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The Equations of Life
- How Physics Shapes Evolution
- Narrated by: Ian Porter
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
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Publisher's summary
We are all familiar with the popular idea that strange alien life is wildly different from life on Earth. Maybe it's made of silicon! Maybe it has wheels! Or maybe it doesn't.
In The Equations of Life, biologist Charles S. Cockell makes the forceful argument that the laws of physics narrowly constrain how life can evolve, making evolution's outcomes predictable. If we were to find something very much like a lady bug eating something very much like an aphid on a distant planet, we shouldn't be surprised. The forms of life are guided by a limited set of rules, and, as a result, there is a narrow set of solutions to the challenges of existence.
A remarkable scientific contribution breathing new life into Darwin's theory of evolution, The Equations of Life makes a radical argument about what life can - and can't - be.
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Complicated in its simplicity
- By Philomath on 06-13-17
By: Professor Brian Cox, and others
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Arrival of the Fittest
- Solving Evolution's Greatest Puzzle
- By: Andreas Wagner
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In Arrival of the Fittest, renowned evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner draws on over 15 years of research to present the missing piece in Darwin's theory. Using experimental and computational technologies that were heretofore unimagined, he has found that adaptations are not just driven by chance, but by a set of laws that allow nature to discover new molecules and mechanisms in a fraction of the time that random variation would take.
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Robustness makes for an interesting life and book
- By Gary on 11-29-14
By: Andreas Wagner
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Origin Story
- A Big History of Everything
- By: David Christian
- Narrated by: Jamie Jackson
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Most historians study the smallest slivers of time, emphasizing specific dates, individuals, and documents. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the big bang through the present day - and even into the remote future? How would looking at the full span of time change the way we perceive the universe, the earth, and our very existence? These were the questions David Christian set out to answer when he created the field of "Big History", the most exciting new approach to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.
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A brilliant achievement, must read/listen
- By 11104 on 09-05-18
By: David Christian
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The Science of Rick and Morty
- The Unofficial Guide to Earth's Stupidest Show
- By: Matt Brady
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Blending biology, chemistry, and physics basics with accessible - and witty-prose, The Science of Rick and Morty equips you with the scientific foundation to thoroughly understand Rick's experiments from the show, such as how we can use dark matter and energy, just what is intelligence hacking, and whether or not you can really control a cockroach's nervous system with your tongue. Perfect for longtime and new fans of the show, this is the ultimate segue into discovering more about our complicated and fascinating universe.
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Some good science in here?
- By Darin Harbert on 02-06-20
By: Matt Brady
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The Story of Earth
- The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet
- By: Robert M. Hazen
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Earth evolves. From first atom to molecule, mineral to magma, granite crust to single cell to verdant living landscape, ours is a planet constantly in flux. In this radical new approach to Earth’s biography, senior Carnegie Institution researcher and national best-selling author Robert M. Hazen reveals how the co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere - of rocks and living matter - has shaped our planet into the only one of its kind in the Solar System, if not the entire cosmos.
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Makes minerals interesting
- By Gary on 07-31-12
By: Robert M. Hazen
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13 Things That Don't Make Sense
- The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time
- By: Michael Brooks
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Science starts to get interesting when things don't make sense. Science's best-kept secret is that there are experimental results and reliable data that the most brilliant scientists can neither explain nor dismiss. If history is any precedent, we should look to today's inexplicable results to forecast the future of science. Michael Brooks heads to the scientific frontier to meet 13 modern-day anomalies and discover tomorrow's breakthroughs.
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10 interesting chapters-read epiloge first
- By Stephen on 06-10-09
By: Michael Brooks
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The Science of Discworld
- A Novel
- By: Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen
- Narrated by: Michael Fenton Stevens, Stephen Briggs
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Not just another science audiobook and not just another Discworld novella, The Science of Discworld is a creative, mind-bending mash-up of fiction and fact, that offers a wizard’s-eye view of our world that will forever change how you look at the universe.
