Do elephants have knees? : and other stories of Dawinian origins / Charles R. Ault Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ault, Charles R., Jr., 1950- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882--Anecdotes.

Darwin, Charles.

Evolution (Biology)--Popular works.

Evolution (Biology).

Natural selection--Popular works.

Natural selection.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations (black and white)

Edition:

revised edition

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, New York : Cornell University, 2016.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Thinking whimsically makes serious science accessible. That's a message that should be taken to heart by all readers who want to learn about evolution. Do Elephants Have Knees? invites readers into serious appreciation of Darwinian histories by deploying the playful thinking found in children's books. Charles R. Ault Jr. weds children's literature to recent research in paleontology and evolutionary biology. Inquiring into the origin of origins stories, Ault presents three portraits of Charles Darwin-curious child, twentysomething adventurer, and elderly worm scientist. Essays focusing on the origins of tetrapods, elephants, whales, and birds explain fundamental Darwinian concepts (natural selection, for example) with examples of fossil history and comparative anatomy.The imagery of the children's story offers a way to remember and recreate scientific discoveries. By juxtaposing Darwin's science with tales for children, Do Elephants Have Knees? underscores the importance of whimsical storytelling to the accomplishment of serious thinking. Charles Darwin mused about duck beaks and swimming bears as he imagined a pathway for the origin of baleen. A "bearduck" chimera may be a stretch, but the science linking not just cows but also whales to moose through shared ancestry has great merit. Teaching about shared ancestry may begin with attention to Bernard Wiseman's Morris the Moose. Morris believes that cows and deer are fine examples of moose because they all have four legs and things on their heads. No whale antlers are known, but fossils of four-legged whales are. By calling attention to surprising and serendipitous echoes between children's stories and challenging science, Ault demonstrates how playful thinking opens the doors to an understanding of evolutionary thought.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Wonderful Relationships

1. "Curtiosity's" Child

2. Darwin and the Pampas Pirates

3. Fossils, Folly & Faults

4. Irritating Worms

5. A Lungfish Walked into the Zoo

6. Out on a Limb

7. Nosey Elephants

8. The Bearduck of Baleen

9. The Saga of Mooshmael

10. The Higgledy-Piggledy Whale

11. Archaic Chickengators

12. Coral Pigs and Tide Pool Sheep

Epilogue. Femurs and Footprints

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781501706417

1501706411

9781501705861

1501705865

OCLC:

957138048