Although the book emphasises species extinction and biodiversity, it also argues that this viewpoint - and ultimately the value placed on biodiversity - has been crucial in our changing views towards the value of cultural diversity. Sepkoski, David Catastrophic Thinking: Extinction and the Value of Diversity from Darwin to the Anthropocene. There are numerous reports and papers over the last several decades that have cemented the evidence that biodiversity is declining, that large numbers of species are at risk, and that observed extinction rates are elevated far above even conservative estimates of background rates (e.g. [1]; [2]). [Extracted from the article]