Tuli, jää ja füüsika: „Troonide mängu“ teadus

by Rebecca C. Thompson, Vahur Lokk (Translator)

Talv on tulekul, see on selge. Aga kuidas? Miks? Ja mis põhiline – millal?

Teadus annab võtme fantastilise tule ja jää maailma klimatoloogia, astronoomia, metallurgia, keemia ja bioloogia saladuste juurde. George R. R. Martini teoste andunud fänn, füüsik Rebecca C. Thompson on võtnud süveneda „Jää ja tule laulu“ ning „Troonide mängu“ imede ja saladuste olemusse.

Milline maagia hoiab püsti Müüri ja millistes oludes võib jää käituda nagu ketšup? Kuidas lohed („nahkhiired, ainult tulega“) oma kõri ära ei kõrveta? Millest koosneb turmatuli? Kuidas toimis kuningas Joffrey tapnud mürk ja miks Joffrey üleüldse oli ehtne tõbras – kas süüdi võisid olla tema geenid?

Füüsik ja kirjanik Sean Carroll ütleb raamatu eessõnas: „Kui loo maailm on hästi konstrueeritud, peab see reeglitest kinni, olenemata sellest, kas need reeglid on selgelt sõnastatud. Kui kõik käib kah kuidagiviisi, pole lugu huvitav. Et tegelaste elu oleks keeruline ja vaatajate elu põnev, peavad tegelased tegutsema loogilises olustikus. Ilma füüsikata pole ka haaravat lugu.“

Kui oskate ehitada vastupidavat jäämüüri, tappa ebalast, jääda ellu külma käes ja pikal meresõidul, sepistada Valüüria terast ning hoiduda teibasse ajamisest, siis olete talve tulekuks juba pisut paremini valmis.

Rebecca C. Thompson on doktorikraadiga füüsik, osakestefüüsika uurimiskeskuse Fermilab haridussuhete juht ja populaarse füüsikakoomiksite sarja autor.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Nature, Fiction

296 pages, Hardcover

Published November 10, 2020

Reviews

[Viral · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to MIT Press for the ARC at BEA 2019, and to Rebecca Thompson for signing my copy!

This book is an excellent and approachable book that details many of the scientific questions posed by the combined works of the Game of the Thrones tv show and the A Song of Ice and Fire books. It tackles questions like the biology of dragons and white walkers, the real world equivalents of Valyrian steel and wildfire, the genetic impact of inbreeding, and my personal favorite chapter, figuring out the seasons of Westeros. It's an amazingly informative book that will be sure to delight fans of the show. There are many spoilers for the books and show inside! Otherwise, highly recommend!

[Sille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humanitaarina on mul füüsikaga alati ambivalentne suhe olnud, samas pole ma kunagi laskunud selleni, et öelda, nagu oleks vältimatu, et humanitaar füüsikat eriti ei jaga. Pigem arvan, et see on väga suuresti õppemetoodika küsimus - füüsika on kahtlemata väga huvitav, aga seda on võimalik väga igavalt õpetada.
Käesoleva teose näol on meil (vähemalt idee poolest) suurepärane näide, kuidas füüsikat (ja mitte ainult, sest siin on juttu ka keemiast, paleontoloogiast, geneetikast jne) konteksti asetada ja lisaks veel justnimelt ilukirjanduse konteksti. Võib-olla ongi praegu koolifüüsika õpetamisel palju muutunud, ma ei tea, aga just näiteks niisugusel moel oleks võimalik füüsikat vägagi paeluvaks muuta.
(Vähemalt idee poolest suurepärane näide ütlen ma seetõttu, et kindlasti oleks saanud ka ses raamatus seoseid rohkem luua, kohati tundus, et asi läks ikka natuke liigseteks faasidiagrammideks kätte, aga idee on sellegipoolest 5+.)
Muidugi tuleb sellega seoses avaldada ka kiitust GRRM-ile niisuguse maailma loomise eest, millel on nii tugev päriseluline taust. Just see see teebki tema loo nii põnevaks, et sellel on väga loogiline (ja nagu seegi raamat näitab, teaduslik) taust.
Püüdsin seda raamatut lugeda niiviisi kaasa mõeldes, et kõigest ka korralikult aru saaksin. Ja tundub, et enamasti sain ka. Mis toob mind tagasi selle juurde, millest ma alustasin - füüsika iseenesest ei ole ei igav ega arusaamatu, kui see panna laiemate seoste konteksti. M. O. T. T.

