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From acclaimed writer and biologist Sean Carroll, a rollicking, awe-inspiring story of the surprising power of chance in our lives and the worldWhy is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but startling scientific discoveries over the past half century are revealing that we live in a world driven by chance. A Series of Fortunate Events tells the story of the awesome power of chance and how it is the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world.Like every other species, we humans are here by accident. But it is shocking just how many things--any of which might never have occurred--had to happen in certain ways for any of us to exist. From an extremely improbable asteroid impact, to the wild gyrations of the Ice Age, to invisible accidents in our parents' gonads, we are all here through an astonishing series of fortunate events. And chance continues to reign every day over the razor-thin line between our life and death.This is a relatively small book about a really big idea. It is also a spirited tale. Drawing inspiration from Monty Python, Kurt Vonnegut, and other great thinkers, and crafted by one of today's most accomplished science storytellers, A Series of Fortunate Events is an irresistibly entertaining and thought-provoking account of one of the most important but least appreciated facts of life.

Biology --- History. --- A Series of Unfortunate Events. --- Colbert. --- Eric Idle. --- Evolution. --- Flying Circus. --- Gervais. --- Graham Chapman. --- Izzard. --- John Cleese. --- Lemony Snicket. --- Maher. --- Michael Palin. --- Monty Python and the Holy Grail. --- Monty Python’s Life of Brian. --- Secret Policeman’s Ball. --- Silvermain. --- Stephen Colbert. --- Terry Gilliam. --- Terry Jones. --- biology. --- cancer. --- climate. --- earth. --- genes. --- luck. --- mutation. --- random.

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In July 2010, Terry Jones, the pastor of a small fundamentalist church in Florida, announced plans to burn two hundred Qur'ans on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Though he ended up canceling the stunt in the face of widespread public backlash, his threat sparked violent protests across the Muslim world that left at least twenty people dead. In Terrified, Christopher Bail demonstrates how the beliefs of fanatics like Jones are inspired by a rapidly expanding network of anti-Muslim organizations that exert profound influence on American understanding of Islam. Bail traces how the anti-Muslim narrative of the political fringe has captivated large segments of the American media, government, and general public, validating the views of extremists who argue that the United States is at war with Islam and marginalizing mainstream Muslim-Americans who are uniquely positioned to discredit such claims. Drawing on cultural sociology, social network theory, and social psychology, he shows how anti-Muslim organizations gained visibility in the public sphere, commandeered a sense of legitimacy, and redefined the contours of contemporary debate, shifting it ever outward toward the fringe. Bail illustrates his pioneering theoretical argument through a big-data analysis of more than one hundred organizations struggling to shape public discourse about Islam, tracing their impact on hundreds of thousands of newspaper articles, television transcripts, legislative debates, and social media messages produced since the September 11 attacks. The book also features in-depth interviews with the leaders of these organizations, providing a rare look at how anti-Muslim organizations entered the American mainstream.

Islam --- Islamophobia. --- Corporations --- Public opinion. --- Religious aspects. --- USA. --- American public. --- Bush administration. --- Islam. --- Islamic law. --- Middle East conflict. --- Muslim-Americans. --- Muslims. --- Qur'an. --- Republic Party. --- September 11. --- Terry Jones. --- anti-Muslim organization. --- anti-Muslim organizations. --- anti-Muslim. --- anti-mosque. --- civil society organizations. --- collective identity. --- counterterrorism agents. --- counterterrorism policy. --- cultural change. --- cultural environment. --- culture. --- fringe organizations. --- media influence. --- media strategy. --- public opinion. --- social networks. --- social psychology. --- structure. --- terrorism.