The Science of Discworld II

284
    emergent behaviour 154–5, 307
    lying 284–6, 289–93, 340
    beliefs
    as memes 331–2
    religion 206–8, 218–22
    science and 344
    Berliner, David 286–7
    beryllium 29
    Bible 156, 173
    bicycles 121–2
    Big Bang 193, 194, 239, 247
    bigfoot 113
    Billingsley, Sir Henry 65
    binary code 183
    biology
    phase spaces 51–5
    see also evolution
    biospheres 55, 56–7
    birds
    adaptive radiation 133
    birds of prey 94
    meta-patterns 116
    rituals 95
    birth, astrology 169–70
    birth control 333
    Black Country 301*
    Black Holes 194, 315
    black paint, superstitions 301
    blackbirds 93
    Blackmore, Susan 329, 330, 331, 332, 333
    Blind Man’s Lantern (Hausa story) 116–17
    blind spot, retina 266–7
    The Blind Watchmaker (Dawkins) 331
    Blue, Rabbi Lionel 208
    body language 284
    Bond, James 158, 341
    bonobo chimpanzees 109, 111, 124, 325
    books, size of 49–50
    Borneo 265
    bower-birds 95
    Bowker, John 331
    Brahms, Johannes 273
    brain
    alternative scenarios 149–51, 155–6
    congenital amusia 274–5
    consciousness 22
    cultural evolution 91–5
    echo-location 288
    endorphins 275
    evolution of 23
    hearing 268–9, 290
    human evolution 114
    listening to music 263–4, 269
    memes 328–33
    mental models 25–7, 166
    mind theories 21
    need for storytelling 326
    neurons 186
    pattern recognition 91, 116
    sensory perception 266–9, 273–7, 287
    size 90, 150–1
    storytelling 325
    telepathy 282
    thought processes 21–2
    understanding language 283
    vision 266–8, 288, 290
    breeding, puberty rituals 134–7
    Brin, David 86, 119*
    British Museum 50
    The Brothers Karamazov (Dostoyevsky) 221
    Brown, Fredric 172
    BSE (mad cow disease) 245*
    Bubastis 120
    bubbles, shape of 45–6
    Buddhism 171, 241
    bureaucracy 217
    C
    cabbalism 76
    Cain and Abel 125*
    Calcutta 333
    Camerer, Colin 51
    Campbell, John Jr 134, 135–6
    car-sickness 274
    carbon, formation of 27–30
    cargo cults 80
    cars 118, 152–3
    Cartesian duality 20
    Cartesian Theatre, model of consciousness 266
    Carthage 46
    Catch-22 (Heller) 311*
    Catholic Church 333
    cats
    computing ability 271*
    domestication 117, 118–19, 120–1
    evolution of creodonts 310
    free will 165
    play 94
    quantum mechanics 306–7
    cattle 93, 117
    causality
    beliefs 74–6
    human behaviour and 25–6
    monotheism 172
    Spinoza and 76–7
    cave paintings 113, 265, 275–6
    Cayley, Sir George 244*
    CDs 187–8
    cells, mitochondria 123
    Celsus 67
    centrifugal force 46
    CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) 325–6
    chain-letters 329
    Chaitin, Gregory 183–4
    chaos theory 165, 175, 304–5
    Chase, Philip 131
    cheating
    altruism and 213
    lying 284–6, 289–93, 340
    predictions 307–8
    cheetahs 109, 116
    chemistry, alchemy and 66
    chemotherapy 67
    chess 48
    Chesterton, G.K. 155*, 341–2
    chickens 117
    children
    education 291
    emergent behaviour 154–5
    hearing 270
    human regard for 117
    importance of storytelling 342
    language development 283
    learning 93–4, 114–15
    learning rules 77
    â€˜lies-to-children’ 268, 291–3
    paintings 265
    rituals 217
    storytelling 74–5, 78–9, 151–2,326–7
    subculture 115
    wish-fulfilment 74–5, 76, 77
    chimpanzees 273
    common ancestor with man 87, 108, 109
    development 151–2
    and human DNA 87–8, 112–13
    immune system 124
    intelligence 113
    man as the third chimpanzee 325
    meat-eating 95, 117
    species 111
    China 122
    alchemy 67
    apes 107
    hominids 88
    music 270
    science 172
    chivalry 99, 121
    choices 165–6, 174–5
    Christ 221, 332
    Christian II, Elector of Saxony 68
    Christianity 172, 221, 332–3
    chromosomes 330
    Y-chromosome 141, 142–3
    cichlid fish 133–4
    Cinderella 115
    circles, area 46
    circumcision 136, 139
    civilisation, evolution of 98
    see also culture
    CJD 245*
    Clarke, Arthur C. 73, 75, 86, 272
    â€˜classical’ education 69, 70
    climate, tree growth rings 188
    Clinton, Bill 142
    cloning 31–2
    closed timelike curves 314–15
    co-evolution 119–21, 310
    cochlea 268
    Cocos Islands 133
    codes
    digital information 183
    DNA 52, 53–4, 185–6
    Cohen family 138–9, 141–3
    coin-operated machines 70
    cold dark matter 20
    Collapse of Chaos (Stewart and Cohen) 54
    colour
    perception of 289–90
    rainbow 293
    combinatorics 48–9
    The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare) 334
    Coming of Age in Samoa (Mead) 264
    commitment