Biology for the Informed Citizen

Biology for the Informed Citizen, more than any other non-science-majors biology book, helps students connect the concepts of biology to the consequences of biology —the consequences that students can and should see in every facet of their lives, if only they were trained to identify them. This text teaches the concepts of biology, evolution, and the process of science so that students can apply their knowledge as informed consumers and users of scientific information. In order to help students become biologically and scientifically literate, two major themes are woven into every chapter: the process of science and the theory of evolution. The rationale for this approach is that if students are going to learn and then apply what they have learned, they need to know not only “what we know,” but also “how we know what we know.” Therefore, each chapter includes stories of real scientists who had interests and curiosities—not altogether different from some of the students reading this text. Hopefully, these stories will motivate students to think critically in their daily lives. The book also emphasizes the theory of evolution—the most central of all biological concepts—to help students see the big picture underlying the magnificent diversity and awe-inspiring mechanisms of the living world.