The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Iceland History > Item 208
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The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History
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by Stephen Jay Gould
Sales Rank: 289913
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List Price: $16.95
$11.53
At Amazon
on 10-18-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 344 pages
Published by: W. W. Norton & Company August 1992
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0393308197
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0393308198
Book Dimensions:
8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
Weighs: 11 ounces
Product Description
With sales of well over one million copies in North America alone, the commercial success of Gould's books now matches their critical acclaim. Reissued in a greater format, with a handsome new cover, The Panda's Thumb will introduce a new generation of readers to this unique writer, who has taken the art of the scientific essay to new heights. Illustrations.
Reader Reviews
This volume is a collection of Gould's earlier essays for the New York Museum of Natural History. They reflect his marvelous insight into the heart of current arguments in evolution studies, his knowledge of the history of the subject, and his take on life in general. The Panda's Thumb, entitled from one of these essays, is not quite as witty as his later works are, but his personable style and conversational approach make the book very readable. One of the more interesting topics included is his discussion of the 19th Century rationale for prejudice against women and individuals of non-Western cultures. I found the very circular reasoning on the correlation between brain size and intellect and the misbegotten comparison of developmentally delayed individuals with individuals of other races particularly informative. The same kind of reasoning appears to be enjoying a destructive renaissance among social biologists today, most notably the authors of the notorious Bell Curve. The dissection of this type of faulty reasoning by an expert is instructive and a process well worth learning oneself and teaching to young people. Some of the more admirable of Gould's writing habits, and well displayed in this book, are his ability to give fair voice to the opposition, his acknowledgement of the work of others, and his capacity to find value even in the faulty work of others. The latter is well demonstrated in his discussion of the 19th Century effort to locate a representative of a basic life form, a link between the living and the inert. In this essay he shows that good science is part hard work, part individual brilliance, and part being able to say "I was wrong in my thinking here." The casual, approachable style, the brilliant and open mind, the logical approach to argument all make this an excellent book for anyone but would definitely make it a good book for high school students to learn the process of critical thought.
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The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History
Available from Amazon
Price: $11.53
Updated on 10-18-2008.
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