Science Resources RSS Feeds
|
 |
 |
 |
| View Larger Image | Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe | Paperbackby Peter Ward (Author), Donald Brownlee (Author)
| List Price: | $16.95 | | Price: | $11.84 | | You Save: | $5.11 (30%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Springer | | Page Count: | 368 Pages | | Publication Date: | December 10, 2003 | | Sales Rank: | 28,190th |
|
FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9780387952895
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
|
ACCESSORIES |
| Curve Ball: Baseball, Statistics, and the Role of Chance in the Game
by Jim Albert (Author), Jay Bennett (Author)
"... a smart and energetic collection of essays on baseball statistics. Curve Ball doesn't play misty-eyed homage to baseball's traditions and conventional wisdoms.... This is great stuff.... Curve Ball makes clear how pleasurable [stats] can be, and arguably how important, to view the great American game with real precision." -- The Wall Street Journal "Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Must own!" -- Baseballnotebook.com "In [Curve Ball] Albert & Bennett explain the game in ways the conventional press -...
| 
| If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens... Where Is Everybody? Fifty Solutions to Fermi's Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life
by Stephen Webb (Author)
FROM THE REVIEWS: "Webb offers coherent, understandable, and sometimes humorous coverage of a diverse range of topics. He provides readers with non-trivial insights into research fields they may not have encountered previously . . . I think everyone who has ever considered the possibility that other intelligent civilizations exist elsewhere within our galaxy will enjoy Where Is Everybody? They will find much to agree with, and much to argue about, in this very accessible volume." ...
|
|
EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
The sweeping diversity of complex life on Earth, Ward and Brownlee argue, evolved out of an extraordinary set of physical conditions and chance events that would be extremely hard to duplicate- though not impossible. Many planets throughout the vastness of the Universe may be teeming with microbial life, but advancement beyond this stage is very rare. Everyone with an interest in the possible extent of life in the Universe and the nature of life's evolution on our own planet will be fascinated by RARE EARTH. "...likely to cause a revolution in thinking..." The New York Times "...[the book] has hit the world of astrobiologists like a killer asteroid..." Newsday (New York) "...a sobering and valuable perspective..." Science "...a startling new hypothesis..." Library Journal "...Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee offer a powerful argument..." The Economist "...provocative, significant, and sweeping..." Northwest Science & Technology "...a stellar example of clear writing..." American Scientist |
Amazon.com Review
"Do you feel lucky? Well do ya?" asked Dirty Harry. Paleontologist Peter Ward and astronomer Donald Brownlee think all of us should feel lucky. Their rare Earth hypothesis predicts that while simple, microbial life will be very widespread in the universe, complex animal or plant life will be extremely rare. Ward and Brownlee admit that "It is very difficult to do statistics with an N of 1. But in our defense, we have staked out a position rarely articulated but increasingly accepted by many astrobiologists." Their new science is the field of biology ratcheted up to encompass not just life on Earth but also life beyond Earth. It forces us to reconsider the life of our planet as but a single example of how life might work, rather than as the only example. The revolution in astrobiology during the 1990s was twofold. First, scientists grew to appreciate how incredibly robust microbial life can be, found in the superheated water of deep-sea vents, pools of acid, or even within the crust of the Earth itself. The chance of finding such simple life on other bodies in our solar system has never seemed more realistic. But second, scientists have begun to appreciate how many unusual factors have cooperated to make Earth a congenial home for animal life: Jupiter's stable orbit, the presence of the Moon, plate tectonics, just the right amount of water, the right position in the right sort of galaxy. Ward and Brownlee make a convincing if depressing case for their hypothesis, undermining the principle of mediocrity (or, "Earth isn't all that special") that has ruled astronomy since Copernicus. --Mary Ellen Curtin |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 118 reviews)
|
Great Theory by R. Guimaraes (Brazil)  4 Stars
August 16, 2009
I think that the authors described what can turn out to be one of the most relevant discoveries of our time: we are alone in the Milky Way. The problem is that even the authors are reluctant to assume that. The idea that our planet is the only one capable of harbor complex life in our galaxy (maybe in the Universe), certainly annoy many people.
