The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch
 |
|
| Authors | Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series |
Discworld 3rd science book |
| Subject |
evolution theory
|
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Published | 2005 (Random House) |
| ISBN | (hardcover) (paperback) |
| Preceded by | The Science of Discworld II: The Globe |
| Followed by | The Science of Discworld IV: Judgement Day |
evolution theory
time travel
Scientific theories
The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch is a book set on the Discworld, by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. It is the sequel to The Science of Discworld and The Science of Discworld II: The Globe.
According to Stewart:
As with the first two volumes, the book alternates between a Discworld story and a serious scientific discussion.
The Science of Discworld series is arguably unique in style: we call it fact/fantasy fusion. The scenario allows serious discussion of solid, current science, without distorting it into ‘yes, pigs really could fly given GM wings’ or whatever. All three books entered the Sunday Times bestseller lists, and the third made it to number one, so we managed to reach a significantly large audience. Perhaps the most gratifying comment came from a Times reviewer: ‘the hard science is as gripping as the fiction’. Which is just as it should be.
The title refers to William Paley's watchmaker analogy and Richard Dawkins' subsequent description of evolution as the Blind Watchmaker.
In the Discworld story the wizards learn that, once again, the history of Roundworld has changed, resulting in humans failing to leave Earth before the extinction event shown in the earlier books. They discover that the difference from established history was that Charles Darwin wrote a book called Theology of Species, which described how evolution must be controlled by a Creator. This was generally accepted by both religious figures and conservative scientists, and led to a certain stagnation of thought, preventing the eventual invention of the space elevator. When the wizards try to correct this, the potential futures of Roundworld go mad. The possibility of Darwin ever writing the book becomes near zero, with most futures featuring his death or failure to write a book in seemingly improbable—and sometimes downright ridiculous—ways.
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