[Martti · Rating 4 out of 5]

So my physics streak continues with an odd one - Rebecca C. Thompson trying to find physics in the world of Westeros, the Song of Ice and Fire. It's like when you go drinking with a scientist and start asking a lot of annoying questions and then they take a year or two afterwards to really answer these questions.

The book is divided into topics of which every one is taken to it's logical end conclusion and when the lines don't cross, we are left with a conclusion that this amount of magic is still needed to fill the gap. I'm happy to say it's not much, which is probably one of the main reasons people love Game of Thrones.

I would like to think that every fan of history would recognize Valyrian steel as Damascus blades and wildfire as something similar to Greek fire and there would be no need for a long scientific paper, but then I arrived at a totally different conclusion from a completely separate point of view.

This book is actually a way to get young minds interested in science by providing something you already love and taking it as a map on the journey. Now that is a powerful reason to read this book.

On the other hand, that is not why I bought the book. Turns out it was solely for the first chapter. I was always facinated by the orbital dynamics that result in a variable length seasons. I mean "Winter is coming" - sure, but when and why? Not really a focal point of GRRM's writing, but it's been bugging me from the very first chapters.

A while back there was this fun research paper about Westeros being in a binary star system which might cause weird seasons, but also Thompson reasons the second star is nowhere visible in the series or described in the books. Instead there is a piece of lore that there might have been a second moon which was destroyed in a cataclysm and as a result the planetary axis is a bit wobbly since then.

But to be honest, I read somewhere that this is not what GRRM himself intended as an explanation, but since he will probably not volunteer anything on the topic ever, I can finally sleep better knowing the lost moon to be my found peace of mind.

[Tilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Füüsik Rebecca C. Thompson otsustas uurida kuidas “Troonide mängu” väljamõeldud maailm oma ettearvamatult vahetuvate aastaaegadega, kibedas külmas palja päi lippavate meestega, tohutu jäämüüri, jääzombide ja tuld sülgavate lohedega teadusega suhestub. Tuleb välja, et suhestub küll. Epiloogis ütleb teadlane järgmist:

George R. R Martin suutis luua maailma, mis on sisemiselt sidus ja kaldub tegelikkusest kõrvale vaid juuksekarva võrra. /--/ Ja just sel põhjusel on George R. R. Martini maailm nii kaasahaarav: see asub meie omale nii lähedal, ent ometi haardeulatusest väljas.
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Teaduse populariseerijana omab Thompson väga head ettekujutust sellest, kuidas rääkida füüsikast või keemiast, rääkimata teistest, vähem igavatest teadusharudest nagu bioloogia, astronoomia, geneetika, toksikoloogia jt selliselt, et see köidaks lugejat. Raamatu järgi otsustades mulle tundub, et lobisedes. Kuidagi heas mõttes, raamatut lugedes oli mul kogu aeg tunne, nagu kuulaks erakordsesse jutuhoogu sattunud tarka ja lõbusat tuttavat.

Olen veetnud kogu oma elu teadusest rääkides ja esimene reegel selles ametis on: tuleb jutustada lugu. /---/ Kõige tugevamad argumendid teaduse kasuks on need, mille puhul te tunnete osalisi ja hoolite toimuvast. kui algatada teadusalane arutelu “Troonide mängu” taolise loo abil, on kuulajad juba kaasa haaratud.
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Küsimused, millele raamatus vastuseid otsitakse, on täiesti fantastilised. Kas planeet ebaregulaarsete, täiesti ettearvamatul ajal vahetuvate aastaaegadega on ülepea võimalik ja kuidas täpselt? Miks lohedel on nahkhiire tiivad ja kas neil kurk ei kipita? Mis võiks olla 200 tonnise linnukese olendi piirkiirus lendamisel ja mul praegu nt tekkis veel üks küsimus olendi seedesüsteemi osas (meenus üks linnukeste ja õnne kohta käiv uskumus), mida raamatus küll ei käsitletud, kuid mis näitab selgelt, et raamat soodustab edasi mõtlemist. Veel põnevaid küsimusi: millest (või millega) zombid mõtlevad ja millest tuleb Ebalaste armee liikmete erinev lagunemisaste? Millises olukorras võib tsitruseviljade kättesaamatus osutuda surma toovaks asjaoluks? Kas terase omaduste parandamiseks on vaja tingimata omada lohet? Millist “Troonide mängus” kasutatud hukkamisviisi tasuks eelistada (no juhul, kui peaksite sattuma olukorda, kus lubatakse valida)? Turmatuli, loheklaas jpm. Ja siis veel üks minu lemmikuist: kui palju sulakulda on vaja inimesele pähe valada selleks, et aju tema koljus keema läheks ja mis siis surma põhjus oleks - lämbumine, šokk või ajude keemine? Ja nii pikalt edasi.

