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Since H.G. Well's War of the Worlds
startled Victorian sensibilities with the outlandish notion
of an invasion from Mars, we have become increasingly obsessed
with the possibility of extraterrestrial life. From Klingons
to Ewoks to giant blobs of goo, we have imagined space aliens
in every conceivable form. But if aliens do exist (and they
probably do), what do they really look like? Would we recognize
alien life if we saw it? Given the rules that science has
devised for life on earth, can we predict how evolution
might proceed in environments quite different from our comfortable
air-and-water world?
In What Does A Martian Look Like?,
two respected scientists and authors combine real science
with the creations of some of the world's most inventive
science fiction writers to imagine how life may have evolved
elsewhere in the universe. They show that the universe is
not populated with countless variations on the humanoid
form or horrifying creatures drawn from our worst nightmares,
instead, they demonstrate how universal principles of life
might produce amazingly diverse outcomes when applied in
different environments.
You'll learn the difference between astrobiology
and xenoscience, find out how scientists model alien ecosystems,
and discover the real trouble with tribbles. You may be
disappointed that some of your favourite fantasy aliens
are dismissed as scientifically impossible, but they are
replaced with a galaxy of fascinating creatures, including
Cain and Abel, the mentally adroit millipede and the sentient
spray of mist whose explorations of earth introduce the
theme for each chapter.
You'll find lively and enlightening discussions
of the life forms and environments created by celebrated
science fiction authors such as Wells, Arthur C. Clarke,
Harry Harrison, Hal Clement, Larry Niven, Phillip K. Dick,
and many more. Using the works of these and other renowned
authors as points of departure, you'll take off for the
stars and discover the vast opportunities for alien life
that actually exist throughout the universe.
Whether you're a die-hard science fiction
fan or a skeptical scientist, What Does A Martian Look
Like? will challenge your preconceptions and open your
eyes to the real possibilities for extraterrestrial life.
Jack Cohen is an internationally known
reproductive biologist and the coauthor, with Ian Stewart,
of The Collapse of Chaos and Figments of Reality.
Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics
at Warwick University in the United Kingdom. Among his sixty
published books are The Magical
Maze and Life's
Other Secret, both from Wiley.
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