Author: Michael Denton
Remarkably, Humans Are Just the Right Size to Make and Master Fire
Only an organism of our dimensions and android design — 1.5 to 2 meters in height with arms about 1 meter-long ending in manipulative tools — can handle fire.
How Man Became the Fire-Maker
Being terrestrial is one obvious requirement. No fully aquatic species could master fire and thus develop metallurgy.
Nature’s Magic and Its Breathtaking Parsimony
Without this ensemble of fitness in nature, there would be no wood, no fire, no metallurgy, no modern technology.
A Remarkable Mechanism for the Existence of Large Trees
The mechanism represents a unique and stunningly brilliant solution to the problem of raising water to the top of large trees.
The Amazing Circulation System of Trees
Clearly, unless water can be drawn several meters up the conduits in their tree trunks, large woody trees would be impossible.