Darwin's Watch: The Science of Discworld III - Jack Cohen, Ian Stewart, Terry Pratchett

...very odd biography of Charles Darwin's life, and takes up at most a quarter of the book. On the other hand, if you're interested in the science the interludes do provide a short respite from thinking too hard!


Back to the science. After that initial irritating waffle about the topic in hand, the authors detour through several other topics which may or may not be of interest - and which weren't always obviously connected. In ...
...such as the discussion on an infinite universe tying in with my point above on probability. However, there do seem to be more than a few tangents, which again may or may not really 'work'.

One section I found it hard to get my head around was the discussions on Special and General Relativity, infinity and really really BIG numbers, and a Whole Lot of Stuff Like That. Heavy going at the best of times, and two chapters in a book like ... more

One of the more interesting outputs of the Discworld tie-in juggernaut (diaries, calendars, recipe books...) has been the 'Science of the Discworld' set, currently three books co-written by Pterry and some Real Scientists - this isn't 'Science, as experienced on the Disc' (that would be magic!), but rather 'Science of the Roundworld - with a bit of Disc story thrown in'. Covering a wide range of topics, the third instalment focuses primarily on the how the theories of evolution were developed, but meandering through phase space, advanced physics and steam engines along the way.

I own and have read the previous two Science of Discworld books, but I can't claim to have retained much info on either volume. Which doesn't *really* matter, despite the usual text book-ish references back to previously discussed material. Actually, that holds for references to earlier within this same book, and I still tended to blank somewhat!

Which isn't to say this is a heavy text book. The categorisation is clearly 'popular science' - trying to bring scientific ideas to laypeople (like me!) in a reasonably accessible way. The problem is the sheer diversity of material crammed into one novel: some fails to be interesting, some just can't be described briefly and understandably.

The opening 'science chapter' (the book alternates story/science chapters, and actually kicks off in Unseen University) unsurprisingly starts with a discussion on evolution. Unfortunately, not on the science itself but on generally views of the topic. This had me gnashing my teeth and tearing my hair out at the sheer stupidity of some people, and the way ignorance of one issue is used to support another misbelief. Of course, as a 'believer' in evolution the authors are on my side - but they don't really stomp all over the other silly ideas enough for my liking. For instance, "It's a billion to one chance that life developed 'by accident', so it just couldn't have happened!" just shows ignorance of statistics: if it's a billion to one chance, then the event DOES happen, one time out of every billion. It's small, but it's not impossible - and given a (possibly... see later chapters!) infinite universe, then there are 999,999,999 planets out there where life could have happened and didn't. Is it impossible that we landed up on that world? No, because if we didn't we just wouldn't be here to think about it! [there are other arguments for evolution, so please don't start arguing with me on just this one bit of evidence!]

I'm happy to accept this as my problem rather than the book's, but also be aware that if you're not a staunch evolutionist you're not going to like this book at all anyway - so really, they might as well have been a bit more insulting to keep me happy ;)

Meanwhile, back on the Disc... In the previous instalment, the Wizards worked against the elves to ensure that mankind developed technologically to a point where it could escape earth instead of dying in the next ice age. All well and good, except that Hex has just discovered everything's changed again - development has slowed, and come the ice age there is no space elevator escape route. Bye bye, human beings. What's gone wrong? Well, it seems that a certain Charles Darwin has written a book called "The Theology of Species", rather than "The Origin of Species" he was supposed to write. Cue a lot of intervention from Unseen University to get things back on track...

Anyone picking this up looking for a Discworld story is going to be disappointed, as the tale is brief, giving a very odd biography of Charles Darwin's life, and takes up at most a quarter of the book. On the other hand, if you're interested in the science the interludes do provide a short respite from thinking too hard!

Back to the science. After that initial irritating waffle about the topic in hand, the authors detour through several other topics which may or may not be of interest - and which weren't always obviously connected. In hindsight, the breadth of knowledge does make more sense - such as the discussion on an infinite universe tying in with my point above on probability. However, there do seem to be more than a few tangents, which again may or may not really 'work'.

One section I found it hard to get my head around was the discussions on Special and General Relativity, infinity and really really BIG numbers, and a Whole Lot of Stuff Like That. Heavy going at the best of times, and two chapters in a book like this have their work cut out for them! I confess I let a lot of these chapters just skim over my head - not through lack of interest, per se, but just unimpressed by the level of detail and the level of understanding I could then draw from that. On the other hand, the chapter ends with a discussion on time travel - the 'real' physics of the issue, what could be possible, etc, which really did capture my imagination. There is no answer, of course, but it's quite entertaining reading a (fairly) serious discussion on the most 'out there' of sci-fi ideas!

Throughout the book this is a common pattern: generally, the hypothesising is a little hard to really take in, but the specific examples are dealt with very well. Back on the subject of evolution, the authors digress to discuss the invention/development of the steam engine. Now, James Watt might have the credit, but the basic technology had been around since Ancient Egypt. The idea being put across is that 'inventions' (or changes) aren't necessarily the direct result of the final step, but built on a history of smaller developments.

The same idea works in genetics - and this is the most successful chapter, in my mind, coming at the end and finally pulling together all the tangents we've run off on. The steam engine concept holds true for genetic changes, and the authors quite clearly challenge 'common' thinking on the subject of natural selection. I really liked this: not just learning, but having my way of thinking challenged, particularly on cause and effect. For instance, radiation causes mutations, right? When 5-legged frogs start turning up near a nuclear power plant after an 'accident' it's easy to see the cause - radiation leak - and effect - mutant frogs. Only... it turns out that nature produces 5-legged frogs relatively frequently, without any outside 'help'. What happened was that the increased number of men in radiation suits wandering about the area scared off the frogs' natural preditors - and so the usual easy-pickings of extra-limbed frogs weren't being eaten before humans spotted them.

In other words, things are not always as clear cut as we 'pans narrans' (story telling ape, rather than the 'wise man' homo sapiens - see previous Science of Discworld novels) care to make them, and this book challenges you to think a little more carefully. For that reason I recommend this book - if you're willing to go on a meander to get there!

Overall, I'd say this book has a very limited audience. Non-Discworld fans are unlikely to pick this up as a 'popular science' book, whereas the bulk of Discworld fans are going to be either put of or disappointed by the focus on science rather than the Disc. However, if one 14-year-old Discworld fan perseveres with the book and gets fired up about science of some kind, it was worth the publication.

¤ Boring bits:
Paperback 384 pages
First released 2005
ISBN: 0091898242
RRP: £6.99 

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