Raamat on hästi komponeeritud, iga peatükk käsitleb üht suuremat teemat, mis alapeatükkideks jagatult a-st ja o-st alates arusaadavalt lahti seletatud. Nt, rääkides Westerosi aastaaegadest räägib autor kõigepealt sellest, mis need aastaajad õigupoolest on, miks nad on ja mis neid mõjutab, nende kestvust või temperatuuri. Räägib Maa orbiidist ja teljest, viskab nalja Harvardi üliõpilaste üle ning alles seejärel püüab jõuda selgusele, mis selle Westerosi mandrit kandva planeediga siis õieti on. Tempokalt ja huvitavalt, viidetega lugudele ja erinevatele uurimustele.

Lugedes mõtlesin vist iga peatüki juures vähemalt korra, et oh, see ongi minu lemmik, kuid lõpuks ... Kui kindlasti peaks nimetama, siis vist jäämüürist ja külmas kliimas hakkama saamisest rääkivate peatükkide juures põksus süda kiiremini (külmavares, nagu ma olen). Mh meeldis mulle külmas kliimas hakkama saamise peatükis nii mööda minnes käsitlust leidnud tänapäevaste trenniriiete tehnoloogiate teema. Selliseid päris maailma teemasid, mis käsitletava sarja omadega haakuvad, on raamatud teisigi ja need üksnes rikastavad. Kõik see kokku on päris tore lugeda.

Olgu veel öeldud, et ma ei ole lugenud G. R. R. Martini “Jää ja tule laulu” ja sarjast “Troonide mäng” olen näinud esimest hooaega, paar osa teisest ja viimase hooaja viimast osa. Mulle need meeldisid, kunagi, kui ma ükskord töötuks või pensionile jään ... Kuid see ei sega kõne all oleva raamatu lugemist ja nautimist - nii palju, kui püstitatud probleemist aru saamiseks vaja, on samas ka kenasti lahti kirjutatud. Eks ta “Elava teaduse” sarja raamatutele kohaselt nõuab grammi võrra rohkem süvenemist, kui mõni pehmekaaneline krimka, kuid kindlasti pole siinkohal tegu igava või ülemäära keerulise teadusliku tekstiga. Ikka popp _ja_ teaduslik.

Kohe kui ma seda raamatut nägin, teadsin, et tahan seda lugeda. Aitäh selgeltnägijale Argo kirjastusest, kes minu mõtteid luges ja raamatu postituvile noka vahele pistis.

:)

[Brita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brings Westeros into life. I learned about how seasons work ("Winter is coming"), what could be the secret of Valyrian steel.. and to end with, the science behind different death sentences (this part was extremely morbid).
You probably should not read this book if you haven't finished reading or watching the series, because it contains a lot of spoilers.
This book took a little more time to read, because I needed to fix the mind on understanding physics (not my strongest field of knowledge). Yet, it did not disappoint and gave me ideas to reconsider believing while enjoying the Game of Thrones series.

[Dagne567 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tore raamat, vääriks arvatavasti mõne aasta pärast uuesti lugemistki - nt teadus lohede kohta. Mu lemmikpeatükiks kujunes hukkamiste ja vägivaldsete surmade käsitlus, sest enamasti kipuvad autorid täpseid detaile vältima. Siinne otsekohane põhjalikkus oli mu meelest kiiduväärne.

[Triinu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minu arvamuse raamatust leiab blogist https://triinuraamatud.wordpress.com/...

