Description
Book SynopsisBeyond The Survival of the Fittest: Why Cooperation, not Competition, is the Key to Life
If life is about survival of the fittest, then why would we risk our own life to jump into a river to save a stranger?
Some people argue that issues such as charity, fairness, forgiveness and cooperation are evolutionary loose ends, side issues that are of little consequence. But as Harvard's celebrated evolutionary biologist Martin Nowak explains in this groundbreaking and controversial book, cooperation is central to the four-billion-year-old puzzle of life. Indeed, it is cooperation not competition that is the defining human trait.
Trade ReviewGroundbreaking
. . . SuperCooperators is part autobiography, part textbook, and reads like a best-selling novel. -- Manfred Milinski * * Nature * *
A fantastic journey into the science of cooperation, with important implications for both individuals and society alike. -- Richard Wiseman, bestselling author of 59 SECONDS
Supercooperators looks beyond
The Selfish Gene and invites us to think afresh about evolution. Contrary to the simplistic idea that selfishness is the only strategy for survival, the brilliant Martin Nowak proves that cooperation is also vitally important. This rich and rewarding book teems with new ideas and insights, which co-author Roger Highfield makes wonderfully lucid and entertaining. -- Graham Farmelo, winner of the Costa Biography Award
Martin has a passion for taking informal ideas that people like me find theoretically important and framing them as mathematical models. He allows our intuitions about what leads to what to be put to the test. -- Steven Pinker * * The New York Times * *
An absorbing, accessible book about the power of mathematics... Nowak is one of the most exciting modelers working in the field of mathematical biology today. * * New York Times Book Review * *
In a sea of bad books about psychology, behaviour and business,
Supercooperators stands out for its robust scientific base and cheerful message. * * Financial Times * *
