lamusadelils's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Bonito, simple, interesante. Describe de una manera muy clara y entretenida el avance humano en el conocimiento del universo.
Bonito, simple, interesante. Describe de una manera muy clara y entretenida el avance humano en el conocimiento del universo.
avinsh10's review against another edition
4.0
What is space and time? How do we quantify where we are? Ferris tries to address this question by narrating a three-act play.
Act I: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" -Armstrong
Enter the Greeks, who had many things on their minds. But understanding the skies was the least of their concerns. Thus, cosmology took a back seat.
Eudoxus, Plato's student proposed a spherical model of the universe that met the symmetrical requirements of his teacher. This approach didn't correlate with measurements. It took us a while before Copernicus came along to provide a remedy. And thus, we switched to a heliocentric system from a geocentric universe. Kepler & Newton further enhanced our understanding by providing a mathematical model.
Ferris places a special emphasis on empirical data. For example,
1. Nebulae catalog from William & Catherine Herschel
2. Understanding the functions of Cepheid variables by Henrietta Leavitt
3. Studying stellar doppler shifts by Edwin Hubble
With newly invented tools, we were able to map the skies and gain newer insights into our universe. A discrepancy in mercury's orbit was still unresolved. Einstein's general relativity answered this question. He theorized that space and time are made up of the same fabric. Thus ends the first act ends with a shocking reveal that gravity bends space-time.
Act II: "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." - Tolstoy
While the scientific community was busy exploring space, others questioned the origins of time. Didn't our species always exist? Darwin, who enthusiastically traveled the world hypothesized that, we as a species evolved from other primates. To prove his theory, we needed a way to measure the age of the earth. With the discovery of radioactivity, we found the tool necessary to estimate this.
Act III: The Quantum Divide
Radioactivity needed a lot of explanation. Quantum mechanics was the answer to all of these. Hubble observed that space was expanding. Thus scientific community speculated that if we rewind time, we could reach a convergent point, a singularity. Why then did the singularity collapse? Ferris explores few theories in this part that recall discussion of symmetry from act I.
End of the play.
I've one major objection to the author's viewpoint. He seems to deem Nobel prize as the only indicator for the accomplishments of modern scientists.
Overall, what he achieves here is phenomenal. He makes this all about humanity's pursuit of identity.
Act I: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" -Armstrong
Enter the Greeks, who had many things on their minds. But understanding the skies was the least of their concerns. Thus, cosmology took a back seat.
Eudoxus, Plato's student proposed a spherical model of the universe that met the symmetrical requirements of his teacher. This approach didn't correlate with measurements. It took us a while before Copernicus came along to provide a remedy. And thus, we switched to a heliocentric system from a geocentric universe. Kepler & Newton further enhanced our understanding by providing a mathematical model.
Ferris places a special emphasis on empirical data. For example,
1. Nebulae catalog from William & Catherine Herschel
2. Understanding the functions of Cepheid variables by Henrietta Leavitt
3. Studying stellar doppler shifts by Edwin Hubble
With newly invented tools, we were able to map the skies and gain newer insights into our universe. A discrepancy in mercury's orbit was still unresolved. Einstein's general relativity answered this question. He theorized that space and time are made up of the same fabric. Thus ends the first act ends with a shocking reveal that gravity bends space-time.
Act II: "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." - Tolstoy
While the scientific community was busy exploring space, others questioned the origins of time. Didn't our species always exist? Darwin, who enthusiastically traveled the world hypothesized that, we as a species evolved from other primates. To prove his theory, we needed a way to measure the age of the earth. With the discovery of radioactivity, we found the tool necessary to estimate this.
Act III: The Quantum Divide
Radioactivity needed a lot of explanation. Quantum mechanics was the answer to all of these. Hubble observed that space was expanding. Thus scientific community speculated that if we rewind time, we could reach a convergent point, a singularity. Why then did the singularity collapse? Ferris explores few theories in this part that recall discussion of symmetry from act I.
End of the play.
I've one major objection to the author's viewpoint. He seems to deem Nobel prize as the only indicator for the accomplishments of modern scientists.
Overall, what he achieves here is phenomenal. He makes this all about humanity's pursuit of identity.
dbaker's review against another edition
2.0
Was enjoyable up through Newton, or maybe through Einstein, with some good explanations I've not encountered elsewhere. After that it was dry or poorly explained or something because I neither understood nor cared about the science discussed after that (and I have enjoyed other books dealing with post-Einstein).
katie_king's review against another edition
4.0
A decent timeline of cosmology, considering it was written in 1988-ish, but of course incomplete in light of recent discoveries.
remocpi's review against another edition
5.0
La mejor obra de divulgación científica que había leído hasta la fecha, en 1995 (desde entonces otras también han entrado en el Olimpo, como el libro de Bill Bryson, los de Brian Greene...). Explica las cosas desde el enfoque histórico, lo cual lo hace emocionante al tiempo que menos directo. Cuando vamos avanzando en el tiempo vemos cómo los pensadores y las ideas cambian la concepción del universo, agrandándolo y enriqueciéndolo con multitud de nuevos conocimientos y detalles. Asistimos a la mejora y refinación de los conocimientos acerca del Universo por parte de la Humanidad igual que podríamos maravillarnos de un niño pequeño que va aprendiendo cosas y obrando en consecuencia. Es un libro completamente adictivo y que está lleno de anécdotas científicas. He aprendido mucho, muchísimo, y desde luego me dejo abundante material para futuras relecturas.
Al texto en sí se le añade una extensísima bibliografía de más de 1300 libros (¡!) comentados brevemente, un útil glosario y los índices alfabético y onomástico, que añaden casi 100 páginas al libro, y lo encumbran a obra de referencia además de obra de divulgación. Una obra maestra sin dudarlo.
Al texto en sí se le añade una extensísima bibliografía de más de 1300 libros (¡!) comentados brevemente, un útil glosario y los índices alfabético y onomástico, que añaden casi 100 páginas al libro, y lo encumbran a obra de referencia además de obra de divulgación. Una obra maestra sin dudarlo.
christhedoll's review against another edition
5.0
Coming of Age in the Milky Way tells the story of how humankind came to know its place in the universe. ((spoiler... NOT through divine revelation but through hard work and learning!))
emily_britton's review against another edition
4.0
Having had no physics or chemistry beyond the eighth grade, some of this was way beyond me, but it's a testament to Ferris' beautiful prose that I was still able to get the basic gist, finish the book, and get a lot out of it. It's not an easy read, but it just kept blowing my mind and making me think. There are so many great thoughts encapsulated here! If you like to be challenged by science, this is the book for you.
On a side note, as a musician, who ostensibly makes beauty for a living, who feels called to put it out into the world for the sake of humanity, it was really fascinating to learn that physicists feel very similarly about their work.
On a side note, as a musician, who ostensibly makes beauty for a living, who feels called to put it out into the world for the sake of humanity, it was really fascinating to learn that physicists feel very similarly about their work.
hilaritas's review
3.0
I struggle with the rating on this one. The author is inaccurate and dismissive on questions touching on religion and inaccurate and incomplete on matters of women's contributions to science. The book is frustrating in the earlier historical parts because of this. It gets better in the third part, where he waxes rhapsodic about physics, but he's also not nearly as eloquent as he thinks he is. That said, the parts about the "stairway to heaven" describing conditions going back to fractions of a second after the Big Bang and the scale of the universe were pretty good. A decent read but there are much better science books out there that cover similar material.
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