Human Errors by Nathan H Lents

Human Errors by Nathan H Lents

A biology professor's illuminating tour of the physical imperfections--from faulty knees to junk DNA--that make us human. ¶"A funny, fascinating catalog of our collective shortcomings that's tough to put down."--Discover ¶ We humans like to think of ourselves as highly evolved creatures. But if we are supposedly evolution's greatest creation, why do we have such bad knees? Why do we catch head colds so often--two hundred times more often than a dog does? How come our wrists have so many useless bones? Why is the vast majority of our genetic code pointless? And are we really supposed to swallow and breathe through the same narrow tube? Surely there's been some kind of mistake? As professor of biology Nathan H. Lents explains in Human Errors, our evolutionary history is indeed nothing if not a litany of mistakes, each more entertaining and enlightening than the last. The human body is one big pile of compromises. But that is also a testament to our greatness: as Lents shows, humans have so many design flaws precisely because we are very, very good at getting around them. A rollicking, deeply informative tour of humans' four-billion-year-and-counting evolutionary saga, Human Errors both celebrates our imperfections and offers an unconventional accounting of the cost of our success.

Not So Different: Discovering Human Nature in Animals is written by NATHAN H.LENTS, a professor of biology at John Jay College, CUNY. He has featured as a scientific expert on The Today Show, NPR, Access Hollywood, 48 Hours, and Al Jazeera America, among other national media outlets. He resides in Queens, New York.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781328974693
ISBN 10	1328974693
Title	Human Errors
Author	Nathan H Lents
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Mariner Books
Year published	2018-05-01
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.