cloning 60, 215
Close Encounters of the Third Kind 327, 329
coal 19, 161, 229, 232, 284
Coca-Cola 352
Coelacanth 286
Cohen, Jack 41, 43, 79*, 269, 274–5, 327, 350
coincidence 128, 170, 172, 268–75, 300*
‘cold dark matter’ 94
Collar, A.R. 370
colonization of planets 372–3
colour 43, 57, 72, 104, 195
Columbus, Christopher 366
comets 93, 117, 125,159, 223, 248, 256, 259, 263, 265, 287, 296, 306, 359, 363–4, 374
common sense 9, 13, 87–8, 91, 97, 105,108, 111–2, 175
communications satellites 39
compass 143–4
competition within species 211–3
complex minds 355
complex organisms 202, 238
complexity 252
complicity
between culture and neurophysiology 347, 349
between intelligence and extelligence 354
mind as example of 349
compound(s) 72–4, 122, 141, 157, 162, 274, 307
vs elements 72
vs mixture 72
computer(s) 43, 104–6, 124, 130, 147,174, 185, 214–5, 219–20, 241
and artificial intelligence 348
science 219
simulations 132, 221, 230
conduction of electricity 133, 144
Confessions (Saint Augustine) 55
consciousness 338, 347
constants, fundamental 25
constitutional rights and obligations 353
continental drift 147–8, 231
continental land masses 142
convergent evolution 242
cooling 143–4, 163, 323
Copenhagen interpretation of quantum observations 108–10
copper 75, 113,191, 279
coral reefs 150
core, Earth’s 144
Coriolis forces 144
cosmic background 58
cosmic rays 83
cosmological constant 95
cows 36, 98, 217, 222, 229, 316, 323
and BSE (mad cow disease) 217
and methane 229
crabs 167, 247–8, 238, 241, 243, 262, 264–5, 296, 315, 342, 374
craters
on Earth 175, 254, 306–7
on Mercury 118, 252
on Moon 171–3, 175, 252
Crawford, Michael 336
creation myth 51, 58
Cretaceous period 198, 287, 289, 291, 293, 303–4, 307, 309
Crichton, Michael 282
crocodiles 283, 309
cross-breeding algorithms (recombination) 219
crust, Earth’s 140–2, 144, 229, 231, 305, 307
crystals 132, 142, 232, 306
culture 161, 188, 266, 302, 329, 339–40, 347–8, 351–2
and extelligence 348, 352–3
and neurophysiology 347
culture clash 352
curvature of spacetime 92
cuttlefish 310
cyanobacteria 195
Czáki, Csaba 94
D
Dalton, Brad 134
Dalton, John 74
Damned Lies and Statistics (Best) 326
Damour, Thibault 26
danger, global 357
dark 30, 94, 117,126, 131,166, 178, 180, 182–3, 186–7, 280, 298
Darwin, Charles 10, 210–11, 213–4, 218, 222, 240, 318
Darwin (project) 132
Darwinism 213
David Copperfield (Dickens) 185
Davidovich, Luis 110
DDT 311
Dead Sea 165
death 9, 54, 110,183, 186–7, 227, 232–3, 267, 300, 365, 385
of dinosaurs 301, 305, 308
of marsupials 321
of species 304, 311
Deccan Traps 307–8, 365
debt 161, 185–6
decoherence 110
Deep Space 3 project 131
Deimos 117
Delany, Samuel R. 355
Democritus 74, 76
Dennett, Daniel 339
density
of Earth 141
of elements 73, 82
of Moon 172
of stars 82
destruction of habitat 365
deuterium 79
diaphragm 316–7
Dickens, Charles 185
Dickens, Jenny 232
Dickinson, Dick 368
diffusion 91
digital orrery 124
dinosaurs 252, 282–94
mass extinction of 301, 305, 307–9, 379
diploblasts 199
Diplodocus 288–9
disasters
home-grown 364
natural 227, 232, 301
discontinuity 60, 196
Discworld novels
The Colour of Magic 87, 271
Hogfather 187
