Undeniable (39 page)

populations: isolated, and species origination; large, and species stasis; small, and random gene sampling

potassium

potatoes, GMO

Precambrian Period

predator and prey

Principles of Geology
(Lyell)

Prisoners' Dilemma

Prokaryotes

proteins

Prothero, Don

Protista (kingdom of life)

pterosaurs

punctuated equilibrium

punishment, role of, in society

purebred

racism

radioactive elements, energy from

radioactivity

Rafalski, Jesse

rain forests, ecosystems in

rats, experiments with

Red Queen Theory

red squirrels

regenerative or replacement organs, from stem cells

religions: on altruism; on evolution theory; on human fertilization; unsatisfactory explanations by

reproduction, variations happening at time of

reproductive organs, location of

reproductive period (thirty years for humans)

resistance to disease, a winning genetic trait

revenge, altruistic

rhinoceros, fossil

river ecosystems

RNA (ribonucleic acid)

rocks, fossils in

Rodina supercontinent

roses

Roundup herbicide

rubidium

Russia, medical research in

Sagan, Carl

Sahelanthropus tchadensis

salmon

salt water

saving a life

saving-your-kid-or-your-mother thought exercise

scala naturae

scales (reptilian)

schools, evolution taught in

science: assault on; creationism's definition of; joy of; predictive power of; selectivity in accepting facts of; success of, in enriching daily life; support of, mandated by the U.S. Constitution

science education: assault on, by creationists; popularized by Michael Faraday; as taught in schools

scientific method

second genesis hypothesis

Second Law of Thermodynamics

selection pressure

sense of humor genetic trait

sex: energy and effort required for; everywhere in nature; purpose of, as defense against germs and parasites; thinking about it all the time

sex drive

sexes: battle of the; number of (two)

sexual selection; and future evolution of humans; speed of, in promoting evolution

shaking hands and bowing

shrimp

Shubin, Neil

Siberia

sickness,
see
illness

signals (sexual, warning)

Singularity, the

skin color; geography and; ultraviolet radiation and

sleep

smiling

smog

social Darwinism

solar energy: biodiversity driven by; compared to geologic energy; life's need for

Sommers, Joanie

soy beans, GMO

space programs

space travel

Spanish Flu

species: defined as able to interbreed; a genetic spectrum within; Linnaean system of naming; number of, on Earth; origin of; variety of, with passage of time

spinal injuries, stem cell research in repairing

spontaneous generation

spotted owls

springboks

squirrelfish

staphylococcus

stars, distance and age of

stem cell research

stratigraphy

strontium

sunlight,
see
solar energy

supercontinent

superheroes with superpowers

surrogate mothers

“survival of the fittest”; vs. “good-enough”

swimming

symbiotic arrangement

telomeres, and aging

Tennessee

termites

Tertiary Period

test animals, in medical research

Texas

thorium

Thorne, Kip

Through the Looking Glass
(Carroll)

Tibetans

Tiktaalik,
the “fishapod”

tomatoes, GMO (cold resistant)

top-down design

top-down organizations

topminnows

toxins, from bacteria

trachea, location of

transhumanism

transitional species

transpermia

Tree of Life

trees: “older than Creation”; reproduction by

trilobites

Tucker, Albert

23andMe company

two-wheeled-cart-into-bicycle thought experiment

ultraviolet radiation

Underwood, Carrie

uniformitarianism

United States, future of science in

universe, future of (heat death)

uranium

Urey, Harold

vaccines

vampire bats

velociraptors

Venter, Craig

Venus: conditions on; life on; seeding it with new life

vervet monkeys

Vira (domain of life)

viruses: creationists' view of; evolving; as form of life; not treated by antibiotics; that attack bacteria (phages); that insert genes into other organisms

Vitamin D

volcanoes

Volta, Alessandro

volunteerism

Vrijenhoek, Bob

Wallace, Alfred

Wallace effect

warm blooded (endothermic)

Washington, George

water: abundant in the solar system; needed for life chemistry; oxygen in

whales; fossil one, that walked

“What good is half a wing” question

“Where did we come from?” question

Wilson, Robert

Wilson, Woodrow

winglets, of planes and birds

wings

Wolcott, Charles

wolves, domestication of

world; traditional belief that it was always the same.
See also
Earth

World Health Organization (WHO)

wrasse

Wyoming
(wooden sailing ship)

zebra

Zion National Park

zoos, animals in

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

BILL NYE is a scientist, engineer, comedian, and inventor. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, where he studied under Carl Sagan, and worked as an engineer at Boeing on the 747, before creating and hosting his much-loved Emmy Award–winning PBS/Discovery Channel show
Bill Nye the Science Guy.
He holds six Honorary Doctorate degrees from Lehigh University, Willamette University, Quinnipiac University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Goucher College, and Johns Hopkins University, and visits Cornell regularly as a Professor in his own right.

COREY S. POWELL is the former editor in chief of
American Scientist
and
Discover,
where he is currently editor at large and continues to write the “Out There” column and blog. He is also a visiting scholar at New York University's SHERP science journalism program, as well as a freelance writer for
Popular Science, Smithsonian, Nautilus,
and
Aeon
; his article “The Madness of the Planets” appears in
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2014.
He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, two daughters, and a small collection of Permian-era fossils. This is his first collaboration with Bill Nye, but he hopes it will not be his last.

 

 

UNDENIABLE.
Copyright © 2014 by William S. Nye. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

 

www.stmartins.com

 

Cover design by Ervin Serrano

 

Cover photograph by Bill Miles

 

eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].

 

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

 

Nye, Bill.

    Undeniable: evolution and the science of creation / Bill Nye with Corey Powell.—First edition.

        pages cm

    ISBN 978-1-250-00713-1 (hardcover)

    ISBN 978-1-4668-6988-2 (e-book)

1.  Natural history—Philosophy—Popular works.   2.  Evolution (Biology)—Popular works.   3.  Creationism—Popular works.   4.  Religion and science.   I.  Powell, Corey S., 1966–   II.  Title.   III.  Title: Evolution and the science of creation.

    QH45.5.N94 2014

    576.8—dc23                                                                                     2014027163

 

e-ISBN 9781250007131

 

First Edition: November 2014