Identify Epithetical Books The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge
Title | : | The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge |
Author | : | Jeremy Narby |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 257 pages |
Published | : | April 5th 1999 by TarcherPerigee (first published 1998) |
Categories | : | Science. Nonfiction. Anthropology. Spirituality. Philosophy. Psychology |
Jeremy Narby
Paperback | Pages: 257 pages Rating: 4.19 | 4571 Users | 382 Reviews
Commentary Concering Books The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge
This adventure in science and imagination, which the Medical Tribune said might herald "a Copernican revolution for the life sciences," leads the reader through unexplored jungles and uncharted aspects of mind to the heart of knowledge.In a first-person narrative of scientific discovery that opens new perspectives on biology, anthropology, and the limits of rationalism, The Cosmic Serpent reveals how startlingly different the world around us appears when we open our minds to it.Mention Books As The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge
Original Title: | The Cosmic Serpent |
ISBN: | 0874779642 (ISBN13: 9780874779646) |
Edition Language: | English |
Rating Epithetical Books The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge
Ratings: 4.19 From 4571 Users | 382 ReviewsComment On Epithetical Books The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge
a great first person detailed account of his research in the studies of shamanic accounts of the great mythical serpent found in all religions and our modern notion of DNAhow they are the same story just told in different mannershow further discovery of DNA's role does nothing more than exactly correlate with the poetic tales of the great cosmic serpenta quick readmaybe too quicki took it out on 2-3 sittingsstarts off a little slow by following his introduction and buildup of what he willThis was a winner. Exactly the right balance between scholarship and accessibility. Almost half the book is made up of end notes and bibliography, and Dr. Narby is brave, cautious, and eloquent stating his thesis: that it is possible, and even likely, that DNA is sentient. Since he's a vetted scientist, this is no easy claim to make. Nor does he rely except but for a fraction of the book on his own experience with Ayahuasca, which is very limited, and one of the few things that I would have
If even a third of Narby's various speculations are true then the world is so much stranger than I had ever thought. His claim that shamans have access to bio-molecular knowledge through the use of hallucinogenics and other shamanistic practices is fascinating and not as wide fetched once you understand how he got to that conclusion, which he spells out in the biographical nature of this book. Sadly, my own knowledge of molecular biology, shamanism, and anthropology are too limited to make any
This book asserts a novel "left-of-field" argument that attempts to explain the origin of some types of knowledge and indeed of life on Earth more generally.
This book is an astonishing example of delusional thinking and exceptionally insane reasoning. Seriously. "This ancient carving is X-shaped, they must have been drawing chromosomes during mitosis!"
While the book is interesting, it is not something I would recommend to someone looking for an easy Sunday afternoon read.In his autobiography, Narby narrates his experience with the Ashaninca to expose the limits of the Western scientific method when pitted against the more empirical and ritualistic epistemology of the Ayahuasqueros. He proposes that even under the microscope, natural phenomena are mostly obscure, and that integrating tribal with conventional modes of study could be a gateway
The concept and the first chapter hooked me, and then the downhill slide began. The style of writing bothered me more than anything else. Narby's insistence on conferring some kind of scientific framework onto his thinking is mind-numbingly dull. The same three thoughts trotted out again and again. Contains 40 pages worth of interesting things to say. I couldn't just abandon it, though, because the material seemed so promising--this idea that shamans, through the practice of drinking ayahuasca,
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