Table of Contents

Preface

1. Scientific Theories and Laws

2. The First Decade (1936-1946)

3. Relativity

4. The Second Decade (1946-1956)

5. Quantum Mechanics

6. The Third Decade (1956-1966)

7. The Big Bang

8. The Fourth Decade (1966-1976)

9. The Non-Bang

10. The Fifth Decade (1976-1986)

11. The Never-Bang

12. The Sixth Decade (1986-1996)

13. Evolution

14. The Seventh Decade (1996-2006)

15. The Theory of More than Everything

16. The Eighth Decade (2006-2016)

17. Now What?

18. The Ninth Decade (2016-2026)

Appendix A Paintings

Appendix B TTOMTE and a Steady State Universe

Appendix C Musical Compositions

Bibliography

Chapter 0-Page 0

WHY DOES ANYTHING EVOLVE

According to the Theory of Evolution, a species can change over time, and the change may help the species survive. You'll see the term "natural selection" in many books about evolution, but the process should be called "natural elimination." Nobody does the selecting, but environment does the eliminating.

It also might be confusing to say survival-of-the-fittest rules evolution if fittest implies the strongest. Say two kinds of rats live in a cave. In one set, the rodents are big and husky while the other group has only small, weak members. The big rats keep picking on the little ones, but luckily, the weak ones can hide in small cracks in the walls. Both species sleep inside a barren cave and have to find food outside. Overnight, a landslide covers the cave entrance. The little rats can squeeze between some small crevices in the fallen rock and still go out and get food. However, the big and husky ones starve; their species dies out. Survival-of-the-most-suitable, not the fittest, drives evolution.

For a real example, let's say our favorite fish lives in a large body of water. When no rain falls for a long time, the water splits up into ponds. Our fish gets trapped in one of these shrinking ponds, and the other fish keep it from a diminishing food supply. However, the fish we picked out has strong fins, so it can drag itself over land to another pond and live. If it has more little fish with these same strong fins, the species will survive. We can now answer the age-old question: Why did the catfish cross the road (which it does in some southern states)? To survive.

Many times, certain evolutionary changes don't help, such as, growing lips on an elbow or being able to hear blue. Of course, we don't find fossils with these features because the trait doesn't give an animal much advantage, and the species probably disappears rather quickly.

Chapter 0-Page 0

Sections

WHAT IS A SPECIES

IS THERE EVOLUTION EVIDENCE

EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION

WHY DOES ANYTHING EVOLVE

WHAT IS PURE CHANCE

WHAT TWO STEPS IN EVOLUTION

WHERE DID LIFE COME FROM

EVOLUTION TOWARDS LIFE

EVOLUTION OF LIFE

EVOLUTION OF PLANT LIFE

EVOLUTION OF ANIMAL LIFE

EVOLUTION OF US

FINAL THOUGHTS

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