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ninnisha's review against another edition
2.0
Troppo divulgativo e ripetitivo per i miei gusti. Alcune frasi vengono ripetute uguali tutto il tempo, sembra quasi di leggere un autore che è stato pagato per scrivere molte più pagine del dovuto e le ha riempite di nulla. Il fatto che più di metà del libro parli di baseball poi non aiuta affatto.
Amo Gould, ma questo libro è stato una sofferenza dall'inizio alla fine, tranne che per alcuni rari passaggi interessanti.
Amo Gould, ma questo libro è stato una sofferenza dall'inizio alla fine, tranne che per alcuni rari passaggi interessanti.
benjobuks's review against another edition
3.0
There is no convincing scientific evidence for increasing complexity in the evolution of life. This is the central argument of the book, supported by rigorous statistical evidence explained through analogs in baseball, biology and other accessible facets of our regular lives. The argument is powerful, explains both basic statistical language/functions (mode, mean, median, etc...) and our common misunderstandings and hypervaluation of the mean in particular.
The main idea is that while the mean complexity of life has increased with time since life's origins (some 3.6-2.4 billion years ago), this in no way demonstrates a THRUST towards evolution causing a GENERAL TREND in life's increasing complexity. The vast majority of life has been, still is, and will likely be bacterial and archaeal (our closest prokaryotic/single-celled relative but similar to bacteria in complexity). Life started against a wall in complexity, and as time proceeds, erratic points further along the axis of organismal complexity (many bacteria interact at the community level in very complex ways) appear, but the rarity of brain abilities as we see in dolphins/whales, primates, octopuses and likely other intelligence forms we are yet to appreciate indicate that these examples prove the norm ("simple" single-celled organisms").
I gave it three stars, as it is a beautiful and powerful theory, that has a limited audience of statistically interested biologists despite it's (self-aware) enormous possibilities. There was an entire section on baseball I skipped as it fell more like one of those case study boxes in an academic textbook to be referred to later ad hoc instead of an interwoven piece of the overall story. This version felt like a draft, so I hope that later Jay Gould books build upon the rhetorical and statistical strength of this book with a more prosaic and accessible writing style.
The main idea is that while the mean complexity of life has increased with time since life's origins (some 3.6-2.4 billion years ago), this in no way demonstrates a THRUST towards evolution causing a GENERAL TREND in life's increasing complexity. The vast majority of life has been, still is, and will likely be bacterial and archaeal (our closest prokaryotic/single-celled relative but similar to bacteria in complexity). Life started against a wall in complexity, and as time proceeds, erratic points further along the axis of organismal complexity (many bacteria interact at the community level in very complex ways) appear, but the rarity of brain abilities as we see in dolphins/whales, primates, octopuses and likely other intelligence forms we are yet to appreciate indicate that these examples prove the norm ("simple" single-celled organisms").
I gave it three stars, as it is a beautiful and powerful theory, that has a limited audience of statistically interested biologists despite it's (self-aware) enormous possibilities. There was an entire section on baseball I skipped as it fell more like one of those case study boxes in an academic textbook to be referred to later ad hoc instead of an interwoven piece of the overall story. This version felt like a draft, so I hope that later Jay Gould books build upon the rhetorical and statistical strength of this book with a more prosaic and accessible writing style.
henry_wallison's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a wonderful read—a more robust exemplar of Gould's ability to tie seemingly unrelated subjects to the study of evolution. In this book, Gould discusses the continual evolution of complexity in organisms as a statistical consequence; specifically, he argues that the evolution of increasingly complex life is a skew driven by chance rather than directional evolutionary pressures. Gould expertly crafts this argument, finding a striking analogy to the decreasing variance of batting averages in baseball (a sport in which I personally take no interest, yet Gould manages to discuss in a way that engages even the unindoctrinated). Overall, this book was an enjoyable and compelling exploration debunking an anthropocentric view of evolution, and I would highly recommend it to anybody looking to challenge their potential misconceptions on ideas of evolutionary "progress".
author_d_r_oestreicher's review against another edition
4.0
Within popular culture little there is little agreement between the evolutionists and the creationists beyond that Homo sapiens are the pinnacle of creation. This supremacy is viewed by creationists as God’s work, while evolutionists see it as an inevitable product of evolution. Full House by Stephen Jay Gould agrees with no one and intends to convince scientifically minded readers of a third alternative.
With arguments heavily based on math, probability, and statistics, the author proposes that evolution does not prefer more complex organisms, or more directly, there is no survival advantage, or natural selection, for complexity. Thus, Homo sapiens do not represent the goal and accomplishment of evolution, but merely the accident of a random walk.
If you are comfortable with statistical modeling and reasoning, this is an easy read. If you like the idea that the world lacks either divine direction or scientific inevitability, this is the book for you.
For more see: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2016/06/full-house-by-stephen-jay-gould.html
With arguments heavily based on math, probability, and statistics, the author proposes that evolution does not prefer more complex organisms, or more directly, there is no survival advantage, or natural selection, for complexity. Thus, Homo sapiens do not represent the goal and accomplishment of evolution, but merely the accident of a random walk.
If you are comfortable with statistical modeling and reasoning, this is an easy read. If you like the idea that the world lacks either divine direction or scientific inevitability, this is the book for you.
For more see: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2016/06/full-house-by-stephen-jay-gould.html
camilleion's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
emielste's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful extended argument for the spread of variety, over an outlier/progress approach to evolution. Gould is a careful teacher and can take even a layperson along. The last chapter did not feel at all necessary and unfortunately distracted from the thrust of an otherwise flawless book.
kiramke's review against another edition
4.0
Good for people who want to see evolution as a tool of humanity.