Evolution and Escalation

Evolution and Escalation PDF Author: Geerat Vermeij
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691224242
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
Here is one biologist's interpretation of the chronology of life during the last six hundred million years of earth history: an extended essay that draws on the author's own data and a wide-ranging literature survey to discuss the nature and dynamics of evolutionary change in organisms and their biological surroundings. Geerat Vermeij demonstrates that escalation--the process by which species adapt to, or are limited by, their enemies as the latter increase in ability to acquire and retain resources--has been a dominant theme in the history of life despite frequent episodes of extinction.

Evolution and Escalation

Evolution and Escalation PDF Author: Geerat Vermeij
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691224242
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 547

Get Book Here

Book Description
Here is one biologist's interpretation of the chronology of life during the last six hundred million years of earth history: an extended essay that draws on the author's own data and a wide-ranging literature survey to discuss the nature and dynamics of evolutionary change in organisms and their biological surroundings. Geerat Vermeij demonstrates that escalation--the process by which species adapt to, or are limited by, their enemies as the latter increase in ability to acquire and retain resources--has been a dominant theme in the history of life despite frequent episodes of extinction.

The Evolution of Cooperation

The Evolution of Cooperation PDF Author: Robert Axelrod
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0786734884
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
A famed political scientist's classic argument for a more cooperative world We assume that, in a world ruled by natural selection, selfishness pays. So why cooperate? In The Evolution of Cooperation, political scientist Robert Axelrod seeks to answer this question. In 1980, he organized the famed Computer Prisoners Dilemma Tournament, which sought to find the optimal strategy for survival in a particular game. Over and over, the simplest strategy, a cooperative program called Tit for Tat, shut out the competition. In other words, cooperation, not unfettered competition, turns out to be our best chance for survival. A vital book for leaders and decision makers, The Evolution of Cooperation reveals how cooperative principles help us think better about everything from military strategy, to political elections, to family dynamics.

Biogeography and Adaptation

Biogeography and Adaptation PDF Author: Geerat J. Vermeij
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674073760
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
The driving forces of natural selection leave their traces in the shapes of living creatures and their patterns of distribution. In this thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion of evolutionary process and adaptive response, Geerat Vermeij elucidates the general principles that underlie the great diversity of marine forms found in the world's great oceans.

On Escalation

On Escalation PDF Author: Herman Kahn
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351502204
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
In this widely discussed and influential book, Herman Kahn probes the dynamics of escalation and demonstrates how the intensification of conflict can be depicted by means of a definite escalation ladder, ascent of which brings opponents closer to all-out war. At each rung of the ladder, before the climb proceeds, decisions must be made based on numerous choices. Some are clear and obvious, others obscure, but the options are always there. Thermonuclear annihilation, says Kahn, is unlikely to come through accident; but nations may elect to climb the ladder to extinction. The basic material for the book was developed in briefings delivered by Kahn to military and civilian experts and revised in the light of his findings of a trip to Vietnam in the 1960s. In On Escalation he states the facts squarely. He asks the reader to face unemotionally the terrors of a world fully capable of suicide and to consider carefully the alternatives to such a path. In the never-never land of nuclear warfare, where nuclear incredulity is pervasive and paralyzing to the imagination even for the professional analyst, salient details of possible scenarios for the outbreak of war, and even more for war fighting, are largely unexplored or even unnoticed. For scenarios in which war is terminated, the issues and possibilities of which are almost completely unstudied, the situation is even worse. Kahn's discussion throws light on the terrain and gives the individual a sense of the range of possibilities and complexities involved and are useful.

The Arc of War

The Arc of War PDF Author: Jack S. Levy
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226476278
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
In this far-reaching exploration of the evolution of warfare in human history, Jack S. Levy and William R. Thompson provide insight into the perennial questions of why and how humans fight. Beginning with the origins of warfare among foraging groups, The Arc of War draws on a wealth of empirical data to enhance our understanding of how war began and how it has changed over time. The authors point to the complex interaction of political economy, political and military organization, military technology, and the threat environment—all of which create changing incentives for states and other actors. They conclude that those actors that adapt survive, and those that do not are eliminated. In modern times, warfare between major powers has become exceedingly costly and therefore quite rare, while lesser powers are too weak to fight sustained and decisive wars or to prevent internal rebellions. Conceptually innovative and historically sweeping, The Arc of War represents a significant contribution to the existing literature on warfare.

Evolution's Wedge

Evolution's Wedge PDF Author: David Pfennig
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520954041
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
Evolutionary biology has long sought to explain how new traits and new species arise. Darwin maintained that competition is key to understanding this biodiversity and held that selection acting to minimize competition causes competitors to become increasingly different, thereby promoting new traits and new species. Despite Darwin’s emphasis, competition’s role in diversification remains controversial and largely underappreciated. In their synthetic and provocative book, evolutionary ecologists David and Karin Pfennig explore competition's role in generating and maintaining biodiversity. The authors discuss how selection can lessen resource competition or costly reproductive interactions by promoting trait evolution through a process known as character displacement. They further describe character displacement’s underlying genetic and developmental mechanisms. The authors then consider character displacement’s myriad downstream effects, ranging from shaping ecological communities to promoting new traits and new species and even fueling large-scale evolutionary trends. Drawing on numerous studies from natural populations, and written for a broad audience, Evolution’s Wedge seeks to inspire future research into character displacement’s many implications for ecology and evolution.

Evolution and the Theory of Games

Evolution and the Theory of Games PDF Author: John Maynard Smith
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521288842
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
This 1982 book is an account of an alternative way of thinking about evolution and the theory of games.

Escalation and Deterrence in the Second Space Age

Escalation and Deterrence in the Second Space Age PDF Author: Todd Harrison
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442280409
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first human-made object to orbit the Earth. Six decades later, space-faring nations face a much different space environment, one that’s more diverse, disruptive, disordered, and dangerous. Today’s space domain presents a number of asymmetries that differ from other domains, creating a deterrence environment with unique policy implications. Escalation and Deterrence in the Second Space Age, a report from the CSIS Aerospace Security Project, discusses the evolution of space as a contested domain, the changing threats to U.S. space systems, deterrence theory and its applications to the space domain, and findings from a space crisis exercise administered by CSIS in late 2016.

Evolution in Minutes

Evolution in Minutes PDF Author: Darren Naish
Publisher: Quercus
ISBN: 1681440644
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
Evolution in Minutes is your compact and accessible guide to the central concepts of the science of evolution, revealing how biological populations change over successive generations. Covering the basics of speciation, genesis, and extinction in animals, plants, and humans alike--from the origins and development of life to artificial selection and evolutionary algorithms--this is the fastest, fullest path to understanding evolution. Contents include fossils, microbes, genes, DNA, natural selection, Darwinism, genetic drift, mutation, gene migration, heredity, adaptation, and variation, as well as key biological concepts necessary to understand the fascinating field of evolution.

The Iran-Iraq War

The Iran-Iraq War PDF Author: Stephen C. Pelletiere
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136884041
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
Bartleby.com presents the Columbia Encyclopedia entry for the Iran-Iraq War. The war between Iran and Iraq began in 1980 with the Iraqi land and air invasion of Iran. The war ended with a peace settlement in August of 1988.