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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
informative
fast-paced
i wish i remembered a single thing i read in this book but that’s pop science for you
Fantastic explainer of the significance of dark matter and energy, and how our understanding of the universe has dramatically shifted in the past fifteen years.
I had a bit of a tough time finally wrapping this book up. It may have been that the middle section got a bit dry. But it's at least equally likely that it was my fault for not being able to adequately get my head around some of the more advanced material. That isn't to say that you need a doctorate in astrophysics to read this book. And, really, it's only part of the book that deals in the heavy-hitting, tough to grasp stuff. Still, it was kind of a slog for part of it. Whether it was my own fault or the subject matter may not ultimately matter.
That being said, this book was fascinating. There were some real "wow" moments in it. It's not just the discoveries themselves that are amazing, it's also how they were discovered. In many cases, the "hows" were actually much more interesting the actual findings. Things like redshift, background microwave radiation, multiverses, and much much more were great fun to read about. In some ways, I'm almost glad that I have a scratching-the-surface understanding of most of this though, because each of the topics discussed has a depth that could drive someone of my limited intelligence mad trying to understand much deeper.
A lot will be made of the atheism aspect of this book. But it really wasn't as prominent as I thought it would be. To paraphrase a quote mentioned in the book, science does not make it impossible to believe in god, but rather makes it possible to not believe in god. I think that just about sums this book's theological stance.
Overall, very glad to have read it. But I'd definitely only recommend it to people who want a deeper look into the larger questions of the universe's origin. In other words, not a light read.
That being said, this book was fascinating. There were some real "wow" moments in it. It's not just the discoveries themselves that are amazing, it's also how they were discovered. In many cases, the "hows" were actually much more interesting the actual findings. Things like redshift, background microwave radiation, multiverses, and much much more were great fun to read about. In some ways, I'm almost glad that I have a scratching-the-surface understanding of most of this though, because each of the topics discussed has a depth that could drive someone of my limited intelligence mad trying to understand much deeper.
A lot will be made of the atheism aspect of this book. But it really wasn't as prominent as I thought it would be. To paraphrase a quote mentioned in the book, science does not make it impossible to believe in god, but rather makes it possible to not believe in god. I think that just about sums this book's theological stance.
Overall, very glad to have read it. But I'd definitely only recommend it to people who want a deeper look into the larger questions of the universe's origin. In other words, not a light read.
Good book but it really pushed my understanding of physics and astronomy and lost me several times. Might have been better if I read it instead of listening to the audio book while driving so I could concentrate more on the details.
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
This is a short interesting book describing the Big Bang and the ultimate fate of our flat universe. The book is, at times, quite accessible. At others not so much. I think Krauss does as good a job as possible describing very complex physics. The book is useful not only for its description of basic laws of nature but for providing yet another example of why the notion of a supernatural creator of the universe is nearly irrelevant in the 21st century. Recommended.
Closer to 2.5 stars. I had a tough time with this one. I'm not very well versed in physics, so I'm sure part of why this book wasn't great for me is because of that. I enjoyed the ideas that were put forth, and i found the concepts interesting, but it was very dense and hard to get through in places. Maybe I'll give it a second go if and when I have a better understanding of physics as a whole.