The predominant objective of this book is to draw attention to evolutionary patterns that extend beyond the biological realm of genetics and the high degree of directionality and, in fact, inevitability that is associated with them.
Patterns that can be traced back to the earliest aspects of our universe of which we have solid evidence, right through to the present exponential evolution of ideas within the medium of shared human imagination and which, moreover, can be usefully projected forward to indicate possible outcomes for the future of our species. In the course of this exploration, wide deviations are made to attack the issue from very different angles.
Unusual
Perspectives originated from a stack of notes that had accumulated over
the years until, while on holiday in Europe in 2005, I finally decided
it was time to do something about it. With no preconceived plan at that
time and with much concurrent research, like Topsy, it "just growed"
and this is perhaps reflected in the various diversions that occur
along its course.
This
seems to have made it for some "a hard read" and I have addressed this
criticism with the much more straightforward account presented in The
Goldilocks Effect. Another problem I have dealt with in this later book
is the ambiguity which seems to arise from my attempts to offer the odd
olive branch to readers of a religious disposition.
Even Martin Gardner in his comments described me as "like Einstein, a deist". As nice as it is to be compared to Einstein (I wish!), I am certainly not even a deist. Furthermore, my defence of a very limited form of teleology does not imply any kind of "creator", or a requirement for "initial conditions" or an "ultimate goal".
Just the very observable but oft ignored strong directionality of gross natural processes
Some of the seemingly unrelated and rather odd topics addressed in this book include: