Astrophysics for People in a Hurry: Essays on the Universe and Our Place Within It

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PDF / EPUB File Name: Astrophysics_for_Young_People_in_a_Hurry_-_Neil_deGrasse_Tyson.pdf, Astrophysics_for_Young_People_in_a_Hurry_-_Neil_deGrasse_Tyson.epub If you ask us, the most important chapter of this whole book – the culmination to which all other chapters build to – is the last one, “Reflections on the Cosmic Perspective.”

I mean, numerically we aren’t significant – for example, There are more bacteria in one inch of our colon than all the people who have ever existed. Intellectually, sure we are more intelligent than say Chimps (or Rugby Players) with only a minor genetic variation between us and our furry friends (the Chimps). But what’s to say there are no other intelligent life forms out there, more intelligent than us caused by an equally miniscule genetic variation? Imagine what they could do? Calculus in the womb? The Count from Sesame Street playing with the imponderable infinity?Kids are never the problem. They are born scientists. The problem is always the adults. They beat the curiosity out of kids.” -NdGT

Earth’s Moon is about 1/ 400th the diameter of the Sun, but it is also 1/ 400th as far from us, making the Sun and the Moon the same size on the sky—a coincidence not shared by any other planet–moon combination in the solar system, allowing for uniquely photogenic total solar eclipses.” I think it's perfect for someone who wants to know about the most important things in the universe, but not in detail. Just the rough things. Even so, none of it should be boring to anyone: exceptionally well written, full of Tyson’s recognizable wit and even more recognizable analogies, “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” is both an accessible and illuminating work. However, this is not Astrophysics for Dummies. There are assumptions made for the audience - you do need a bit of a working knowledge on particles and space to fully understand the significance of the text.

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We are very much a part of this world, Solar System, Galaxy and Universe/s - but we’re not in charge of it. Neil deGrasse Tyson's book provides a great overview of the fundamentals of astrophysics and allows readers to gain a basic understanding of the subject in a short time." In the first chapter, he states, “nearly fourteen billion years ago… Conditions were so hot, the basic forces of nature that collectively describe the universe were unified. Though still unknown how it came into existence, this sub-pinpoint-size cosmos could only expand. Rapidly. In what today we call the big bang.” (Pg. 17-18) Written in a conversational style, this [ Astrophysics for People in a Hurry] provides an accessible and fascinating introduction to a mindbending subject."

We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out - and we have only just begun.” Prhaps the battle for the scientific hearts and minds is as pitched as ever, with the sales of his book a sign not that the scientific worldview Tyson espouses in winning, but rather of the intensity of the fight. p. 148 This whole sexism with the Nobel committee is f***. Jocelyn Bell story. Also with the dark matter discovery. What's up with that? Also Vera Rubin (p 78) Neil deGrasse Tyson is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History and also the host of Star Talk. He uses his knowledge and shows it in a very clear-cut way to explain different ideas of the universe. Listen To Astrophysics For People In A Hurry Audiobook Full Free MP 3:

Reviews

Consider an adult who tends to the traumas of a child: spilled milk, a broken toy, a scraped knee. As adults we know that kids have no clue of what constitutes a genuine problem, because inexperience greatly limits their childhood perspective. Children do not yet know that the world doesn’t revolve around them. As grown-ups, dare we admit to ourselves that we, too, have a collective immaturity of view? Dare we admit that our thoughts and behaviors spring from a belief that the world revolves around us? Apparently not. Yet evidence abounds. Part the curtains of society’s racial, ethnic, religious, national, and cultural conflicts, and you find the human ego turning the knobs and pulling the levers. Now imagine a world in which everyone, but especially people with power and influence, holds an expanded view of our place in the cosmos. With that perspective, our problems would shrink—or never arise at all—and we could celebrate our earthly differences while shunning the behavior of our predecessors who slaughtered one another because of them.”

p. 157 onward, he talks about the Cosmic Perspective and various implications. It's just given as a series of facts/ideas. But I think it's pretty deep, esp since his audience is for young people. Things like, The cosmic perspective is spiritual but not religious. The Cosmic perspective requries you see the possibility of a multiverse and whatever that implies for your reality. I think if you're a fiction writer, this whole section is bawler for opening up the mind. According to them, the facts prove conclusively: even if God does exist, he has absolutely no explanatory value . The Cosmic PerspectiveAstrophysics seeks to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and behavior of the universe based on physical laws. He observes, “This universality of physical laws tells us that if we land on another planet with a thriving alien civilization, they will be running on the same laws that we have discovered and tested here on Earth---even if the aliens harbor different social and political beliefs.” (Pg. 38) Later, he adds, “All measurements suggest that the known fundamental constants, and the physical laws that reference them, are neither time-dependent nor location-dependent. They’re truly constant and universal.” (Pg. 44)