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, ...
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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.
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Add this copy of Do Elephants Have Knees? : and Other Stories of to cart. $18.10, very good condition, Sold by Orbiting Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hereford, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by Cornell University Press.
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Very good. Bumped edges. Slight Scratches on Dust Jacket. Appears unread, may have minor damage from transit/storage. Next working day dispatch from the UK (Mon-Fri). Please contact us with any queries.
Add this copy of Do Elephants Have Knees? : and Other Stories of to cart. $26.17, very good condition, Sold by Orbiting Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hereford, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by Cornell University Press.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Bumped edges. Slight Scratches on Dust Jacket. Sun Damage to edge of pages. Appears unread, may have minor damage from transit/storage. Next working day dispatch from the UK (Mon-Fri). Please contact us with any queries.
Add this copy of Do Elephants Have Knees? : and Other Stories of to cart. $19.14, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by Comstock Publishing.
Add this copy of Do Elephants Have Knees? : and Other Stories of to cart. $19.29, very good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by Comstock Publishing Associates.
Add this copy of Do Elephants Have Knees? : and Other Stories of to cart. $19.30, good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by Comstock Publishing Associates.
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Good-Bumped and creased book with tears to the extremities, but not affecting the text block, may have remainder mark or previous owner's name-GOOD Standard-sized.
Add this copy of Do Elephants Have Knees?: And Other Stories of to cart. $28.78, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2016 by Cornell University Press.
Add this copy of Do Elephants Have Knees? : and Other Stories of to cart. $24.38, good condition, Sold by Dotcom liquidators / dc1 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fort Worth, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by Cornell University Press.
Add this copy of Do Elephants Have Knees? to cart. $25.39, new condition, Sold by indoo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Avenel, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by Cornell University Press.
