What are you reading?

[wellnamed]

I'm always looking for good book recommendations, and I'm currently out of books. The last two science books I've read, which I can definitely recommend were:

 

Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny -- Written by an evolutionary anthropologist, this book discusses something like 30 years of research into Evolutionary Developmental Psychology. In essence: the processes through which children grow into "fully human" adults (ontogeny), and how those processes are similar and distinct from ontogenetic processes in our closest primate relatives. Pretty fascinating stuff. If you're looking for a clearly written and evocative theory which will make you think about what "human nature" might mean, this is a great book. I wrote a more detailed account of the theory elsewhere, if you are curious about how it's organized.

 

Almost Human -- A fun narrative detailing the discovery of Homo Naledi, a new hominid species discovered from fossilized remains in 2013. Not nearly as technical as the Tomasello book, but it's a fun read if you're interested in human evolution. It makes you want to put on your Indiana Jones hat and go fossil hunting.

[pantheory]

 

Ontogeny is a very interesting specialty subject and related theories and analysis relating to the origination and development of an organism, usually from the time of fertilization through the organism's mature form and could extend through the lifetime of such organisms.

 

As to humans such ideas and theory are particularly interesting and encompass many other fields of study, but also for this reason any such organized analysis and conclusions will always be a perspective that would be expectedly controversial.