| |
a rare find by Redgecko (USA)  5 Stars
August 06, 2009
Some reviewers have given excellent summaries of the book so I shall not repeat the facts. I just wanted to reinforce the other 5 star reviews and say that I took this book on vacation with me this summer and I could hardly wait until the end of each day so I could get back to reading it. I found it so interesting that I couldn't put it down. It presents a unique blend of many different branches of science including paleontology, biology, astronomy and geology. I had some relatively minor quibbles with the writing style in that it wasn't written with "one voice" and you could sometimes tell which author was responsible for particular sections. Also, sometimes they tried to be metaphorical with the way they phrased their ideas and that didn't work for me. The book does need some rewriting because there are some errors, but none of them are serious enough to mislead the reader. Once or twice a figure was provided that wasn't adequately explained. For instance, Figure 9-1 used the terms "lithosphere" and "asthenosphere" without defining what they mean. Readers might not be in a position to use other resources to supplement the reading of the book, so the book should be as self-contained as possible. I think that the authors used current knowledge and good science to support their hypothesis that the planet earth and it's biosystems are a rare and perhaps unique occurrence in the universe.
| |
Rare Book by Diana L. Mercer (Los Angeles, CA) 5 Stars
July 16, 2009
Not a popular book with the UFO crowd who want to believe that we are not alone.This book argues that perhaps we really are.
I thought it sounded a little wacky at first considering the number of planets that must exist in this universe and beyond but the auther posits that the recipe for life is so complex that we just may be the "only ones in the neighborhood". I don't know if I agree or not but I found this a fascinating read regardless.
[...].
| |
Premature in its conclusions... by Steve Reina (Troy Michigan) 5 Stars
July 13, 2009
Forty years ago, when he was about to get ready for a conference on extra terrestrial intelligence, Frank Drake derived the following equation:
The probability of ET intelligence in our galaxy was equal to =
The number of stars in our galaxy TIMES
The fraction of sun like stars TIMES
The fraction of sun like stars with planets TIMES
The fraction of those planets in a solar systems habitable zone TIMES
The fraction of those planets wherein life arises TIMES
The fraction of those planets inhabited by intelligent beings TIMES
The percentage of a lifetime of those planets that is marked by presence of intelligent beings (e.g. they didn't kill themselves off in a nuclear war or otherwise destroy their environment)
Since its inception the Drake equation has revolutionized the study of the search for extra terrestial intelligent life. Usually, its calculators -- most typically Drake himself and his protege Carl Sagan -- used the equation very optimistically for the proposition that ET both existed and was plentiful. (For example Sagan routinely gave the Drake number as being one million intelligent civilizations in our galaxy alone.)
To put it modestly, Rare Earth authors Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee would be less optimistic in their assessments. They believe that our sun is not just rare but extemely rare among stars (for example, being bigger than 95 percent of the other suns in the galaxy as well as having a higher metalic content). They also believe that the fact that our planet possesses a stabilizing moon and the fact of distant Jupiter also augur for Earth's rareness. A moon the size of ours relative to our planet prevents the planet from rocking around in its tilt with respect to the sun...a factor that greatly augurs for predictable seasons conducive to complex life. Additionally the moon's gravity gives the Earth's oceans a regular pulse that aids in distributing weather patterns around the planet. For its part Jupiter vaccuums up stray comets and asteriods lessening the risk of one of them having a castrophic impact with Earth (like the one 65 million years ago in the Yucatan which annihilated our planet's dinosaur population).
Ward and Brownlee also believe that the story of Earth's evolution tells us volumes about what types of life are more and what types of life are less likely. Looking at Earth's history they note that bacterial like life got a very early start and is present in the fossil record as early as 3.8 billion years ago whereas complex animal life only dates to some 570 million years ago. They note that unlike bacterial life, Earth complex life required oceans, an oxygen rich atmosphere and moving continental plates...things which ultimately took the better part of two billion years to create on this planet.
For all these reasons they surmise that while bacterial type life is probably very common in the galaxy, complex life such as ours is probably very, very rare. Though they are clear not to calculate the Drake equation, they are clear that were they to do so the numbers would no where approach the more optimistic surmises of the likes of Drake and Sagan.
In fact they even propose a new ET equation or "Rare Earth Equation" which they would calculate as follows:
ET in our galaxy is equal to
The number of stars in our galaxy TIMES
The fraction of those stars with planets TIMES
The fraction of those planets in the habitable zone TIMES
The fraction of those planets where life does arise TIMES
The fraction of those planets with life where complex life arises TIMES
The percentage of a lifetime of a planet that is marked by the presence of complex life
Though Ward and Brownlee undoubtedly raise some good issues, it should go without saying that its still probably to early for us to really make meaningful statements about the ubiquity of ET.
