编辑推荐
Plenty of provocative ideas in this grand sweep of evolutionary biology and anthropology: not surprising for this MacArthur ``genius'' Award-winner, Natural History columnist, and UCLA Medical School physiology professor. With only 1.6 percent difference between the human genome and the genomes of two species of chimps, Diamond declares that we should call ourselves ``the third chimpanzee.'' (Curiously, he fails to mention neoteny as making a world of genetic difference.) Diamond first reviews human evolution, ending with the great leap forward that he attributes to language. New in this area is a discussion of animal art and communication (e.g., bowerbird constructions, vervet-monkey talk) and creolization (the development of sophisticated human languages from pidgin forms). With respect to other human features, Diamond reprises all the theories you've ever heard about sexual behavior, selection, menstruation, menopause, etc. Ditto for aging. He steers a common- sense course between extremes, opting for the games-theory approach of optimizing one's genes and of group survival. Old-but-not- fertile elders are essential imparters of knowledge for the group. A chapter on self-destructive behaviors (smoking, drinking, drug abuse) offers the peculiar theory that we do it to advertise that we are really superior because we can flaunt handicaps! No mention is made of the fit of the chemicals to receptors in the brain and to circuits evoking pleasure. Later, drawing on his special knowledge of New Guinea, Australia, and Polynesia, and his research on birds, Diamond provides a fascinating if overwhelmingly pessimistic view of human predation through genocide, species and resource destruction, and potential nuclear disaster. Conclusions of continued human, species, and planetary destruction are inescapable, in spite of Diamond's optimism that we can learn from the past and some modest success he has had with conservation programs. Quirky arguments at times, yes, but generally Diamond is as sharp as his name.
内容简介
The Development of an Extraordinary Species
We human beings share 98 percent of our genes with chimpanzees. Yet humans are the dominant species on the planet -- having founded civilizations and religions, developed intricate and diverse forms of communication, learned science, built cities, and created breathtaking works of art -- while chimps remain animals concerned primarily with the basic necessities of survival. What is it about that two percent difference in DNA that has created such a divergence between evolutionary cousins? In this fascinating, provocative, passionate, funny, endlessly entertaining work, renowned Pulitzer Prize–winning author and scientist Jared Diamond explores how the extraordinary human animal, in a remarkably short time, developed the capacity to rule the world... and the means to irrevocably destroy it.
作者简介
Jared Diamond is the author of the bestselling Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel. A professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, he has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He is a MacArthur Fellow and was awarded the National Medal of Science
