Lives on Earth

3.8 Billion Years

  • Lucky Life

    Is luck for real? Is it meaningful under normal circumstances to say that “I’m lucky to be alive” (that is, apart from survival of a near-fatal accident or illness)? Why do we often say “I’m lucky to be alive” instead… Continue reading

  • Global Warming and the Cold War

    When I was 14, my father brought me down to the furnace area in our basement to show me the water, food, and other supplies he had stockpiled to the ceiling. He gave me memory tips for finding my way… Continue reading

  • Your Inner Fish

    Most people accept the idea that we are descended from earlier primates. But descended from fish? That might seem to be a stretch. In Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body (2008), Neil Shubin makes a… Continue reading

  • The Evolution of Morality

    We know that we carry inside us the history of our bodies—the chemistry and bones and nervous systems that have evolved over the millennia. But we carry with us another history as well. Our morality, our capacity to harm, help,… Continue reading

  • The Family Dog Dies

    After growing weaker each day for a week, no longer eating or drinking, her ribs visible from weight loss, her look glassy and, I thought, a little frightened, and no wag at all in her tail, Ginger was put to… Continue reading

  • The Music Man

    Recently I stopped by a music store in town to buy banjo strings. I hadn’t been in the store for at least ten years. I remembered it as a hive of kids and grown-ups trying out guitars, pianos, and clarinets,… Continue reading

  • Pope Francis on Dogs in Heaven

    Nick Kristoff (New York Times, Sept. 24, 2015) writes today about Pope Francis’ conviction that dogs will go to heaven. That notion, attractive as it is, opens up a host of questions about how we value other creatures as well.… Continue reading