Other books that might interest you

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  Relentless Evolution

  John N. Thompson

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  At a glance, most species seem adapted to the environment in which they live. Yet species relentlessly evolve, and populations within species evolve in different ways. Evolution, as it turns out, is much more dynamic than biologists realized just a few decades ago. In Relentless Evolution, John N. Thompson explores why adaptive evolution never ceases and why natural selection acts on species in so many different ways. Thompson presents a view of life in which ongoing evolution is essential and inevitable. Each chapter focuses on one of the major problems in adaptive evolution: How fast is evolution? How strong is natural selection? How do species co-opt the genomes of other species as they adapt? Why does adaptive evolution sometimes lead to more, rather than less, genetic variation within populations? How does the process of adaptation drive the evolution of new species? How does coevolution among species continually reshape the web of life? And, more generally, how are our views of adaptive evolution changing? Relentless Evolution draws on studies of all the major forms of life—from microbes that evolve in microcosms within a few weeks to plants and animals that sometimes evolve in detectable ways within a few decades. It shows evolution not as a slow and stately process, but rather as a continual and sometimes frenetic process that favors yet more evolutionary change.

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  Ireland's Animals

  Niall Mac Coitir

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  Niall Mac Coitir provides a comprehensive look at the folklore, legends and history of animals in Ireland, and describes their relations with people, being hunted for food, fur, sport, or as vermin, and their position today. A final section, inspired by stories of animal transformation, looks at twelve animals and how we can enrich our lives by visualising ourselves with their special qualities. This fascinating and beautifully illustrated compilation of folklore, legends and natural history will delight all with an interest in Ireland's animals.

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  Why Do We All Behave In The Way...

  Ss O'Connor

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  Why is life like a poker game? How did a failed robbery help to explain human nature? Why are we so certain bad men will win - and yet we're so wrong? In this, the third volume of The Secrets of Life quartet, SS O'Connor once more uses his easy-going, conversational style to explain how the science of decision analysis developed, and why it has come to show us not only the reasoning behind how humans arrive at their choices in life, but why so much of the apparently bizarre behaviour of the natural world has the same hard logic to it.Instead of the confusion and chaos one might expect, O'Connor lays out how the options organisms face when they interact can actually be analysed, and how we humans then refined this process through the addition of our intelligence and language skills. Starting with the extraordinary new ways of thinking that Adam Smith opened the world's eyes to, the book progresses to the 20th century - and shows how the mathematical reasoning behind our thought processes was revealed at a time when the very future of the world was at stake. From these earliest investigations, through to the fevered disagreements of later experts, this third volume of the Secrets of Life series explains how the science of game theory illuminates the reasons for our behaviour. In particular, the book provides insights into how the interests of the individual should be balanced against those of the group, and why the mechanism of trading would extend far further into our lives than we could ever have imagined. As the story unfolds it becomes ever clearer how cooperation has evolved to be the catalyst at every level of life. It explains how it was the force that built our world, and why it would settle so deeply in our hardwiring that it's become instinctive and innate in us. Perhaps most pleasingly, the same logic also shows that the benefits of collaboration are always bound to ratchet upwards - and how this will inevitably lead humans to ever-increasing levels of moral behaviour.

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  Bring Me Back Home New Orleans -...

  Asia Briana Brown

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  “Dear New Orleans, I miss you. Crescent City, I love you.” On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated a number of homes and communities, scattering families as they sought refuge. Bring Me Back Home, New Orleans, is a Katrina survivor’s story of loss told through poetry, a reflection on home, and an ode to New Orleans.

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  Co-Pilot - using agile methods...

  Till Bay, Benno Baumgartner,...

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  This book describes the agile software development process of Comerge AG from Zürich, Switzerland. Founded 2008 as a startup with four employees, the team consists now of over twenty members. Embracing an agile approach from the beginning, the Comergers have developed a lightweight yet efficient project management toolkit which lead to the successful release of more than 280 projects for over twenty clients. Covering the SCRUM approach, the Co-Pilot helps you focus
  on efficient and elementary project management techniques. It serves as a guideline to keeping the customer in the loop and particularly focuses on the often underestimated „Testing“ part of the agile software delivery process.

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  The Age of Empathy - Nature's...

  Frans de Waal

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  Is it really human nature to stab one another in the back in our climb up the corporate ladder? Competitive, selfish behavior is often explained away as instinctive, thanks to evolution and "survival of the fittest," but, in fact, humans are equally hard-wired for empathy. Using research from the fields of anthropology, psychology, animal behavior, and neuroscience, Frans de Waal brilliantly argues that humans are group animals-highly cooperative, sensitive to injustice, and mostly peace-loving-just like other primates, elephants, and dolphins. This revelation has profound implications for everything from politics to office culture.

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