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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
I like popular science, namely mathematics. And I love Simon Singh, he is undoubtely my favourite science writer. Although this is not strictly a book on mathematics, I found it very appealing mainly by its author. And it has not disappointed me, I've enjoyed the reading very much.
This book is a history of the Big Bang model, but it is also an insight into what science is and how it works. This is a very good example of the scientific method, how a scientific idea is created, tested, verified and, finally, accepted. Every scientific theory must be testable and compatible with reality, however, as Fred Hoyle said, «theories are never proved right, the best they can do is to survive». I really liked this quote.
As he usually does in his books, Simon Singh expalins the Big Bang model in terms that will make sense to non-specialists, without having to water down the key concepts within the theory. He reaches a perfect balance between technical depth and the description and explanation of the key ideas. You do not need great scientific knowledge to enjoy this book, but at the same time you will achieve a fairly clear understanding about the topics discussed.
The Big Bang model of the universe is arguably the most important and glorious scientific achievement of the twentieth century. The question of who invented this model is virtually imposible, for it required a number of theoretical, experimental and observational stages, and each one has its own heroes. So here is his story from the beginning several centuries ago. The book starts long before the Big Bang theory was proposed, and Singh reviews the war of Sun-centered universe vs Earth-centered universe, speed of light and Einstein's relativity, whether the Milky Way contains the entire universe or not or the foundations of atomic physics, among other topics of great interest. Of course, every one of them has its importance in the final battle between Steady Staters and Big Bangers. with the apparent triumph of the latter.
This book is a history of the Big Bang model, but it is also an insight into what science is and how it works. This is a very good example of the scientific method, how a scientific idea is created, tested, verified and, finally, accepted. Every scientific theory must be testable and compatible with reality, however, as Fred Hoyle said, «theories are never proved right, the best they can do is to survive». I really liked this quote.
As he usually does in his books, Simon Singh expalins the Big Bang model in terms that will make sense to non-specialists, without having to water down the key concepts within the theory. He reaches a perfect balance between technical depth and the description and explanation of the key ideas. You do not need great scientific knowledge to enjoy this book, but at the same time you will achieve a fairly clear understanding about the topics discussed.
The Big Bang model of the universe is arguably the most important and glorious scientific achievement of the twentieth century. The question of who invented this model is virtually imposible, for it required a number of theoretical, experimental and observational stages, and each one has its own heroes. So here is his story from the beginning several centuries ago. The book starts long before the Big Bang theory was proposed, and Singh reviews the war of Sun-centered universe vs Earth-centered universe, speed of light and Einstein's relativity, whether the Milky Way contains the entire universe or not or the foundations of atomic physics, among other topics of great interest. Of course, every one of them has its importance in the final battle between Steady Staters and Big Bangers. with the apparent triumph of the latter.
This book is Singh's attempt to explain the Big Bang theory to the layman, along with a general overview of how science works. In that regard, he succeeds in both, but moreso in the second goal than the first. Although Singh's writing is clear and lucid, I think having some background in science and being familiar with concepts in astronomy and cosmology definitely help. Although he keeps the maths to a minimum, there are a few equations in the book (although you don't have to solve them!), so having a little maths helps as well. This is especially true in the early chapters where he describes how the ancient Greeks worked out the circumference of the Earth with nothing more than observation and basic trigonometry (that's one for everybody who said learning about sines and cosines was pointless because it had no bearing on the real world!).
From that, Singh then winds the clock forward to the middle ages as he continues the story of cosmology and describes how Copernicus laid the seeds for a heliocentric view of the universe, expanding our view of the universe at every step as astronomy and cosmology show us more and more of the universe we live in, before culminating in the final pieces of the puzzle that cement the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe. Singh is careful to show both the cumulative ("standing on the shoulders of giants") and paradigm-shifting paths that science can take to move forward and how they can work in concert.
As well as the science, Singh also weaves the personalities of the scientists into his story, telling anecdotes and providing biographies, but he never lets this get in the way of the science itself, something which is all too easy to do.
Lucid, easy to read and very informational, I really enjoyed this book, telling the story of one of the most important theories in science and through that, explaining the methods of science itself. Highly recommended.
From that, Singh then winds the clock forward to the middle ages as he continues the story of cosmology and describes how Copernicus laid the seeds for a heliocentric view of the universe, expanding our view of the universe at every step as astronomy and cosmology show us more and more of the universe we live in, before culminating in the final pieces of the puzzle that cement the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe. Singh is careful to show both the cumulative ("standing on the shoulders of giants") and paradigm-shifting paths that science can take to move forward and how they can work in concert.
As well as the science, Singh also weaves the personalities of the scientists into his story, telling anecdotes and providing biographies, but he never lets this get in the way of the science itself, something which is all too easy to do.
Lucid, easy to read and very informational, I really enjoyed this book, telling the story of one of the most important theories in science and through that, explaining the methods of science itself. Highly recommended.