[Brian Clegg · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's easy to see the way that science fiction can fit with a 'science of' treatment - less so a fantasy such as Game of Thrones, which is the topic of the latest in this long-lasting genre. However, it's certainly not impossible. The Science of Middle Earth, for example, does a great job of exploring the scientific content of Tolkien's output, so it doesn't seem unreasonable that Rebecca Thompson should be able to do the same for George R. R. Martin's blockbuster series of books and the accompanying TV show.

I ought to say straight away that the title here is a little misleading, as by no means all of the content is physics. It covers paleantology, biology, zombieology (is that a word?) and more - but physics probably has the biggest word count, perhaps fitting as Thompson is a physicist. She tells us that the idea of the book is to use the popular fantasy series to introduce science to a wider audience, but I'm not sure that the way the material is presented in this book does that job well.

A good popular science book has a careful blend of facts, context and narrative. Facts, of themselves, are rarely sustainably interesting. The problem here, ironically in a book about the science of a piece of fiction, is that there are far too many facts and nowhere near enough storytelling. So, for example, the idea that there are 17 structures of ice is a bit interesting if you then make something of the fact as part of a narrative - but here we’re told it is the case (complete with a totally uninformative phase diagram, one of three in the book), then we move straight on to the next fact. There’s nothing actually made of the information. The result is, sadly, rather dull.

As far as I'm aware, most of the scientific content is accurate, but it does go a touch adrift when Thompson ventures into palaeontology. In trying to explain dragons scientifically (something Thompson eventually admits is an impossible task, which kind of undermines the premise of the whole book) we are told that pterosaurs, the winged flying reptiles that co-existed with dinosaurs, were cold blooded - however, modern opinion is that at least some if not all were warm-blooded. Also, we are told ‘Flying dinosaurs did exist, but as a group they are characterised as pterosaurs, with no one dinosaur bearing the name pterodactyl.’ Unfortunately, pterosaurs weren’t dinosaurs. And though pterodactyl isn't the generic term as it's often incorrectly used, the pterodactyl did exist, though admittedly it wasn’t a dinosaur either, as it was a type of pterosaur.

The actual science bits were sufficiently uninspiring that I looked forward to the parts that concerned the goings on in Game of Thrones (which we could go many pages without returning to). When I started the book, I thought I would find these the least interesting part, as I only ever watched half the first season and gave up on it (a particularly embarrassing admission as a friend of mine was in the show). I'm sure if you are a GoT fan that the parts involving the series will indeed be interesting, but there's still going to be a lot of the book that is hard work.

[Alista Aghaee · Rating 5 out of 5]

یکی از سوالاتی که زیاد ازم می‌پرسن اینه که چه کتاب‌هایی رو به اونهایی که علاقمند به‌ نوشتن هستن پیشنهاد می‌دم. کتابی که بتونه مهارت‌های مختلف و مورد نیاز یک نویسنده‌ی خوب رو ارتقا بده. کتاب‌هایی که یاد بدن چطور بهتر و حرفه‌ای‌تر بنویسیم. در این موارد معمولا پیشنهاد من محتواهایی جز کتاب‌های آموزش نویسندگی موجود در بازاره. شاید یک دلیلش اینه که خود من فرایند رشد و یادگیری هنر نوشتن رو یک امر تجربی و زیستی می‌بینم. اما خوشحالم که بالاخره کتابی رو پیدا کردم که با اشتیاق می‌تونم در پاسخ به این پرسش‌های همیشگی، پیشنهادش بدم.
این کتاب برای هرکسی که می‌خواد دنیای فانتزی خودش رو خلق کنه بسیار کمک‌کننده خواهد بود. سوای از اینکه زبان کتاب بسیار ساده‌ست و مطالب علمی مطرح شده در کتاب خیلی ساده و شفاف و به‌شکلی سرگرم‌کننده مطرح شدن، محتوای کتاب یک مربی غیرمستقیم جهان‌سازیه.
کتاب به شیواترین شکل ممکن گوشزد می‌کنه که صرف فانتزی بودن جهان شما و صرف وجود جادو در دنیای برساخته‌ی شما، دلیلی بر بی‌قائده بودن و عدم چهارچوب در پدیده‌ها و کنش‌ها و واکنش‌های دنیاتون نیست. کتاب گوشزد می‌کنه که پشت‌پرده‌ی اسرارآمیز‌ترین پدیده‌ها هم علمی نهفته‌ست و چه خوب که پدیده‌های فانتزی جهان ما هم از چنین پشتوانه‌‌ای برخوردار باشن. چه خوبه که پدیده‌های جهان اطراف‌مون رو بشناسیم و از ساز‌و‌کار اونها برای سازوکار پدیده‌های جهان خودمون استفاده کنیم. اینطوری جهانی قرص و محکم‌تر و همین‌طور باورپذیرتر برای مخاطب خلق می‌کنیم.
این کتاب رو انتشارات سبزان با ترجمه‌ی خوبی منتشر کرده. اول از همه به نویسنده‌های ادبیات گمانه‌زن پیشنهادش می‌دم و بعد از اون به علاقمندان و مخاطبین این ژانر.

