Chance, And The Fut... | Improbable Destinies: Fate,

Predicting how pests adapt to pesticides is crucial for our food supply.

The most provocative chapter of Improbable Destinies asks whether human-like intelligence was bound to happen. While many adaptations (like eyes or wings) appear repeatedly in nature, Losos points out that many others are unique flukes. Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Fut...

Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution Predicting how pests adapt to pesticides is crucial

In his compelling book, , evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos explores this profound question. By examining the tug-of-war between contingency (random luck) and convergence (predictable patterns), Losos offers a new lens through which to view our place in the cosmos. The Great Debate: Gould vs. Conway Morris Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of

While these were once purely philosophical thought experiments, Losos shows that we can now test them using . He takes readers from laboratory flasks to remote islands to meet the scientists "rewinding the tape" in real-time: