David’s Comments (group member since Dec 13, 2009)

David’s comments from the Science and Inquiry group.

Roshan, the book The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos is good, but we already read it during December, 2012.

Well, I had jumped the gun, and finished reading this book a few weeks ago. It is fantastic; highly recommended. Sean Carroll adds some new ways of thinking about science, religion, and philosophy. It really is "the big picture." Here is my review.

I just finished reading the book Cosmosapiens: Human Evolution from the Origin of the Universe. It is by far the most ambitious book I've read. It covers so many subjects in quite a bit of detail. The author, John Hands, describes many scientific theories, and gives his opinion on which ones are worthwhile, and which ones are not borne out by the evidence. But be forewarned: This book is not light reading!
Here is my review.

Yasmin, the book "What If" is scheduled for next month.

Patrick wrote: "I nominate "The Big Picture" unless you guys already read it.
I am reading The Big Picture now. It is excellent.
Darwin's Ghosts is a wonderful book, too!

I have been listening to this book as an audiobook. It is excellent! Truly fascinating, every bit of it. Occasionally a bit gruesome. I will be sorry when finished with it. I appreciate how the author has organized the chapters, each chapter describing the history of a particular aspect of forensics. I highly recommend this book!

Jim wrote: "A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age by Daniel J. Levitin is probably the most worthwhile book I've read this year. This is a book about ho..."

Thanks for the recommendation, Jim. I've read three other books by Levitin, and they were all excellent. I've reserved the book at the library.

Matthew wrote: "Also, I'm mostly looking to read astronomy & physics related books to get myself well accustomed to the subject before attending college."

Welcome to our group, Matthew. We started out very similarly; I majored in physics and astronomy in college.

By the way, how is life aboard an aircraft carrier?

I finished this book a while ago, but I finally got around to writing a brief review. I highly recommend this entertaining book about the life of an astronaut.

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
We should probably wait a couple of months and nominate again. It was just published last month--which is a bit early. Sounds very interesting!

Miguel, the book "The Invention of Nature" is fantastic. We read it for the book of the month in May, 2016.

Betsy, it seems to be available from Amazon in Kindle format only--not in any print format. My local library system--a big one--has a single copy.

Matthew wrote: "It's called: How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming. By Mike Brown. The hyperlink didn't change..."

Matthew, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming is an excellent book. But, it was our book of the month back in February, 2011.

I've been reading this book. It's quite entertaining --- more or less the memoirs of an astronaut. Filled with lots of interesting anecdotes. Although Chris Hadfield played some very important roles in the space program, he comes through as a very humble person. He describes how unglamorous an astronaut's job can be. And, how hard it is on an astronaut's family.

If you enjoyed reading Mary Roach's book, Packing for Mars, then you will doubly enjoy this book.

Chris Hadfield has some very interesting perspectives on how his experiences brought about lessons for all of us living on earth.

I've been listening to the audiobook version. It is an excellent book. I am learning a lot from it. The author interspersed anecdotes, medical histories, and personal stories from his childhood. I highly recommend the book to everyone.

Anna wrote: "The Emperor of All Maladies or The Gene by Siddharatha Mukherjee"

Anna, our group read the book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer back in 2012. We had a lot of discussion about the book, which you can find here.

Welcome to our group, Talha! You are researching some very interesting topics.

What did you do in your at-home chemistry lab? (just curious!)

Talha wrote: ""

Talha,
I really enjoyed the book The Epigenetics Revolution; it is an excellent book. (I gave it 5 stars!) We already read that book during 2014. You can read our discussions here.

Domantė wrote: "1. Great Transformations in Vertebrate Evolution
2. Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life"

Domantė: The book Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life is a very good book! We already read it as a book-of-the-month back in 2012. Take a look at our discussions here

Ankit wrote: "forces of nature by Brian cox"
Ankit,
Forces of Nature looks like a good book. Unfortunately, it was just published less than two months ago. Why don't you wait a couple of months, and nominate it later.
Thanks!