A Short History of Nearly Everything

A Short History of Nearly Everything

By Bill Bryson (2004)

A Black Book

Book Review

PDF: A Short History of Nearly Everything

This book takes on the mammoth task of summarizing all the significant discoveries in all significant areas of modern science.

Bryon begins with the creation of the universe, which based on calculations from a 1994 satellite probe, occurred 137 billion years ago. In 2003, when this book was published, cosmologists had already discarded the Big Bang Theory. As of 20 years ago, according to Bryson, the universe came into being when an infinitesimally small speck of matter/energy suddenly expanded massively in all directions (an expansion which continues to the present day).

The sun formed 4.6 billion years ago, the earth 4.5 billion million years ago and the moon 4.4 billion years ago, when a flying object the size of Mars crashed into the Earth.

In 1769, British explorer Captain James Cook made it possible to calculate the Earth’s distance from the sun during his sea voyage to Tahiti to observe the Transit of Venus (in front of the sun). This enabled him to calculate the earth-sun distance via triangulation (150 million kilometers).

Bryson describes in detail the 18th century chemistry revolution, which led ultimately to the industrial revolution; the discovery of the Earth’s radioactive elements (enabling  calculation of the Earth’s age via radioactive decay); and the discovery of relativity, quantum mechanics, quarks, neutrinos and other subatomic particles.

He then devotes several chapters to important discoveries in geology and climatology. He includes a discussion of magnetism (which doesn’t occur in bodies lacking a liquid core, ie the moon and Mars) and its role in protecting life from the devastating effect of cosmic rays that would otherwise bombard the Earth. He also discusses the important role of the moon in helping the earth to continue spinning at the appropriate angle to support life.

According to Bryson the first hominid species (Australopithicus) appeared seven million years ago. He asserts they began walking upright with the loss of their jungle habitat after continental drift filled in Panama’s isthmus, disrupting ocean currents that previous warmed the Arctic. The resulting cooling caused northern Africa to transition from jungle to savanna and desert.

Two million years ago the hominid brain started to expand and Homo erectus (with a 50% larger brain) appeared. Their descendant subsequently migrating out of Africa to inhabit territory extending from the Atlantic coast of Europe to the Pacific cost of China.

100 to 250 thousand years ago, Homo sapiens appeared in Africa and undertook a similar global migration. The oldest Homo sapiens remains were discovered in modern day Israel and date from 100,000 years ago.