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Not the best Pratchett, but gets there in the end
- By Rachel on 07-30-14
By: Terry Pratchett, and others
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Until the End of Time
- Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe
- By: Brian Greene
- Narrated by: Brian Greene
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Until the End of Time is Brian Greene's breathtaking new exploration of the cosmos and our quest to find meaning in the face of this vast expanse. Greene takes us on a journey from the big bang to the end of time, exploring how lasting structures formed, how life and mind emerged, and how we grapple with our existence through narrative, myth, religion, creative expression, science, the quest for truth, and a deep longing for the eternal.
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Uneven
- By NJ on 03-03-20
By: Brian Greene
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A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
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an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
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Catching Stardust
- Comets, Asteroids and the Birth of the Solar System
- By: Natalie Starkey
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious – comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet and its inhabitants.
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Chasing star stuff always results in technological advances
- By Richard Duede on 12-30-18
By: Natalie Starkey
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Calculating the Cosmos
- How Mathematics Unveils the Universe
- By: Ian Stewart
- Narrated by: Dana Hickox
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In Calculating the Cosmos, Ian Stewart presents an exhilarating guide to the cosmos, from our solar system to the entire universe. He describes the architecture of space and time, dark matter and dark energy, how galaxies form, why stars implode, how everything began, and how it's all going to end. He considers parallel universes, the fine-tuning of the cosmos for life, what forms extraterrestrial life might take, and the likelihood of life on Earth being snuffed out by an asteroid.
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Crank alert: rejects modern cosmology
- By James Weisner on 03-20-17
By: Ian Stewart
What listeners say about The Equations of Life
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Rebekah Verbeten
- 12-16-18
Life is amazing, but has limits.
A fascinating journey to the various barriers that life encounters. For anyone who wants to dive deeper into the world around them, definitely add this one to your reading list. Yes they do read off the equations, but considering the title it comes with the territory. The math ties in very well with many other sciences.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Tintin
- 01-04-20
The limits to Evolution
Excellent analysis of the constraints to life forms, from upper and lower temperature boundaries, pressure, water, pH.. Are there alternatives to water solution? To carbon based life forms? Why are there four bases on DNA and not more? Why ACTG specifically? How well do the various materials available in space lend themselves to life formations? Explaining this takes some time and attention, this is not a quick read. But it's accessible to laypersons with interest in science.
The conclusion is that, contrary to Charles Darwin, Peter Gould, and common speculation life can't just pop up in endless forms most beautiful. There are narrow lanes and many guardrails, thanks to the universal rules of physics.
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Overall
- Carl J Robins
- 08-01-18
Biological Roots in Physics
A readable explanation of how physics constrains evolution. Don't let the equations scare you away. You may not agree with the author but you will understand his perspective.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Max Hinkle
- 10-23-20
Fantastic information
Great read worth the price.
Explains the connection between biology and physics in an easy to understand manner.
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- Alec Drumm
- 09-24-18
Too many equations, not enough insights
This was a pretty good attempt at explaining the impact of physics and chemistry on life as it evolved on Earth and as it might evolve on other worlds. There were not many new insights for me - we know that carbon-based chemistry is much richer than chemistry based on silicon or other elements. And the physical forces on life are well known. The chapter I enjoyed most was about life on planets with a higher gravity than Earth. I understood that such lifeforms would be shorter and stockier, but had not realized that the higher density of air would make flight possible for many more animals. A wonderful insight.
The rest of the book is rather dry and falters (for the Audible reader) where equations are given. The poor narrator has to explain complicated equations in detail (T sub f divided by pi R squared equals ...). Even if you're familiar with the physics it's hard to visualize what the equations look like. This may be better in the printed version, but why provide equations at all without explaining what they mean and where they come from? The book becomes a textbook and not a very good one. My least favorite college textbooks were the ones that presented complicated equations with no history or background.
