A lesson learned from TO INFINITY AND BEYOND: A JOURNEY OF COSMIC DISCOVERY, by Neil Tyson and Lindsey Walker

 Be humble at our place in the universe—and also, space is cool! J

 

          Every now and then, I like switching up my readings by throwing in the occasional science book, and I recently landed on the famous scientist Neil Tyson’s latest work To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery (which he wrote in collaboration with Lindsey Walker), which is a fun and reader-friendly journey through our current knowledge of the universe, complete with fascinating astronomical images. There’s no long write-up needed for this book, I would recommend it to just about anyone who has even a passing interest in astronomy (fun fact—I ALMOST majored in that in college, but in the end decided I was too dumb to do all the math involved with it, haha)! It’s a quick and fascinating read where Tyson and Walker take us on a journey through the universe, talking about the history of scientific astronomical discoveries, and some of the most recent theories about the mysteries of the universe.

            One fantastic lesson though can be taken away from this book, as reading up on astronomy is always an experience in reminding humans about the importance of being humble about our own insignificance in the larger scope of the universe. As Tyson and Walker point out, much of humanity’s scientific history can be defined by us being convinced that we were the most important things in the universe, followed by unending discoveries that continually undermine that point, much to the annoyance of people who want to believe otherwise. The book does a great job of taking complex scientific ideas and breaking them down for the average reader, and in laying out the absurdities of the grandiose ideas billionaires throw at us these days about how they will be the ones to take us to the stars. There even is some hilarious debunking of Hollywood science fiction for good measure!

            Overall, To Infinity and Beyond is a great book that is accessible to everyone, and I always enjoy such scientific literature, as I am reminded of how small the problems of the world are in the grand scheme of the universe, and just how fragile and precious of a jewel that our own planet is. My own contribution to the history of the universe will be pretty limited to say the least, but I am still going to learn as much as I can and enjoy every minute of it!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A lesson learned from NAT TURNER--BLACK PROPHET, by Anthony Kaye and Gregory Downs

  Being overly certain of your own morality is a recipe for disaster.     One historical figure I have long been curious to learn more about is Nat Turner, the famous slave who in 1831 launched a bloody rebellion against the white slave-owners in rural Virginia, a failed rebellion that had seismic consequences in the politics and worldview of the South. Nat Turner--Black Prophet is a curious book in a variety of ways. It was begun by Professor Anthony Kaye back in the 2010's, and in the wake of his death it was finished years later by Professor Gregory Downs (of my own U.C. Davis). It's a book that reads like a standard History book when discussing Nat's origins and legacy, as well as the culture in which he lived. But when discussing Nat's own personal beliefs and visions, it dives deep into Biblical analysis, so much so that it often reads much more like a Religious Studies text. The authors argue that approach is vital for truly understanding Nat's motivations, a...
Read more

A lesson learned from LINCOLN VS. DAVIS, by Nigel Hamilton

Your strength can quickly become your weakness, if you cannot pivot to changing circumstances. Nigel Hamilton’s Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents is an intriguing and at times frustrating book, especially if you’re well familiar with the Lincoln presidency and its major outline. The book sells itself as a study of the two leaders’ approaches to war leadership, yet it focuses almost exclusively on the first two years of the war (1860-1862), i.e. the time period when Lincoln often looked like a commander-in-chief who was totally in over his head, while Davis looked like he might very well successfully lead the Confederate States of America in a successful bid for independence. The book is a great read, but also frustrating in how limited its focus is; that said, Hamilton does a superb job in setting up the book’s heel turn in its final section, when Lincoln suddenly pivoted into greatness while Davis floundered his new “country” into oblivion, and that was in how Lincoln rec...
Read more

A lesson learned from YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO DIE BEFORE YOU CAN BEGIN TO LIVE: TEN WEEKS IN BIRINGHAM THAT CHANGED AMERICA, by Paul Kix

There's never an "ideal" time to confront injustice--you just need to do it.      Lately I've been on a roll reading great books, but Paul Kix's new book recounting Martin Luther King's most famous protest campaign is a real page-turner, and one that feels deeply relevant in an era where people feel injustice happening on a global scale. As a man who has an interracial family, Kix tells a deeply personal story of how MLK, whose Civil Rights Movement had faltered and struggled for years to make major progress, finally awoke the conscious of America (and its ruling brothers JFK and RFK) with his Birmingham Campaign of 1963. Many of the Civil Rights Movement's most iconic moments came in the wake of Birmingham, and what was ironic about its success was that everyone told MLK it was an "ill-timed" protest--that he was better off waiting and hoping for more gradual progress.     MLK took on great personal risk when he and his fellow civil rights leade...
Read more