[Attabey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Game of Thrones (GOT) and science you are going to love this one!

The book discussed many aspects of GOT going from is the wall possible to could dragons fly and breath fire?

It went to a good science dept where I could get a satisfactory explanation without being overwhelmed by all the science concepts. It also fueled my curiosity on going beyond what was in the book and going to different rabbit holes on Wikipedia and Reddit.

If you are looking for a good popular science book, I cannot recommend this one enough 🤩

If you are thinking of getting this book, remember to support your local bookstores here are a couple of options on where to get it from the MIT Press:

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/fire-i...

Happy reading!!

[Millie Grimes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this book and I think it accomplishes what it set out to do. Some chapters were definitely better than others. I wanted to enjoy it the chapter on steel but weirdly, it was almost a reverse Goldilocks situation for me— there was an awkward amount of information— where in some chapters it would have been better if it were either further simplified OR more detail provided. Instead it was enough information to get confused, but maybe that’s just me. It was still interesting and I will probably do more reading on it (so I guess the chapter was still effective in inspiring curiosity about the subject!)

BUT, there are lots of fun tidbits- for example, how you would calculate how fast a human brain would boil from molten gold.

[Nympha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many books have tried to surf on the Game of Thrones wave, with more or less success. They talk about historical inspirations, law, philosophy... But the essay I'm talking about today is about a subject less often explored, and which doesn't necessarily come to mind when you think of the "Game of Thrones": science.
In "Fire and Ice: Science in Game of Thrones", by Rebecca C. Thompson, we study the physics of Westeros, the biology of its inhabitants, the chemistry of the world, the metallurgy... A book that mixes scientific facts and analysis of the series, summoning some problems encountered in the series (How to live in a world with erratic seasons, how to survive beyond the Wall, is the Wall physically credible ... ? ) in a rather successful exercise. A serious essay that teaches us a lot of things, more about our world than about Westeros. If the problems of the series may occasionally seem to be used only as a pretext for a scientific analysis, in the majority of the chapters, the link is there, and the author's approach is very fluid. The book is however to be reserved for those who like scientific books and are not afraid of sometimes rather advanced topics. But for those who like science and want to learn while having fun, the book is of good quality.

[Cris]

I got to interview the author about the book and she's certainly very enthusiastic about her research and the show. She collected together a lot of interesting facts and said she hopes the book makes for some interesting bar conversations. Based on her excitement level for the subject, I certainly want to read the book. If you feel like hearing the interview I did with her, check my bio for the podcast name.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the three-body problem on Netflix. Remembered this book's first chapter.
This is what is remarkable about this book. Small things you see in your daily life will immediately connect you to something you read in the book.
And if you have a science-minded friend circle who are also fans of Mr. Martin's books, you would be quite the center of attention.
What a delight is this book is.

[Laamakunkku · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually liked this a lot even though I'm too stupid to understand even half of some chapters! Of course some chapters were more interesting (the chapters about genetics and death) than others but I don't think I was bored once reading this book. Yes, even if I couldn't always understand it.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books like this, examining the real world foundations underlying fictional universes and considering the science that could explain fantasy or sci-fi elements therein. Interesting and highly entertaining.

[Reelika Raimet · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://raamaturiiulike.wordpress.com...