This is a review of a kids' science book i wrote in 2006 on Amazon, edited a bit, the original is here:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2OU4XO845UNEH/ref=cm_cr_rev_detup_redir?_encoding=UTF8&asin=158469033X&cdForum=Fx1817EPNTXQ4P&cdPage=1&cdThread=Tx3L0DZZMJB9PTF&newContentID=Mx27NBIQ2MJJB24&newContentNum=4&store=books#Mx2AE2QJMRJREL9
because i liked the book *so* much, and i was happy to get a note from the publisher back then asking if they could excerpt from my review and include it in the next edition :-) (which i agreed to).
Basic science education and connecting with the larger public who are enthused about science research is extremely important to me, and is something i've done a good amount in the past, and care about a good bit. So seeing great examples with a very different paradigm than our society has worked with for many decades (and in some sense, centuries) such as those in this book, is quite cheering to me.
It's clear the public *is* very ready and hungry even, for a different approach to science than has been traditionally taken by purely mechanistically-minded scientists for a long while..
-M
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I'll preface this by saying that i'm an experimental cosmologist (working
on weak gravitational lensing to determine galaxy cluster dark matter
profiles) and have also worked in high energy particle physics, so i come
at this book from a particular angle of having a fairly in-depth
background of the subject matter.
Having said this, i want to *strongly applaud* this book, and would like
to point out that of the several reviews given above, most are quite
positive, and the only two highly negative ones are simply *missing the
point* of the book -- it is *not* supposed to give anyone a detailed
explanation of cosmology as we understand it scientifically today. there
are plenty of other books to do that. Rather -- this book is supposed to
try to make some sense of what our current picture is in a much more
organic, humane, emotional, spiritual, and yea, *cosmic* sense than most
of the popular or scientific literature of cosmology out there today does.
For those familiar with Carl Sagan's work, and particularly "Cosmos" from
the 1980's -- this is very much done in that vein, and i am pretty sure
Carl would have heartily approved.
As a reader might gather from my words, i don't fit fully into the classical
stereotype of scientist with a mechanistic, rational,
Universe-as-clockwork type view that has been the primary paradigm in
science since Cartesian times, but then, neither did Carl, and neither do
more and more modern scientists. And Carl's manner of conveying science
resonated with the public profoundly and has inspired likely more individuals than that of *any* other
modern physical scientist.
Further, i have thought deeply about the human aspects of science also in
my journey along the scientific path, and it's clear to me that the
paradigm one uses to describe whatever our scientific picture of the
Universe and how it came into being and how it evolved up until today is,
at any given time in human history, is critical in how we approach not
only science, but every aspect of our lives, from our interactions with
Nature, to how we treat non-human animals, to our picture of and dealings
with others of our own species. when it comes down to it, how we picture
the non-living aspects of our Universe and its whole history, *matters*, a
lot.
And i love the way that J. Morgan and D. Andersen picture it in this book
(and i also hope to communicate directly with them sometime). I love how
they interpret and explain their understanding of everything from the Big
Bang itself, and what came "before", to the limitations in our current
picture of cosmology, to the specific aspects of BBN (Big Bang
Nucleosynthesis), initial star formation, galaxy evolution, and supernova
processes, leading ultimately to *us*.
No, this is not going to appeal to every scientist out there, nor every
person -- but i would suggest this is from not a lack in the *book*, but
from some measure of the imagination needed in our species and society to
evolve to a more mature species in our wondrous Universe.
Also, the glossary, more detailed cosmic timeline history, book
references, and quotes from working scientists in the back are also quite
appreciated and helpful to point people in good directions for more
in-depth understanding and further reading.
There could be much more said about many of these topics, but let me
simply close by saying that i came across this book while dropping in on a
local conference of an environmental group in my area, and
the title intrigued me enough to start paging through it. and even after
realizing it was a children's book, the flow of the words and the
wonderful evocative paintings drew me in to continue reading it. and it
is a *rare* book or paper on cosmology (and believe me, i have occasion to
read a good number) that brings tears to my eyes with their beauty and
power to stir the soul, as certain lines in this book did.
In Spirit, Community, and Adventure-
MSSG
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