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The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy
- What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens - and Ourselves
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
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Publisher's summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
We are unprepared for the greatest discovery of modern science. Scientists are confident that there is alien life across the universe yet we have not moved beyond our perception of 'aliens' as Hollywood stereotypes. The time has come to abandon our fixation on alien monsters and place our expectations on solid scientific footing.
Using his own expert understanding of life on Earth and Darwin's theory of evolution - which applies throughout the universe - Cambridge zoologist Dr Arik Kershenbaum explains what alien life must be like.
Observing fishes whose electrical pulses indicate social status, we can see that conditions on other planets might allow for communication by electricity. As there was evolutionary pressure to wriggle along a sea floor, Earthling animals tend to have left/right symmetry; on planets where creatures evolved mid-air or in soupy tar - to be ready to move in any or multiple directions - they might be lacking any symmetry at all. Dr Kershenbaum uses cutting-edge science to paint an entertaining and compelling picture of extra-terrestrial life.
Moreover, as The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy is the story of communication, intelligence, cooperation and technology, on Earth and in space, we see how life really works - and what it means to be human.
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Critic reviews
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- rcourt
- 06-18-21
Loved the book - audio was a little quiet
I loved the book - interesting and thought provoking. I did have to pick the right time to listen though as the audio was a bit quiet and was at times hard to hear over background noise around me.
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