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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
hashtag religion is a myth.
i can't tell if he writes in the tone of talking to preteens because people act and think like kids or if this is actually a book for kids.
either way he's right about everything, as per usual :)
i can't tell if he writes in the tone of talking to preteens because people act and think like kids or if this is actually a book for kids.
either way he's right about everything, as per usual :)
informative
slow-paced
Overview of “first principles” to explain past fantasy. More of a young adult primer.
This book was not at all what I was expecting from the title. Having read a few books on mind, AI, and neuroscience, I was expecting a challenging discussion. Instead, I found a book that seemed to be aimed at explaining how the world works to teenagers. If it had been named Why Things Are the Way They Are, it would have been tremendous.
In explaining how we know what's really true, though, it leaves much to be desired. The author ignores Cartesian dualism with a wave of the hand and insists (without any explanation) that we can use our senses to discover what's real. While I am an empiricist, it doesn't seem fair to ASSUME empiricism in a book that claims to be about epistemology. And he never even deals with the question of what truth is and whether it's even attainable.
All that said, I'd highly recommend this book to youngsters and people who don't have much background knowledge but want to learn about science. The illustrations by Dave McKean are tremendous, and the book is an easy, simple read - a nice primer on observational science and how the universe works. The author is a great communicator and presents his ideas cleanly (even if a bit too neatly at times). He even has the humility to admit when a subject is too technical for him to explain well, which I find admirable. I just wish that humility extended to epistemology.
In explaining how we know what's really true, though, it leaves much to be desired. The author ignores Cartesian dualism with a wave of the hand and insists (without any explanation) that we can use our senses to discover what's real. While I am an empiricist, it doesn't seem fair to ASSUME empiricism in a book that claims to be about epistemology. And he never even deals with the question of what truth is and whether it's even attainable.
All that said, I'd highly recommend this book to youngsters and people who don't have much background knowledge but want to learn about science. The illustrations by Dave McKean are tremendous, and the book is an easy, simple read - a nice primer on observational science and how the universe works. The author is a great communicator and presents his ideas cleanly (even if a bit too neatly at times). He even has the humility to admit when a subject is too technical for him to explain well, which I find admirable. I just wish that humility extended to epistemology.
This really does make the world around us seem magical, while using science to explain it. It was hard to put this book down.
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Good, but not great. The science was well explained, but didn't contain much new information for me.
A thinly (or barely) veiled argument against faith/religion and for reason/Atheism, which didn't bother me, but fair warning to others.
A thinly (or barely) veiled argument against faith/religion and for reason/Atheism, which didn't bother me, but fair warning to others.