I did far less summer reading this year than most, but two books impressed me quite a bit.
I decided that my knowledge of evolution / natural history had perhaps not kept up with recent discoveries so I grabbed a copy of this 2015 gem from the local library.
If ever you want to learn how changes in climate / environment can have massive effects on life, its existence and evolution, this is the one to read. It takes you right back to the beginning of life on Earth right up to recent times. This was as much an eye-opening experience as an update for me.
I then decided to get more focused: on dinosaurs and very specifically tyrannosaurs. (FYI, tyrannosaurus is but one species in the tyrannosaur family). This fascinating book (which I had with me at the GTG) tells you all you want to know about those amazing beasts, and more.
With "evolution" on my mind, I was drawn to this story today.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world...stions/ar-AAr5i4M?li=AAggNb9&ocid=mailsignout
But what caught my eye in that article was mention of "convergent evolution." An argument against evolution (usually in support of creationism) goes something like "Only God (or a god) could have created eyeballs, since so many animals, and us, have them. There's no way they (or [insert a feature / property here]) could have "evolved" independently all on their own. But in fact they did; many many times. While not covering eyes in a lot of detail, this Wiki entry on the topic is a great summary of the topic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_evolution
I'm waiting two more books from the library, both from 2014, to complete that genre of summer reading.
Jeff
