In The Blink Of An Eye: How Vision Sparked The Big Bang Of Evolution

About this book

About 550 million years ago there was literally an explosion of life forms as all the major animal groups suddenly and dramatically appeared. Although several books have been written about this surprising event known as the Cambrian explosion none has explained why it occurred. Indeed none was able to. Here for the first time Oxford zoologist Andrew Parker reveals his theory of this great flourishing of life. Parkers controversial but increasingly accepted "Light Switch Theory" holds that it was the development of vision in primitive animals that caused the explosion. Drawing on evidence not just from biology but also from geology physics chemistry history and art In the Blink of an Eye is the fascinating account of a young scientists intellectual journey and a celebration of the scientific method.