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In The Blink Of An Eye Hardcover – April 15, 2003

by Andrew Parker (Author)

28 customer reviews

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The Cambrian Explosion is universally referred to as biology's "Big Bang." About 550 million years ago, there was literally an explosion of life forms, as all the major animal groups suddenly and dramatically appeared. Why did it happen this way? Why didn't these creatures continue the slow, plodding pace of evolution, appearing only very gradually in the fossil record? Although several books have been written about this surprising event, none have explained why it occurred. Indeed, none were able to.Here, for the first time, Oxford zoologist Andrew Parker reveals his theory of this great flourishing of life. Parker's "Light Switch Theory" holds that it was the development of vision in primitive animals that caused the explosion. Precambrian creatures were unable to see, making it impossible to find friend or foe. With the evolution of the eye, the size, shape, color, and behavior of animals was suddenly revealed for the first time. Once the lights were "turned on," all animals had to either adapt or die, and in a geological instant, the world became a very different place. A controversial theory but one that is quickly gaining ground, the Light Switch Theory promises to revolutionize our understanding of life and light. 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 story of a young scientist's intellectual journey, and a celebration of the scientific method.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Oxford University zoologist Parker tackles one of biology's biggest mysteries in this nontechnical account. He provides a relatively simple explanation for the sudden explosion of life forms that defines the boundary between the pre-Cambrian and Cambrian eras approximately 543 million years ago: "The Cambrian explosion was triggered by the sudden evolution of vision" in simple organisms. In Parker's "Light Switch" theory, active predation became possible with the advent of vision, and prey species found themselves under extreme pressure to adapt in ways that would make them less likely to be spotted. New habitats opened as organisms were able to see their environment for the first time, and an enormous amount of specialization occurred as species differentiated. Parker claims that his theory is far more robust than previous attempts to explain the surge in diversity, even those most recently advanced by proponents of a snowball earth (the theory presented by Gabrielle Walker in Snowball Earth). In readable prose, Parker provides detailed information on the fossil record as well as a wealth of interesting material on the role light plays in environments and how vision operates across a host of species. Although at times his tangents are a bit distracting, Parker's book will bring his controversial ideas to the general public. Photos and line drawings.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The cause of the sudden appearance of major life-forms 540 million years ago, known as the Cambrian explosion, has been paleontology's biggest mystery and, next to the disappearance of the dinosaurs, its most fascinating to onlookers outside the science. Within the discipline, a new solution to the enigma has been boldly advanced, offered here in popular form by its expositor. Oxford zoologist Parker proceeds methodically, explaining, for example, what a phylum is, a point crucial to his theory because, contrary to popular perception, most phyla existed before the Cambrian explosion, he maintains. He believes that explaining the explosion means explaining the evolutionary advantages of organisms' external appearances, as discussed in the aptly titled Wonderful Life (1989) by Stephen Jay Gould. Building on Gould, Parker also revisits the celebrated Burgess shale central to that book, emphasizing the evolution of the eye in terms of its ability to detect light. Something fundamental changed in the earthly intensity of light and then in prey-predator dynamics, avers Parker, whose clarity will thrill science fans, as will his revolutionary theory. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product details

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Basic Books; First edition (April 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0738206075
ISBN-13: 978-0738206073
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 28 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,855,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #824 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Paleontology
- #10069 in Books > Science & Math > Evolution

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Atheen

Superb sythesis of the data

September 3, 2004

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

In his book, In the Blink of an Eye, Australian biologist Andrew Parker offers a new perspective on the so-called Cambrian explosion. Using a vast repertoire of supporting data from subjects as diverse as economics and optics, he builds a very cogent case for the introduction of a new biological sense that changed all the rules for a then very ancient living world. Although it gets a little bogged down in the discussion of shrimp, their light production and vision, the overall text is full of interesting illustrations of his thesis and conclusions to be drawn from them.

To begin with, the author looks at what life is very probably to have been like during the Dark Ages of the Precambrian. Professor Parker approaches the subject by suggesting that internal and external body plans have had different evolutionary histories and rates, and that the basics of internal body plan-those aspects that are not preserved well if at all in the fossil record-had already arisen during that early period of life's existence. Those changes in structure that would require the greatest effort and the most time, were so firmly set by the end of the period that while some phyla have dropped out, no new ones have been created. Focusing on the newer interpretations of the Ediacaran and Burgess life forms, the author believes that most of the external body plans were worm-like because there were few forces for the development of others. While the internal structures were distinct to accommodate different niches, the externals remained unchanged.

Everyone agrees that the efflorescence of external forms, particularly those with hard parts, after the Cambrian was both prolific and amazing. For Darwin, who had no access to information on Precambrian life or genetics, it posed a major challenge to his theory of evolution. It appeared as if life came diverse and fully formed out of nowhere and began to proliferate exponentially from its first appearance. What everyone hasn't agreed on heretofore is the reason for that sudden burgeoning of body forms.

Professor Parker takes the reader through various arguments that illustrate his thesis, namely that prior to the Cambrian it was essentially a blind world. He suggests that prior to that point in time light could be sensed, but visual images were not possible, that neither the "hardware" nor the "software" for actual vision existed. Without that sense predation, while it existed, was almost accidental. Once the creation and interpretation of images was possible, vision drove the evolution of both predator and prey in an escalating manner.

Superb reconstruction of an unusual time in life's history.

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Parby Grylam

Vision drives predation

August 10, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Presents an interesting theory of how predation was driven by the evolution of vision, but not very good at tracing the evolution of eyes in different phyla. For that, Schwab's Evolution's Witness: How Eyes Evolved is much superior.

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December 8, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Really interesting theory. Could have been presented in a more concise fashion. Written in a pseudo-scientific style, but about a very scientific theory. The conclusion of the book becomes obvious about 100 pages from the end, making the last part drag on a bit much. But that's the scientist in him... present all your evidence and then write your conclusion. Any scientific work has the same layout, and any intelligent person can put together the evidence and come to the same (or a similar) conclusion.
Definitely worth a read. It, however, brought up a bunch of other questions that I now want answers too.

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October 31, 2007

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Imagine what it must have been like to be the first creature that had eyes, that could see through the murky waters. The world is no longer just what you touch, or what chemicals drift your way. Now you can range widely to hunt for food, and your dinner can't even see you coming!

From an evolutionary perspective, this must have been the nuclear scenario for many species, and the true start of the evolutionary arms race. This is Andrew Parker's thesis, presented for a general audience. At times, you might feel like he's belaboring his points, but long before the end of the book you'll wonder why something this obvious never occurred to you. On the way you run into some unique characters, some mysterious creatures, and get some fossil-digging history too.

Very interesting and easy to read.

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alain

A very interesting theory, well documented and argumented

October 13, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

By the way you will enjoy reading it as Andrew Parker makes it interesting connecting the dots between life as we know it and the cambrian explosion. People who believe in a "intelligent design" or creationists won't like it as it would shake their beliefs.

There are actually well founded theories that explain why life diversified suddenly 543 millions years ago. No need of supranatural being for that.

Now is it the final answer for that mistery? I doubt it but it is up to you to decide.

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