variety of apt literary and cultural allusions. The evidence presented for his thesis is thorough. Paleontology advancing as fast as it does, I have to assume that a good deal of the information is outdated; Gould explicitly anticipates and even welcomes this inevitability. (While I love learning about paleontology, I'm certainly not qualified to comment on particular inaccuracies.)
I am particularly impressed by the amount of understanding that Walcott extends towards Charles Doolittle Walcott, the geologist who first discovered the Burgess Shale fossils. Just as a teacher must look for the logic in a student's mistake, Gould examines Walcott's biography in great detail to establish why he interpreted the Burgess fossils the way he did. Gould's comments about the dichotomy between experimental and historical sciences resonated with me, as I immensely enjoy learning about historical sciences but was confused in school when that love didn't necessarily transfer to the experimental side. Gould's book is subtitled “The Nature of History,” but in many ways it's just as much about the historical qualities of nature.
Prior to Wonderful Life, I had not read a proper book focused on paleontology in over a year. While I was obsessed with the subject as a child, the last book I read about it disappointed me. Gould demonstrated to me that paleontology is just as captivating a subject as an adult when presented in the right way. I look forward to continue learning about ancient life, even if my childhood aspirations towards professional paleontology never worked out.
This was a really interesting look into the Burgess Shale, and the many different studies that have gone on throughout the years. Beginning with the first, the next fifty years have given more information.
There is a lot of scientific terms, and the different lists were helpful in running down the information. Great book! I enjoyed it immensely.
