Tree of life
400
The trees like the human being, not only the plant itself, but also the structure of the trees. From a single main trunk branches are formed, more ramifications by these branches, which are spreading until the entire tree is completed. As it is ascended by the tree, the branches are smaller and the area they occupy is wider. This structure has been a great resource in the world of iconography. Man has explained many concepts using tree structures. It is a very strong metaphor. Very clarifier. Somehow, trees are a way to make maps. And so, scientists have also used them many times.
Trees of Life follows these uses. The author, Theodore Pietsch, has collected trees represented in 450 years. There are 230 trees that have been used to show all kinds of scientific contents: evolution, ecosystems, birds, bacteria, plants, etc.
Sometimes it has been said that it was Charles Darwin himself who used the tree structure for the first time in his book Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859. But many of the examples collected in this book show that it is not true. The major ones chosen by Pietsch are the XVI. They are from the nineteenth century, when the modern concept of science was not born. For example, there is a representation of the mythical explanation of how God created the Earth. The diagrams, the more modern they are, indicate a more modern concept of science. Therefore, in the evolution of tree diagrams presented in the book, one can read the evolution of science itself.
And the beauty of the book is not there. The trees have a great aesthetic value. It is, precisely, a graphic book that serves to enjoy with the quiet look of the pages. It is a very special book. Spectacular. And it appears in some of the best scientific books of 2012.
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