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Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle is written by an evolutionary biologist, who extended research into arms and armament evolution while studying the origin of weapons in varied species found all across nature.
I have been planning to write a post about this book for the better part of 2023. Not only did I want to present a relatable comparison to X-risk[1], but I also wanted to draw parallels to the current status of arms race in present-day wars, especially in/around the underdeveloped countries of Asia. I’ve realized that covering bilateral models with selective agents would attract unnecessary scrutiny in the absence of a multi-relational graph. However, this book does an excellent job of highlighting the cyclic relationships and does not shy away from mentioning the off-course route that’s developing for upcoming warfare. I will try my best to highlight relatively recent patterns.
Central Theme:
Right from the beginning we start with “camouflage”. This serves as a subtle reason for the first-ever creation of any weapon. Defense—a means of protection—is the first choice of weapon for all species, including humans. We can think of it as the result of the primary instincts that connect the living to the rest of the world. In simple terms, Self Preservation. It paves the way for further processes like adaptation, natural selection, competition, etc. As the title suggests, we dive into the animal kingdom to find what makes any kind of weaponry come into existence. The book is divided into four parts—each blurring the lines between the Animal Kingdom and Human Civilization moving progressively.