Few people have done as much to change how we view the world as Charles
Darwin. Yet On the Origin of Species is more cited than read, and
parts of it are even considered outdated. In some ways, it has been
consigned to the nineteenth century. In The Theory That Changed
Everything, the renowned cognitive scientist Philip Lieberman
demonstrates that there is no better guide to the world's living--and
still evolving--things than Darwin and that the phenomena he observed
are still being explored at the frontiers of science.
In an exploration that ranges from Darwin's transformative trip aboard
the Beagle to Lieberman's own sojourns in the remotest regions of the
Himalayas, this book relates fresh, contemporary findings to the major
concepts of Darwinian theory, which transcends natural selection.
Drawing on his own research into the evolution of human linguistic and
cognitive abilities, Lieberman explains the paths that adapted human
anatomy to language. He demystifies the role of recently identified
transcriptional and epigenetic factors encoded in DNA, explaining how
nineteenth-century Swedish famines alternating with years of plenty
caused survivors' grandchildren to die many years short of their life
expectancy. Lieberman is equally at home decoding supermarket shelves
and climbing with the Sherpas as he discusses how natural selection
explains features from lactose tolerance to ease of breathing at
Himalayan altitudes. With conversational clarity and memorable examples,
Lieberman relates the insights that led to groundbreaking discoveries in
both Darwin's time and our own while asking provocative questions about
what Darwin would have made of controversial issues today, such as GMOs,
endangered species, and the God question.