精彩书评
"The Third Chimpanzee will endure." --
-- Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University
"Everyone will enjoy reading this brilliant book. It helps us understand what it means to be human."
-- Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University, and author of The Population Bomb
"Plenty of provocative ideas ... Diamond is as sharp as his name."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"Wonderful . . . Jared Diamond conducts his fascination study of our behavior and origins with a naturalist's eye and a philosopher's cunning."
-- Diane Ackerman, author of A Natural History of the Senses
前言/序言
好的,以下是一份针对您所提及的图书《The Third Chimpanzee》(第三种猩猩)的替代性图书简介,该简介将专注于描述其他主题,并力求细节丰富、文笔自然,不提及任何与原书内容相关的信息: --- 《星尘的回响:人类文明的宇宙航行史诗》 一部关于人类探索未知、挑战极限,并最终触及宇宙边疆的宏伟叙事。 作者: 亚历山大·科尔宾 (Alexander Corbin) 类型: 硬科幻、历史幻想、太空歌剧 页数: 680页 (精装版) 内容概要 《星尘的回响》并非仅仅是一部关于太空飞船和遥远行星的科幻小说,它是一部深入人类集体潜意识、探讨文明在时间长河中如何演进与消亡的史诗巨著。本书以宏大的时间跨度,描绘了从“大分流时代”(The Great Divergence Era)开始,人类文明如何挣脱地球的引力束缚,向着银河系深处播撒火种的复杂历程。 故事的核心围绕着“先驱者舰队”(The Vanguard Fleet)展开。这支由数万艘巨型世代飞船构成的星际方舟,承载着地球文明最后的希望,在一次全球性的生态灾难后,踏上了寻找宜居新世界的漫长征途。作者科尔宾以其惊人的历史洞察力和对未来技术的细致构建,将读者带入一个既熟悉又陌生的未来图景。 第一部:破碎的摇篮与星际的呼唤(约 1-150 页) 开篇追溯了地球文明在“大分流时代”的危机。这不是一场突然的战争,而是一场缓慢、难以察觉的系统性崩溃——气候变迁、资源枯竭、以及信息过载导致的社会结构瓦解。科尔宾细致入微地描绘了人类如何在绝望中选择了“飞升”而非“固守”。 本部分重点刻画了“创世委员会”(The Genesis Council)的诞生。他们是集合了顶尖工程师、社会学家和遗传学家的精英团体,肩负着在密闭的世代飞船中维持一个微型社会的重任。作者详细描述了飞船内部复杂而脆弱的生态循环系统——从藻类农场到空气净化器的每一个细节,都建立在严谨的科学基础之上。读者将跟随首席工程师伊利亚·沃洛夫,体验他在飞船启动前夜,面对着数百万沉睡公民的沉重责任感。 核心主题: 存续的伦理、技术对人性的重塑、以及“家园”的定义被无限拉长后的心理负担。 第二部:寂静的航行与世代的记忆(约 151-350 页) 随着世代飞船进入亚光速巡航,时间的概念变得模糊不清。本书最引人入胜的部分在于对“乘员代际效应”的深刻探讨。生活在太空中的第十代、第二十代人,他们对“地球”这个词汇的理解,已经退化成神话或抽象的数据流。 作者引入了“记忆碎片”(Memory Shards)的概念。为了保持文明的核心价值,每一艘飞船都安装了复杂的神经接口系统,定期向公民灌输经过严格筛选的历史记忆。然而,这种人为维护的记忆开始产生偏差,不同的飞船族群发展出了截然不同的文化和信仰体系。 本部分的主线人物是历史学家兼“记忆仲裁者”薇拉·陈。她发现,在一次例行的系统升级中,某些关键的历史事件——特别是关于“大分流”真正原因的真相——被神秘地删除或扭曲了。薇拉开始质疑,他们所遵循的“创世委员会”的教义,究竟是延续文明的基石,还是一个精心编织的控制工具。她的调查将她引向飞船深处的“隔离区”,那里是早期探险家留下的未解之谜。 核心主题: 历史的建构与篡改、身份认同的危机、以及在漫长孤独中滋生的集体偏执。 第三部:接触与宇宙的悖论(约 351-550 页) 经过数百年的航行,先驱者舰队终于抵达了目标星系——“翡翠之心”星团。这是一个由数千颗宜居行星构成的复杂系统。然而,等待他们的并非一片净土,而是更深层次的复杂性。 科尔宾在这里展现了他对天体物理学和外星生态学的卓越想象力。他们发现,部分行星已经被一个被称为“寂静之网”(The Silent Web)的智能网络所覆盖。这个网络似乎是数百万年前一个高度发达的、非碳基文明留下的基础设施,它既不具攻击性,也完全无视人类的到来。 冲突爆发于人类内部:“定居派”主张立刻利用“寂静之网”的技术优势,强行建立殖民地;而“观察派”则坚持必须先理解网络的运行机制,以免重蹈覆辙。主角薇拉·陈发现,“寂静之网”的运作逻辑似乎与人类追求的线性进步观完全相悖,它似乎在追求一种更高维度的“熵平衡”。 本书最扣人心弦的情节之一,是薇拉冒险深入一个被“寂静之网”控制的巨大空间站,试图下载核心数据。她发现,这个古老文明的结局并非毁灭,而是“选择性溶解”——他们主动放弃了物质形态,融入了宇宙背景辐射。 核心主题: 接触的代价、文明发展的非线性路径、以及对“成功”的重新定义。 终章:星尘的低语(约 551-680 页) 在最终的抉择面前,人类文明面临着分裂。一部分人选择殖民一颗新行星,重建他们记忆中的“地球”;另一部分人,在薇拉的引导下,开始尝试与“寂静之网”进行更高层次的交流,寻求一种超越物质载体的存在方式。 结局是开放而富有哲思的。飞船不再是承载肉体的方舟,而是意识的孵化器。人类最终没有征服宇宙,而是学会了与之共存,甚至成为其更深层结构的一部分。科尔宾以一种近乎冥想的笔触,描绘了最后一批“纯粹的人类”看着他们的后代,以光的速度向着未知的星云传播信息流的场景。 《星尘的回响》是对人类精神韧性的终极礼赞。它探讨了当我们被剥夺了脚下的土地、被拉伸了时间的概念时,究竟是什么定义了我们是“人”。这是一部关于希望、牺牲、以及在无垠的黑暗中,我们如何选择点燃自己微弱光芒的史诗。 --- 读者评价摘录: “科尔宾构建的宇宙密度令人窒息。他让我们思考,也许我们最宏伟的成就不在于我们能走多远,而在于我们如何记住我们是从哪里来的。” — 《宇宙拓荒者评论》 “一部罕见的杰作,它既有阿西莫夫的精确,又有勒古恩的诗意。我很久没有读到如此令人心碎却又充满敬畏的作品了。” — 知名科幻作家 莉娜·马修斯