“What Is Life? (Let’s Take Living Things on Their Own Terms)”
By Stephen L. Talbott
We gain our practical, machine-enabling knowledge of the world against a background of seemingly impenetrable mystery. It may be that biologists are best equipped to remove the long-standing obstacles to understanding. But if they are to do this for science generally, they will first have to reconcile themselves to the character of the living, expressive beings that are the objects of their own study.
“Why Does a Zebra Have Stripes? (Maybe This Is the Wrong Question)”
By Craig Holdrege
For a very long while biologists have sought to explain why zebras have their dramatic, black-and-white stripes. Many different explanations have been offered, none of which have gained general acceptance. Craig reviews some of these proposed explanations, and along the way gives us an appreciation of the stripes in their own terms. Maybe that is not such a bad place to start.
Notes and Reviews
“Children and Nature”
By George K. Russell
As a long-time university professor of biology, George Russell worries about the contemporary student’s unawareness of the natural world. He has many suggestions for how to remedy the problem, beginning at an early age.
