The five lessons

Lesson 1

How could you stop evolution?

This is eighty-sixth lesson of our Big Course. Along the way to the answer, you'll firm up your understanding of natural selection with a fairy tale, understand what evolution is ACTUALLY about (something Darwin never achieved!), and see it all in a simpler way... that'll show you how sandwiches evolve. 


Lesson 2

Is evolution a theory, or is it proven? Is evolution directionless, or is it progressive? Is evolution evil, or is it good? 

This is the eighty-seventh lesson of our Big Course... and an experiment in how we structure a lesson. Instead of a riddle, we have three FIGHTS: actual things that people who understand a lot about evolution disagree on (and which, maybe, we can add some wisdom to). 

Along the way to the answers, you'll discover the (surprising) meanings of some words you use every day, think through whether evolution can "cause" things to happen, and draw some really strange trees.

(This, more than any of our lessons except perhaps Universe 1 and Hills 3, is about how we should think about science.)


Lesson 3

What's your favorite animal's body?

This is the eighty-eighth lesson of our Big Course. Along the way to the answer, you'll learn why nature loves eels, why the whole Linnaean taxonomy project was a little silly from the start, and how you can see ANY animal like an evolutionary biologist.


Lesson 4

Why's a peacock so pretty?

This is the eighty-ninth lesson of our Big Course. Along the way to the answer, you'll learn... okay, hold onto your butts: you'll learn what ACTUALLY makes something a male, why there are sexes in the first place, why female animals are so choosy, and whether alien planets are filled with pretty male animals. 

(This is a deep theory lesson. You're welcome!)


Lesson 5

Why do we sacrifice for others?

This is the [drumroll!] NINETIETH lesson of our Big Course — the actual halfway point! Along the way to the answer, you'll learn whether gazelles really sacrifice themselves for each other, what bees, ants, and naked mole rats have in common, the (dark? bright?) reality of human sacrifice, and the deep emotion that drove humanity's spread throughout the world.

(AND why people play bassoon. Really, it's quite a lesson.)