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

The Earth forces species to split and evolve, but a crucial change may take a billion years to complete. On the other hand, a flu virus may evolve in only a few days in order to survive any new drug we might try.

Do species evolve to survive? No, rather they evolve, and if the change fits in with their surroundings, they will survive.


WHAT IS PURE CHANCE

Chance has a place in evolution, so we need to be clear when we talk about chance starting with some simple examples.

What are the chances you'll win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket? No chance at all, about the same as if you bought a ticket. What are the chances you'll get hit by lightning? Much better.

We use the word chance when we can't predict a particular outcome or determine the cause, but we might not be looking in the right place. In our history, we've found causes for events we used to think came about by pure chance. In fact, science spends a lot of its time looking for causes. If we can find the cause, we can start giving a percentage of how likely an event will take place. Years ago, some people got polio, and some didn't. We thought a particular person contracted the disease by chance, but when we discovered the cause, we brought the chance down to zero with a vaccine.

What are the chances of rolling a six on one die? We say one in six. Are odds set because of pure chance? Maybe, maybe not. On a die, the dots are indented causing every side to react to airflow a little differently. If we throw the die with our hand, the side with one spot has more surface area contacting our sweaty palm. At least it will sweat if the stakes are high enough.

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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