Speculative biology is a controversial science. Some of the main issues surrounding it are speculative evolution, and hypothetical ancestors. This article examines those questions.
After Man: A Zoology of the Future by Dougal Dixon
After Man: A Zoology of the Future is a beautifully illustrated book that takes a look at the evolution of the earth and the people who inhabit it. It was a well-received work and spawned two follow-up speculative evolution books.
In the present tense, After Man describes the process by which the continents of Africa and Europe would fuse and a new island, Lemuria, would be created. It also discusses the future of the earth, including a possible extinction of humankind. The author has a bit of fun with a variety of fanciful concepts, including a possible fusion of North America and South America and the uplifting of a mountain range in the faraway reaches of the Pacific.
The book is accompanied by a plethora of illustrations, including a collection of 18 pages of sketches by the author. It is also a part of a popular exhibition at the Fukuoka City Science Museum. The book was first published in 1981. It was a bestseller in its day.
Dougal Dixon’s book is an engaging read and he deserves a lot of credit for putting the future in the limelight. His book contains 18 pages of never-before-seen sketches. It is also one of the earliest speculative biology works. It was also printed by DeckersSnoeck in Belgium. It is available in most bookstores. It is also an excellent reference for anyone with an interest in the future of the planet.
The future of the earth and the possible extinction of humans are covered in this fascinating little book. It also contains an interesting new afterword written by the author. It has a large impact on the reader, making them wonder why they haven’t thought more about our future.
Darwin’s work
Charles Darwin’s work in speculative biology is a vital part of the history of Western thought. His ideas provided researchers with new insights into human behaviors and emotions.
Darwin believed that all living things are descended from a common ancestor. He proposed that new species were formed from preexisting species, and that the process of evolution happened gradually over a long period of time. He also posited that human instincts are genetically inherited.
As a result of his work, a new branch of science called biology was born. His theories were based on direct observations of local plants and animals. The ideas were formulated in his book On the Origin of Species.
The idea of evolutionary theory is that organisms evolve from lower-level species over time, through the mechanism of natural selection. Each species has a unique set of heritable differences from its common ancestor, which are gradually accumulated over a long period of time.
It is not known how exactly these heritable differences accumulate. However, most theorists have attempted to find a biological explanation for this behavior.
For example, a finch species on the Galapagos Islands has characteristics that are different from those of its counterparts on the nearby mainland of Ecuador. This could be due to its exposure to different environments. Moreover, the individual species in each island may have shared a common ancestor.
One of the biggest puzzles for Darwin was the relationship between the heart rate and the conscious will. Indirect reciprocity suggests that the two are correlated, but it does not address the specifics.
Another problem for Darwin was his inability to explain the perinatal instinctive behaviors of humans. These include altruism, empathy, and other emotional responses between mother and infant.
Hypothetical ancestors
If we talk about speculative biology, one of the topics we can discuss is hypothetical ancestors of live organisms. These are imaginary creatures, whose evolution might be described in a book or a movie.
Many authors have written about speculative ancestors. For instance, Stephen Baxter wrote a book about the possible evolution of humans, which was published in the year “Evolution”. The novel contains sections about cryptopaleontology.
In the early XXI century, the speculative biology genre was established. It took shape through artworks and hypothesizing. It is a literary genre that explores the process of evolution of living creatures on an alien planet. It can also be used to teach principles of evolution.
In the 1970s and 1980s, intelligent dinosauroids were popular characters in speculative biology. However, this genre was also inspired by other authors. Among them was Harry Harrison. In his trilogy, Eden, he depicted a fictional world where humans were a distant descendant of a common ancestor.
Another example of speculative biology is Dougal Dixon’s book After Man: A Zoology of the Future. The novel describes the development of an organic world in 50 million years. In the end, the author admits that it was not successful. The book assumes that the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction took place.
Earlier, the Soviet evolutionist Alexander Lyubishchev considered Mars as a possible place for humanity. He proposed the existence of non-sapient creatures with the ability to cross space as terraformers.
Some examples of speculative ancestors are Tamisiocaris, which was designed for the film “Avatar” by James Cameron. This species is a filter-feeder.
In a more modern era, Sergey Pereslegin wrote an article about evolutionary change. It was published in an educational magazine. Other authors who have written articles about speculative ancestors include John Conway and Darren Naish.
Speculative biology vs quasi-scientific work
It is hard to separate speculative biology from quasi-scientific work. Unlike scientific works, speculative biology is a literary genre – it is the author’s creation. And, although it is based on real biology principles, the genre is not limited by the physical and chemical conditions of the Earth. It is open to many kinds of subjects, including alien life.
One of the main themes of speculative biology is the evolution of Earth life on an artificially terraformed planet. It is possible that intelligent creatures from space may act as terraformers. However, there is no evidence that such life exists. Moreover, most authors of speculative biology are inclined to believe in the Darwinian evolution of life.
The concept of speculative biology is not as common as that of other fiction genres. However, it has a lot of potential. It allows students to apply knowledge and theories in a new context. It also teaches a wide range of evolutionary processes.
“Man After Man” by Dougal Dixon is a novel about the future development of human beings. It was written about forty years ago. It was not successful, however. It is still read by a few people outside of science fans. It contains fantastic assumptions, bordering on mysticism.
Another example is “The Snouters: Form and Life of Rhinogradentia”. This project describes the life of a fictitious group of live creatures – snouters. It has numerous publications in different languages.
Besides the classical’science’, speculative biology has also been a pedagogical tool. It helps students learn the theory of evolution and the relationships between cause and effect.
The speculative dinosaur project, a story about modern-time dinosaurs, has been read by a few people. It is also an interesting example of the fictitious world.
Speculative evolution
The term speculative biology refers to the theoretical study of life, the process of evolution, and the future. It has been defined as “the study of how life originated on an artificially terraformed planet”.
In this field, it is assumed that the Earth has not experienced a K-T extinction event. In a fictional future, this would mean that dinosaurs have become extinct.
During the 70s and 80s, intelligent dinosauroids were a popular topic of speculative biology literature. In such books, the author tries to describe the evolution of live creatures, and he assumes that intelligent dinosaurs can be a part of this process.
In the present, the speculative biology genre includes many projects, such as “Southbound” and “Project Nereus”. In these projects, the authors attempt to describe the possible shape of life in the distant future, as well as the possibility of life on other planets. In addition to these, some examples of writings about speculative biology and evolutionary change include “Life in the Universe” (Russian: Liv I Universet), written by Norwegian astrophysicist Eirik Newth.
This book, published in Russia in 2013, tells about the possible shape of life on other planets. The book also contains a description of the processes by which the Earth has evolved.
In addition, the book is dedicated to the process of biological evolution of a hypothetical species on a future Earth. The book is illustrated, and it describes a scenario for the emergence of a biologically complex world in the near future. The novel is a logical continuation of the previous one.
Man After Man is another example of a speculative biology novel. The novel focuses on the historical development of humans on a future Earth. The author attempts to examine the effects of human influence on the natural environment, and to predict what events await us in the long-term and the near future.