The Last Continent 209, 214, 300*, 319
The Light Fantastic 33, 40
Lords and Ladies 109
Men at Arms 171
Mort 186
Reaper Man 186*
Small Gods 100
Soul Music 309
Thief of Time 55
Witches Abroad 109
Disney, Walt 282–3, 289
diversity 209, 226, 232, 241–2, 301, 309–10, 317, 322, 354–5
DNA 10, 13, 44, 79*, 102, 196–7, 215–8, 220, 239, 275, 310, 316, 324–6, 334–6
clock 324–5
Döbereiner, Johann 75
dogs 9, 66, 203, 209–10, 267, 283, 314, 316, 321, 323, 350*
Dolly the Sheep, cloning 215–6
dolphins 243, 285, 309, 332, 347
domestic animals 209
Doppler effect 57
double stars 128
Doyle, Arthur Conan 282
dragons, and dinosaurs 302–3, 329
Dragon’s Egg (Forward) 373
drawing the line 59
dreams 328–9, 365
duck-billed platypus 316
E
ears 278, 316–7, 328
earth, as ancient element 65, 71
Earth 24, 25, 35, 37, 39, 44, 54, 73, 82, 87–9, 92, 116–8, 121, 123, 125, 127–8, 130–2, 134, 140–8, 156–9, 162–4, 170–9, 183, 186–7, 195, 197, 201, 209,211, 215, 226–232, 242–3, 253, 259, 301, 304–6, 316, 364–8, 378, 379
age of 25
atmosphere 130, 156–162
axis 176–8
tilt of 228, 231
circumference of 89
core 143–4
crust 140–2, 144, 231, 305, 307
gravity of 37, 82, 124, 176
ice ages of 226–31
magnetic field of 44, 127, 143–5, 147–8
reversing polarity of 148
mantle 142, 172, 175
and Moon 172–5
organic life on 195–201
rotation of 39, 144, 173, 176, 197–8, 367
roundness of 35, 88–90, 142
shape and structure 140–8
surface of 140–1
earthquakes 142, 148
East Indies 210
echidna 316
echoes of the Big Bang 56, 58
eclipses 35
of the Sun 92, 168–9
ecology, closed 160
ecosystems 160, 311
Eden 379
Ediacarans 198–201, 242
education and ‘lies-to-children’ 43–4
egg 59, 187, 216, 276, 300
Egyptians, ancient 88, 187, 353
Einstein, Albert 23, 40, 44, 54, 56–7, 87, 90–96, 127, 185
doubts cast on theory 93–5
General Relativity 91–4
Relativity Theory 91–4
Special Relativity 91–2
eka-lead 81–2
Eldredge, Niles 240
electrical charge 76, 144
electrical power plants 159
electricity 133, 144, 229
electrojets 145
&n
bsp; electromagnetism 57, 79, 91, 126, 368
and Special Relativity 91
electronic circuits 219–21
electron(s) 60, 76–9, 109
charge 25
planets as model for 76
elements 22, 24, 61, 67–9, 71–83, 99, 122–3, 141, 143, 157, 245
ancient (fire, earth, air, water) 71–2
vs compounds 72
Dalton’s list 74
five ways to create 79–81
Lavoisier’s list of 73
Mendeleev’s list 75, 77
number 110 81
number 114 81–2
number 116 81
stable 81
superheavy 83
unstable 81
elephantigen 66, 73, 82
elephants 33, 40, 54, 73, 87, 188, 206, 209, 238, 311–2, 316, 318, 323–4, 380
Elizabeth II, Queen 32
elliptical planetary orbits 90
embryos 200, 277, 300, 325
and people, demarcation line 59, 60, 187
emergence, mind and 105, 349
emergent order phase in Langton’s Ant system 104, 221
emergent phenomena 106–7, 349, 372
Empedocles 71
Emperor’s New Mind, The (Penrose) 23†
Empire Star (Delany) 355
empty space 49, 51, 108
End of Time, The (Barbour) 55
energy 23–4, 37–9, 49, 58, 77, 122, 127, 158, 163, 197, 202–3, 368
matter turned into by
nuclear fission 23–4
potential 37
environment 102, 105, 196–7, 199, 201, 241, 267, 300, 317, 325, 351
care and management of 365
damage to 312
