"In Paradigms Regained, noted mathematician and researcher John Casti tackles the Big Questions of science and sets our sights on a new millennium of astounding discovery. Casti explores the extraordinary "what-ifs" of the natural world - the origins of life, the existence of extraterrestrials, our genetic destiny, the roots of language and learning, the limits of knowledge - and debates the competing theories that exist today. Where Paradigms Lost drew on previously reported findings, Paradigms Regained probes deeper, reexamining the same issues against a decade's worth of new evidence from the top minds in science. Here, Casti reveals such exciting new discoveries as the ocean-floor-dwelling archaeon, which has led scientists to rethink previously postulated theories about the origins of life, and the "hot Jupiters" detected around stars other than our Sun, which have opened the door to further speculation that ETs really do exist."--BOOK JACKET.