a great science book

man.about.town

i have recently finished reading Bill Bryson's book called "A short history of nearly everything".. it chronicles the creation of the universe right up until the man and our achievements. it gives great insight to nearly every popular science discipline, the way he describes it keeps you very interested. i decided to share the last few paragraphs because i thought they summed up humans place in the universe, i high lighted my favorite part, the last chapter is about humans causing various extinctions

"I mention all this to make the point that if you were designing an organism to look after life in our lonely cosmos, to monitor where it is going and keep a record of where it has been, you wouldn’t choose human beings for the job.

But here’s an extremely salient point: we have been chosen, by fate or providence or whatever you wish to call it. As far as we can tell, we are the best there is. We may be all there is. It’s an unnerving thought that we may be the living universe’s supreme achievement and its worst nightmare simultaneously.

…If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here – and by ‘we’ I mean every living thing. To attain any kind of life at all in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. As humans we are doubly lucky, of course. We enjoy not only the privilege of existence, but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a trick we have only just begun to grasp.

We have arrived at this position of eminence in a stunningly short time. Behaviourally modern humans have been around for no more than about 0.0001 per cent of Earth’s history – almost nothing, really – but even existing for that little while has required a nearly endless string of good fortune.

We really are at the beginning of it all. The trick, of course, is to make sure we never find the end. And that, almost certainly, will require a lot more than lucky breaks.

Helix

super book that

Mackman

Fantastic book, ive read it a couple of times now and im always nagging people to read it

NecroSteve

Excellent alright. Read Carl Sagan's Cosmos too.

haydar

My favorite book of all time! My friends hate when I say "Well, in a short history it says .... actually"

clouds

brilliant alright. Due a reread.

Aaron_Ragmaan

Think i may get that book next, try Ben Goldacres "Bad Science" such an angry man but his points and views can only be described as Genious!

TheBunk1

Aaron_Ragmaan wrote: »

Think i may get that book next, try Ben Goldacres "Bad Science" such an angry man but his points and views can only be described as Genious!

It's probably the most interesting book I've ever read. Really fascinating. Must give it a re-read. Getting through Bad Science at the mo, very good too.

Beeker

Very enjoyable book indeed, as are all Brysons books.:)

It's a great introduction to science and makes it very accessible. I recommend it to all my non-sciencey friends!

flyboy69

Reading "A short history of nearly everything" at the moment and have to say it's a great read and love the personal details of the men and women behind the major discoveries that have shaped our understanding of the physical universe around us.
I also have read "cosmos" and "Bad Science" and highly recommend both.
Stephen Hawking's "A brief history of time" is also a good read for those of us that would run a mile from maths,equations and the like(shudder).:D