enzymes 325
Eohippus (now Hyracotherium) 303*
Eoraptor 283
epicycles 90
epsilon Eridani 129
equinoxes, precession of the 35
Eratosthenes 88–9
escape velocity of planets 157
essential fatty acids 336
eukaryotes 198, 251
Europa, space probes for life on 133–4
Europe 71, 147, 227, 321, 323, 353, 366
European Space Agency (ESA) 131
Everest, Mount 140, 366
evolution 10, 32, 41, 102, 106, 158, 164–5, 178,197, 199, 203, 205–7, 209, 211–4, 218, 220–2, 231–2, 236, 238–9, 241–3, 265, 300, 302, 310–11, 315–7, 321–3, 328, 334–6, 339, 347–51, 364, 370
of apes 334–6
of brain 334, 336, 348
convergent 242
Darwinism 10, 210–11, 213–4, 218, 222, 240, 318
of humans 324, 334–6
of intelligence and extelligence 347–9
of mammals 319–26
‘punctuated equilibrium’ theory 240
‘savannah’ theory of human evolution 334, 336–7
‘seashore’ theory of human evolution 334, 336–8
Smolin’s theory of evolving universes 25
‘Tree of Life’ view of 239–42, 250
Evolution Man, The (Lewis) 197*
Evolving the Alien (Cohen and Stewart) 41*, 79*
expansion of universe 57–8, 94
exploration of space 37, 171, 364–73
extelligence 70, 262, 348–9, 352–5, 357, 363, 372, 381
extinction(s) 230–2, 241–2, 263, 320–1, 379–81
of dinosaurs (mass extinction) 301–12
extra-sensory perception 273
eye, evolution of 213–4
eyesight 72, 317
F
Fantasia (Disney) 282–3, 289
farming 229
Farrell, Brian 300
fatty acids 336
fear 187, 194, 302, 357
feathers 291–2
feedback loop of intelligence and extelligence, mind as 348, 351, 353–4
female menstrual cycle 170, 179
Fermi, Enrico 22–4
field aligned currents 145
field-programmable gate array 220
fine structure constant 26
fire 24, 32, 119, 226, 236, 279, 330–1, 345
as ancient element 65, 71
as process involving gases 73
fish 134, 164, 204, 206, 241, 243, 246, 265, 267, 274, 276
flames 63
flocks (optical interferometer arrays) 131
floods 159, 333
Florida 367
Flower J. W. 370
fluid dynamics 103
fluorine 251
atomic weight of 74
food supply and population
growth 100
forests 110, 161, 222, 229, 284, 312, 322, 346, 365, 381
Forward, Robert L. 373
fossils and fossil record 132–3, 146–7, 162,164, 195, 198–200, 238–41, 283, 285–6, 301–5, 307, 310, 318, 320–1, 323–4, 334, 336
Fountains of Paradise, The (Clarke) 370
four-dimensional spacetime 91
Frail, Dale 128
free will 338, 347
Frentzen, Heinz-Harold 268
friction 103, 172, 182, 265
frogs 325, 369
From the Earth to the Moon (Verne) 367
fundamental constants 25
fundamental particles 76, 78, 106–7
fundamentalism, scientific 100–1
G
Gaia 252
Galápagos Isalands 288
galaxies 101–2, 208, 258 rotation of 94
Galileo space probe 133
gamma-ray burster 258–9
garnet 142
gases 26, 48, 72–3, 75, 84–6, 93, 98, 108–9, 112–4, 118–22, 138,141, 144, 156–7, 159,162–3, 184, 229, 232, 247
ionized 144
Gee, Henry 286, 290
Geminid 257
General Relativity theory (Einstein) 91–6
Generation Ship 372
genes 33, 215, 218, 222, 239, 324
genetic algorithms 219
genetic code 215, 217
genomes 215, 324, 334
Genyornis 321
geology 36, 133, 146, –7, 158, 163, 165,172, 227, 242, 302, 306, 308
geography 59, 106, 135,
geomagnetic dynamo 143–4
geometry 43, 88, 90, 100
geostationary orbit 39
germanium 82
Ghostbusters 329
