Life Finds a Way: What Evolution Teaches Us About Creativity

(Hardback)

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Every single one of the millions ofspeciesalive todayis the most recent link in an almost-endless chain of creationgoing all the way backtotheoriginsof life. The amazing diversity and complexitywe seeallaround us areproducts of natures creativity. Drawing onpioneeringresearchconducted over the past ten years,Andreas Wagnerlays outtheprinciples of creation thatunify all of nature, from the beginnings of the universe toourworld.Whattheyreveal about creativity is as surprising as it is different fromthesimplistic Darwinism that has shaped our views for so long.Now everything changes. Theseprinciples arealreadyhelpingbiotechnologiststo disarmpotent toxinsand engineers to devise new kinds of electronic circuits.In the near future, applied to spheres as diverse as the economy and education, they will enable us to do so much more.Life Finds a Wayis the essential guide to understanding these breathtaking revelations.

Reviews

An impressively brisk intellectual tour through the glory days of early 20^th century evolutionary biology.

* Wall Street Journal *

Wagner has done it again. This is a wonderful, mind-expanding book. Prepare to be surprised, enlightened and awed as Wagner reveals the sources of human and natural creativity.

-- Alice Roberts, Professor of Public Engagement with Science, University of Birmingham

In this remarkably wide-ranging book, Andreas Wagner shows what nature can teach us about creativity, and his answers hold an important message for the way we educate our children and run our institutions and societies.

-- Philip Ball, author of Beyond Weird

Andreas Wagner has again cut through to the heart of a vital question. The notion that genomes are set up to explore, through trial and error, in the hope of leaping across the adaptive landscape to new peaks is a fresh concept. Wagner draws out fascinating parallels with the way innovation works in human society.

-- Matt Ridley, author of The Evolution of Everything

Finding surprising convergences between evolving species and an active imagination, Wagner persuasively argues that human inventiveness is a reflection not just of human nature but of nature itself.

-- Anthony Brandt, composer and co-author of The Runaway Species

Life Finds a Way weaves a coherent and compelling narrative about how nature achieves creativity. Not only that, we also learn how to cultivate creativity in our own lives.

-- George Dyson, author of Turings Cathedral

Author Bio

Andreas Wagner is a professor at the University of Zurichs Institute of Evolutionary Biology and an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute for the study complex systems. An award-winning science writer, his most recent book is Arrival of the Fittest, which is also published by Oneworld. He is the author of more than 200 scientific papers published in leading journals, including Nature and Science. He lives in Zurich.