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15 people found this helpful
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- Trebla
- 08-17-18
It all makes sense
The physics is pretty simple as is the biology- but Cockell puts them together in a way that just makes sense. I've been in biology for 50 years yet only now did things like "why 20 amino acids?" becomes clear- or at least, likely. The astrobiology is of interest more to him than me but there is still stuff to be learned.
The speaker was exceptional in clarity, phrasing and pace. It would have been perfect except weird pronunciation of several science words like. a priori or cytosine.
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10 people found this helpful
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- anonymous123
- 01-25-19
Stimulating, entertaining
A fun, thought-provoking review of current thought on the limitations physics may place on evolutionary form. Although some reviewers are very impatient with the equations, I found them overall useful and at times revealing (there's an equation for THAT?? COOL!!).
I was a little disappointed in Cockell's Enlightenment-era aside miscasting geocentrism as insistence on Earth as the center of the universe because of its cosmic importance (the opposite, its low position as the seat of ultimate imperfection, was generally held among the learned of Copernicus' day); and a brief and misleading reference seeming to name the concept of evolution as Darwin's invention rather than his elegant crystallization of the observations and ponderings of many of his contemporaries in addition to his own. And perhaps some readers might have better understood the old belief in [wheat+underwear = biogenesis of mice] if he had briefly mentioned that natural philosophers of that day were only beginning to move away from the ancient Greek belief that all things are unique combinations of air, fire, earth, and water (hence the notion of alchemists, including Copernicus and Newton, that it should be possible to reorder these four elements to change lead to gold). And animals with wheels?? Physics is first and foremost the reason we don't find two-piece organisms beyond single-cells with spinning flagella. I wish he had actually tackled this subject even for a few paragraphs rather than just discussing tumbling tumbleweeds (a ball being completely different from a propeller or a wheel and axle. But these shortcomings aside, the material is overall logical and engaging in presentation, and pretty darned thorough.
The reader has a nicely modulated, lively, interesting voice, but his performance is marred throughout by mispronunciations of common scientific terminology (c'mon, guy, haven't you ever watched NOVA?). Don't these folks look at their material ahead of time and use a dictionary to confirm pronunciation? Still, an engaging and worthwhile book for adults and scientifically precocious young people.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Seth K
- 08-16-18
original, thought provoking well balanced
a logical analysis of basic physical properties applied to the macro requirements and constraints of life. basically argues that at a molecular level Carbon and water-based life with certain common structures such as lipid based cell walls, folded proteins, and proton pump type mechanisms for energy transfer are likely. can't be disproved but at the very least demonstrates the relative abundance of organic chemicals and water in the Galaxy and the relative challenges other substances would have vs C and H2O- based life. maybe slightly repetitive but for the most part a good balance of science and reasoned analysis.
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1 person found this helpful
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- 16807
- 09-20-21
Thought provoking narration but intractable issues
The writing is excellent and I had a fun time contemplating many of the implications to things I had read in the book. I don't fault the narrator for his performance but there are some problems with narration that may be inherent to the audio book format. This book makes liberal use of equations for obvious reasons and the equations themselves are trivial to understand in writing, but having to comprehend them while listening is next to impossible. I recommend listening to the audio book as a supplement to help survey the book in detail and identify the chapters you like, but still get the printed copy for when you want to understand the titular equations.
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- RT
- 06-23-19
Boring textbook that doesnt explain anything
I was expecting something similar to "Scale" by geoffrey west (which the author basically plagiarizes during his examples of scaling laws and explanation) or perhaps something similar to jeremy english's ideas on the adaptation dissipation model, what I got was a painful textbook on entymology.
There is a major difference between a description and an explanation: this book is a boring series of equations that describes obscure details of life and their associated variables, it does not explain it nor does it tie these equations into any coherent theoretical framework. Also one of the most boring books ive ever read: getting through the first 3 chapters was a major drag
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1 person found this helpful