ghosts 329
giant impact 175
giant molecular cloud 256
ginkgoes 311
glacial (ice age) 226, 228–9
glaciers 226–8, 381
remains in Sahara Desert 146
global commerce 352
global warming 159, 227, 229, 365
Goddard, Robert 367–8
Gödel, Escher, Bach (Hofstadter) 339
gods 34–6, 69, 84, 98, 188, 193, 203, 233–4, 266, 271, 381
gold 75, 112,114
in alchemy 72, 76
Gondwanaland 316
gorillas 335–6
Gould, Stephen Jay 240–2
‘Grandfather’ (unit of time) 335–6, 381
granite 142
gravitational constant 25
gravitational lensing 92
gravitational theory 25, 57, 94–6
Einstein’s vs Newton’s 40, 92–3
Newton’s 90–3
gravity 10*, 37, 40, 42, 79, 82, 88, 90–96, 101, 121, 131, 142, 157, 164, 170–2, 174–7, 179, 185, 262, 287–8, 366–8
and General Relativity 90–93
quantum effects of 94–5, 101
Greaves, James 129
Greeks, ancient 71–4, 88–9, 179
greenhouse effect 229, 232, 307
greenhouse gases 159, 229, 232
H
habitat, destruction of 365
hadrosaurs 283
Hahn, Otto 23–4
hair 317, 318*, 337
Haldane, J.B.S. 300�
��1
Halley’s comet 257
Halstead, Beverley 282
Hardy, Alister 336
Haroche, Serge 110
Harris, S. 41
Haste, Helen 282
Hawking, Stephen 23†, 53
hearing 317, 328, 376
heat 72–3, 93, 114, 121, 126, 143–4, 156, 163,178, 182–3, 228–30
Hedges, S. Blair 324
Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle 108
helium 79, 80, 117, 122, 157, 259–60
atomic weight of 74
flash 260
Heraclitus 71
Hewish, Anthony 125–6
Higgs boson 60–1
Higgs, Peter 60–1
High Energy Laser System Test Facility, White Sands 368
High-Z Supernova Search Team 94
Himalayas 148
Hobster, William 232
Hoffman, Paul 230
Hofstadter, Douglas 339
homeotic (regulatory) genes 218
horses 303*, 323
hot air balloon 143–4
HSP90 servant molecule 217–8
Hubble, Edwin 57–8
Hubble Space Telescope 130
humans
brains of 336–40
and ape family 347–50
hurricanes 132, 198
Huxley, Thomas 211, 213
hyaenas 283
hydrated salts 134
hydrochloric acid 164
hydrogen 72, 74, 79, 80, 117–8, 122, 157,162–4
atomic weight of 74
bomb 159, 306
hypercanes 198
hypernovas 83
Hyracotherium (orig. Eohippus) 303*
I
ice 85, 118, 122, 133–4, 171, 235, 277, 301, 307, 314, 323, 330, 342, 359–60, 362, 366, 374
ages 146, 226–231, 357, 365, 384
cores 159, 232
Ichthyornis 291
ichthyosaurs 285–7, 305, 309
imagination 12, 215
immunity 286
impact 253
India 148, 366
information 79*, 215–6, 348 processing 348–50, 352
infra-red 57, 126
telescopy 131
initial conditions and rules 62
In Search of Deep Time (Gee) 286, 290
insects 159–60, 221–2, 241, 243, 301–2, 306, 311,318
trapped in amber 310
instinct 33
intelligence 12, 32, 70, 225–6, 235–7, 262–3, 296, 330, 338–41, 347–9, 354, 357–9
artificial 348–9
and extelligence 70, 262, 348–9, 352–5, 357, 363, 372, 381
human 338–41, 347–55
on other planets 380–1
and sex 340
interferometry 130–2
interglacial (ice age) 226, 228–9
international culture 352–3
Internet 51, 339, 348, 355
and brain modules 339
interpreting observational data 90
interstellar plasma 79*
interval between events 92
Investigations (Kauffman) 62
Io 177
iodine 80
ionosphere 144–5
iridium 305–6
iron 67–9, 71, 75, 79, 113,117, 133, 141, 143–4, 152, 197, 307
Isaacs, John 370
Isley, Ann 308
isotopes 232