{"product_id":"the-patchwork-human-9781476686127","title":"The Patchwork Human","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e   Life began about four billion years ago on our planet. Like an old patchwork quilt, evolution stitched the human being together from parts of ancient species now long extinct. Like any species, humans have hundreds or even thousands of traits that have been passed down through time. The evolutionary age of our different traits can be told from how widely distributed they are among today''s living creatures. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e   The book aims to explain some human traits and how we--as social, sexual, language-obsessed technological apes--evolved into our own modern species. Combining hard science with philosophical thought, this work aims to explain where humans have come from, and where we are going. Free of complicated jargon, it breaks down the concept of evolution starting with the human body''s most basic component--our cells. Building from there, chapters explore which traits became inherited over evolutionary time, ultimately projecting what could be next for our species.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003ePreface\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: The Patchwork Human, Old and New Parts\u003cbr\u003e1. The Human Machine\u003cbr\u003eWhat Do People Think?  14\u003cbr\u003ePeople versus Machines  14\u003cbr\u003eMind, Spirit, Soul  16\u003cbr\u003eMatter  19\u003cbr\u003e2. Cells, Genes, and Other Small Parts\u003cbr\u003eCells  23\u003cbr\u003eMolecules Small and Large  26\u003cbr\u003eChromosomes, Genes, and Proteins  27\u003cbr\u003e3. The Embryo: Construction and Continuity\u003cbr\u003eEarly Development  35\u003cbr\u003eContinuity  39\u003cbr\u003e4. Evolution: The Process\u003cbr\u003eThe Process of Evolution  43\u003cbr\u003eEvolutionary Mechanisms  44\u003cbr\u003eAdaptation and the Randomness and Purposelessness of Evolution  51\u003cbr\u003e\"For the good of the species\"  55\u003cbr\u003eAre We Still Evolving?  56\u003cbr\u003e5. Evolution: The Pattern\u003cbr\u003eDarwin's Tree  59\u003cbr\u003eEvolutionary Genetics  61\u003cbr\u003eFossils  62\u003cbr\u003eThe Genus Homo and Its Ancestors  66\u003cbr\u003eSea Urchin Interview  70\u003cbr\u003e 6. Bigger Is Sometimes Better\u003cbr\u003e 7. Bilateral Symmetry\u003cbr\u003e 8. The Sexy Beast, Part I\u003cbr\u003eThe Biological Basics of Sex  87\u003cbr\u003eSperm and Egg Logic  92\u003cbr\u003eThe Mating Dance: The Logic of Fidelity and Promiscuity  95\u003cbr\u003e 9. Up the Mammalian Path\u003cbr\u003eOrigins  103\u003cbr\u003eMammary Glands and Milk  106\u003cbr\u003eThe Placenta  111\u003cbr\u003e10. Fur\u003cbr\u003eHair Today, Gone Tomorrow  115\u003cbr\u003e11. A ­Warm-Blooded Animal\u003cbr\u003eMechanisms  121\u003cbr\u003eEvolution  122\u003cbr\u003e12. Upright Living\u003cbr\u003eForelimbs and Hind Limbs  127\u003cbr\u003eFossil Evidence  129\u003cbr\u003e13. The Brain\u003cbr\u003eBrain Development and Structure  137\u003cbr\u003eSome Comparisons  139\u003cbr\u003eAspects of Brain Evolution  142\u003cbr\u003eBrain Function  145\u003cbr\u003e14. The Sexy Beast, Part II\u003cbr\u003eThe Penis and the Vagina  151\u003cbr\u003eExternal Testes  153\u003cbr\u003eHow Human Brain Size Influences the Mating System  154\u003cbr\u003eConspicuous Mammary Glands  155\u003cbr\u003eSex and Pleasure  158\u003cbr\u003eOvulation Now?  162\u003cbr\u003eMonogamous or Polygamous?  166\u003cbr\u003eMenopause  169\u003cbr\u003e15. On Being Social\u003cbr\u003eBasic Elements of Being Social  175\u003cbr\u003eTeaching and Learning  178\u003cbr\u003eCooperation  180\u003cbr\u003eAltruism  185\u003cbr\u003e­Mind-Reading, or ­Perspective-Taking  189\u003cbr\u003eEvolutionary Origins of Sociality  193\u003cbr\u003e16. The Truly Musical Animal\u003cbr\u003eWhen?  201\u003cbr\u003eHow? The Muses Weigh In  202\u003cbr\u003eAs Part of Our Biology, Why Music?  207\u003cbr\u003e17. The Talkative Ape\u003cbr\u003eThe Anatomy of Speech and Language  213\u003cbr\u003eFeatures of Human Language  215\u003cbr\u003ePrecursors of Language in Animal Communications?  218\u003cbr\u003eAn Evolutionary Pathway for Language  221\u003cbr\u003e18. Human Races, Real and Imagined\u003cbr\u003eThe Concept of Race  226\u003cbr\u003eThe Evolution of Human Races  228\u003cbr\u003eRacial Prejudice  234\u003cbr\u003eIn Summary  236\u003cbr\u003e19. The Future of the Only Remaining Human Species\u003cbr\u003eHomo sapiens Forever  239\u003cbr\u003eA New Species of Homo?  241\u003cbr\u003eExtinction Once and For All  244\u003cbr\u003eSlow Extinction by Climate Change  246\u003cbr\u003eAppendix I: Tissues, Systems, Organs, and Cell Types\u003cbr\u003eAppendix II: Some Musical Preferences\u003cbr\u003eBackground and Further Reading\u003cbr\u003eIndex","brand":"McFarland \u0026 Co Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51040496681303,"sku":"9781476686127","price":27.54,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781476686127.jpg?v=1750946931","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-patchwork-human-9781476686127","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}