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by: George C. Williams
Amazon.com's Price: $14.00 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 500
EAN: 9780465072835
ISBN: 0465072836
Label: Basic Books
Manufacturer: Basic Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 192
Publication Date: September 24, 1998
Publisher: Basic Books
Sales Rank: 1182744
Studio: Basic Books
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
We may regard ourselves as the most advanced species on the planet, but have we really reached our optimum design? Isn’t there always room for improvements? Before you answer, let noted evolutionary biologist George C. Williams remind you of both the exquisite adaptations and absurd maladaptations nature has bestowed upon us, the self-proclaimed ”pinnacle of evolution.”Picking up where Darwin left off, Williams combines philosophical perspective and scientific method to provide a foundation for the answers to some fascinating questions. He explains why our bodies have to deteriorate so disastrously with old age. He gives us logical reasons to explain why we crave foods like sugar and fat that have been proven time and again to be detrimental to our health. And Williams single-handedly deflates our Homo sapiens sapiens ego with such insights as: Our eyesight—it may seem superior, but not when compared to that of the invertebrate squid, whose eye has developed over time to prove more efficient than ours. And wouldn’t it make more sense to have a third eye, located on the back of the head? We could have stereoscopic vision in front and rear-vision warning us of danger sneaking up behind. Rear-view mirrors would become a thing of the past. And why stop at three eyes?This fascinating new book is markedly different from all previous work on evolutionary biology. Using the pony fish and its luminescent abdomen as the perfect evolutionary mystery, Williams explores the intricacies of nature’s designs. Rather than telling us how or why the pony fish got its light, Williams explains the functional reasons why the pony fish keeps its light. He also explains why our species keeps arbitrary or malfunctioned features like the reproductive and excretory systems’ sharing of parts.George C. Williams, one of today’s most qualified evolutionary biologists, has written an important, entertaining, and thought-provoking addition to a science that has captivated the world for almost 150 years.
Amazon.com Review:
Renowned evolutionary biologist George C. Williams promises Clues to Plan and Purpose in Nature in the subtitle of The Pony Fish's Glow, but he's being ironic. The clues he discusses all point to no plan, and most emphatically to there being no planner. Williams claims to be promoting the 'adaptationist program,' yet he is an advocate for the middle ground between Stephen Jay Gould and Daniel Dennett. Like the majority of working biologists, Williams believes that most features of organisms can be explained as useful adaptations, but they are adaptations with a past. People are the products of an evolutionary history that leaves even their best- designed features, such as the eye, with bugs that any competent engineer would iron out.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - pretty good: read Dawkins and Ridley first though
I read this book because Richard Dawkins called it a classic in an endnote. It's not bad, and if you enjoy reading about biology you'll certainly enjoy it.
But I'd recommend books by Richard Dawkins, especially "River Out of Eden," and Matt Ridley, especially "The Red Queen," and "Genome," ahead of this one. Williams also wrote "Why we Get Sick." Although the writing in "Pony Fish" is better, "Why we Get Sick" has a lot more information for the curious, and you might prefer it if you've ... Read More
Rating:  - Essential ideas.
Besides his excellent explanations of 'past evolutions' and the 'evolution at work', the author discusses some essential religious, moral and scientific items.
With bees and ants as examples, Prof. Williams explains clearly that the Darwinist evolution is about genes, not about living beings. He also discusses the advantage of sex and aging for a successful gene reproduction.
Other important remarks are, firstly, the fact that the brain erupted only to propel genetic success, not to ... Read More
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