Analyzing their Rare Earth equation I would observe:
Fraction of stars with planets. Only in the past twenty years have we begun the process of extra terrestrial planet detection. We now stand at over 300 and counting but by and large the only planets we detect are ones sufficiently large to noticeably effect their star's movement. Though we think we orbit the sun and its stationary in fact our sun yet moves too...albeit more circumspectly...owing to the movement of the planets around it.
Fraction of the planets in a stars habitable zone. The habitable zone is that area not too far or close to the star where the planet will get sufficiently illumination yet not be scorched by its suns glare. Though our star is larger than most, its true that a planet closer to a smaller star could still receive the requisitie illumination.
Fraction of habitable zone planets where life arises. Here's where I think the likes of Drake and Sagan probably have it right in saying that where life can arise it does. This in fact is actually a point conceded by Ward and Brownlee as well.
Fraction of planets where complex life arises. This is where Ward and Brownlee become more conservative. Yet is bears noting that in his more recent book Life as We do Not Know It Peter Ward threw cold water on his earlier views and was more open to the propects of the presence both of non traditional Earth life (for example, silicon based life) and the ubiquity of complex life arising from it elsewhere.
And finally the fraction of a planets life where ET both lives and lives long. Usually this has been a stepping stone for authors to discuss the importance of our species being a better caretaker of itself and its world. However, average species life on this planet is around eleven million years so even by conservative estimates homo sapiens probably can be said to have a lot of milleage left on their species odometer.
So are Drake and Sagan right or is it Ward and Brownlee? The point of this review is not to take sides...the evidence will in time speak for itself...but rather to say the obvious. With only three hundred and counting extra solar planets discovered and only one planet with life, it's still probably too early for us to be making big pronouncements about what awaits us in the galactic abyss.
| |
Great book by Big Red (Spring, Texas) 5 Stars
July 03, 2009
The authors put quite a bit of research time into this book and it shows. Good book.
| |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| The Life and Death of Planet Earth: How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World
by Peter D. Ward (Author), Donald Brownlee (Author)
“They deftly bring together findings from many disparate areas of science in a book that science buffs will find hard to put down.” —Publishers Weekly
Science has worked hard to piece together the story of the evolution of our world up to this point, but only recently have we developed the understanding and the tools to describe the entire life cycle of our planet. Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee, a geologist and an astronomer respectively, are in the vanguard of the new field...
|
| If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens... Where Is Everybody? Fifty Solutions to Fermi's Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life
by Stephen Webb (Author)
FROM THE REVIEWS: "Webb offers coherent, understandable, and sometimes humorous coverage of a diverse range of topics. He provides readers with non-trivial insights into research fields they may not have encountered previously . . . I think everyone who has ever considered the possibility that other intelligent civilizations exist elsewhere within our galaxy will enjoy Where Is Everybody? They will find much to agree with, and much to argue about, in this very accessible volume." ...
| 
| The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery
by Guillermo Gonzalez (Author), Jay Richards (Author)
Is Earth merely an insignificant speck in a vast and meaningless universe? On the contrary: The Privileged Planet shows that this cherished assumption of materialism is dead wrong. In this provocative book, Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards present a staggering array of evidence that exposes the hollowness of this modern dogma. They demonstrate that our planet is exquisitely fit not only to support life, but also to give us the best view of the universe, as if Earth were designed both...
| 
| Life Everywhere
by David Darling (Author)
To many people, the main question about extraterrestrial life is whether it exists. But to the scientific community, that question has already been answered: it does, and within our solar system. The new science of astrobiology is already being practiced at NASA's Astrobiology Institute and the University of Washington's new Department of Astrobiology. Life Everywhere is the first book to lay out what the new science of astrobiology is all about. It asks the fascinating questions...
| 
| Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future
by Peter D. Ward (Author)
More than 200 million years ago, a cataclysmic event known as the Permian extinction destroyed more than 90% of all species and nearly 97% of all living things. Its origins have long been a puzzle for paleontologists, and during the 1990s and the early part of this century a great battle was fought between those who thought that death had come from above and those who thought something more complicated was at work. Paleontologist Peter D. Ward, fresh from helping prove that an...
|
|
|
|
