Linking Science and Science History with Culture – Essential Science for the Non-scientist. <br>The Davey Dialogues is an easy-to-understand history and background to key discoveries which have altered our perception of our universe and of ourselves, couched as a dialogue between the writer and a mysterious extra-terrestrial being with an agenda that may surprise you. <br>The dialogues provide background on the historical development of carefully selected scientific topics which are important to our understanding of ourselves and our surroundings. Amongst the questions discussed are: What do we know about our universe and how did we find out? How do we know how old it is, and, for that matter, how far away individual stars and galaxies are? How might life have originated? How does life replicate and change over time? How did religion evolve and why? To what extent do our brains resemble computers? How do we remember faces, facts and figures, and how do we think laterally? Do we have a free will? What is happiness and how can we maximize it?<br><br>"[A] rich, intelligent . . important book . . . clearly written." <br>J. Fraser Mustard, CC, Founding President, The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
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John C. Madden. The Davey Dialogues - An Exploration of the Scientific Foundations of Human Culture
PREFACE
Acknowledgements
A Note for eBook Readers
The Arrival of the Voice
A Speculative Tale
Setting the Stage
How Big Is My Universe?
It’s About Time
A Visit to the Boundaries of Human Understanding
The Universal Lottery
Charles Darwin and Evolution
Learning from Animals
Learning from Our Human Forebears
Crick, Watson, Franklin and Wilkins
The Life of a Cell
Very Small Animals
Adaptation by Gene Selection: A New Research Frontier
Emergence
The Deconstructed Brain
Mind and Brain: The Consciousness Debate
Memories Are Made of This
Davey Talks at Last!
Pleasure and Pain
Measuring Happiness
The Gurians’ Tale
The Last Dialogue
Notes on Radiometry
Notes on Evolutionary Biology
Everyone’s Ancestors
Comments on Machine and Human Intelligence
Notes on Happiness Measurements and Results
Glossary of Bioscientific Terms
About the Author and the Book Cover
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THE DAVEY DIALOGUES
AN EXPLORATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN CULTURE
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– True to a degree, but you are not really very tolerant of views you consider to be unscientific nonsense, are you?
Like most people, I rather flatter myself that I am very tolerant of the views of others, perhaps especially their religious views. I tried to think back on past conversations that might have led the disembodied voice to draw such a conclusion but gave up when the voice said it would like to get started, and could I please tell it how I planned to proceed.
