If Darwin Had A Spaceship | Arik Kershenbaum: The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy (#222)

What would a modern-day 'Voyage of the Beagle ' be like? Cambridge
zoologist Arik Kershenbaum evokes Charles Darwin's travels in a
trip not confined to the earth's confines. Come along with us on a
journey of discovery through the entire galaxy where we encounter
aliens and their planets with supersonic creatures, a moon where
aliens have a language composed of smells, and aliens who scream
with fear, act honestly and have technology. The Zoologist's Guide
to the Galaxy answers these questions using the latest science to
tell the story of how life really works, on Earth and in space.
This is a wildly fun and scientifically sound exploration of what
alien life must be like, using universal laws that govern life on
Earth and in space. But short of aliens landing in New York City,
how do we know what they are like? 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: how these
creatures will move, socialize, and communicate. For example, by
observing fish whose electrical pulses indicate social status, we
can see that other planets might allow for communication by
electricity. As there was evolutionary pressure to wriggle along a
seafloor, Earthling animals tend to have left/right symmetry; on
planets where creatures evolved in midair or in soupy tar, they
might be lacking any symmetry at all. Please join my mailing list;
just click here http://briankeating.com/mailing_list.php 
Topics discussed: Why natural selection is both a universal and
predictable process, the existence and results of which are likely
to be present on alien planets. What are Animals and What are
Aliens? Examines the definition of animals, from the historical
definitions derived from observation (e.g. Aristotle), to modern
phylogenetic relationships. The book argues that a purely
phylogenetic definition of what is an animal cannot be sufficient
for classifying alien life. Movement – Scuttling and Gliding Across
Space How the constraints of physics and mechanics combined with
evolutionary laws to produce the movement strategies we see on
Earth, and why many of these strategies (e.g. legs) are likely to
exist on other planets too. Get The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy
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