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Shelli
No; this a science book, not a philosophy book, therefore it "aligns" itself only with facts, and it assumes that the reader does too. It presents what we know about the beginning of the universe as agreed upon by respected mainstream scientists, sketches out how they were tested or otherwise shown to be true, traces the history of how our understanding developed over time and introduces us to the scientists who contributed to that understanding with their contributions. Whenever Dr. Tyson inserts his imaginings or conjectures, he makes that clear.
Al Lock
A number of people have stated that the book presents facts. Not exactly. It presents the current theories in astrophysics.
Joseph Reynolds
No. This book is facts. It would reward you if you take some time to read about the difference between a scientific theory (made up of facts) and a theory, like, you know, you think it always rains on a Tuesday, which is more of what we call a hunch.
Matthew
It aligns with the best understanding of the facts as they've been presented thus far in science. Big Bang Cosmology and Universal Expanision.
dsreads
Of course it only presents facts as the author's view, like others have said. But if you're familiar with NDGT at all, then it falls short in the same way as just about everything he does.
It presents the facts (THAT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW) as the ultimate truth. I get the feeling that Neil genuinely thinks us puny humans with a 100 year life span have a complete and perfect understanding of how the universe works and what exactly happened 14 billion years ago. Scientists like him blatantly ignore the fact that we don't know sh*t. Every experiment and every mission reveals something new and mind blowing that we had no idea was going to happen.
Steve up above in the comments said it well. The author fills in the massive 99.9% of what we don't know with his own philosophy and own opinion. And atheists can keep trying to convince themselves otherwise, but atheism absolutely IS a religion.
It presents the facts (THAT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW) as the ultimate truth. I get the feeling that Neil genuinely thinks us puny humans with a 100 year life span have a complete and perfect understanding of how the universe works and what exactly happened 14 billion years ago. Scientists like him blatantly ignore the fact that we don't know sh*t. Every experiment and every mission reveals something new and mind blowing that we had no idea was going to happen.
Steve up above in the comments said it well. The author fills in the massive 99.9% of what we don't know with his own philosophy and own opinion. And atheists can keep trying to convince themselves otherwise, but atheism absolutely IS a religion.
Annalie
“The power and beauty of physical laws is that they apply everywhere, whether or not you choose to believe in them. In other words, after the laws of physics, everything else is opinion.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
― Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Steve
It says it addresses: "How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us?" which are not statements of science but statements of philosophy. So you may be able to trust it on the statements of science but there is no good reason to accept the statements of philosophy just because a "scientist" says it. Let's just say Tyson is not a fan of any other religion than atheism.
Greg
Sarah, Tyson respectfully quotes many sources, including the Old Testament, as follows (Isiah 4:04) when he talks about the formation of spheres (which, of course, references growth/changes in the universe): "Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain." However, when talking about the Big Bang Theory, Tyson does write that he has no explanation for how that tiny dot even got there in the first place (to explode). Therefore, that does not contradict at all one's personal faith that God started that tiny dot, that God caused the explosion which got everything under way. So to answer your question, no.
Mark Daniels
It aligns itself with all the major established theories, which are based on the observations. Religion is not mentioned.
Sarah
From the beginning, it goes off of the big bang theory (mostly contained to the first chapter), but it also mentions some other theories about origin both religious and not. It's all written as theory though, not fact.
Hope that helps!
Hope that helps!
Shanna
He says in the first section, "After the laws of physics, everything else is an opinion." We know gravity, that humans experience time, and matter exists. Everything else is up for debate.
Robert Narojek
Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic book ☺
No wonder it is over 60 weeks on NYT Bestseller List (July 2018). As I know from various sources (YouTube, NETFLIX - COSMOS, etc.) he (Niel) has very rare talent to speak about most complex scientific problems and outcomes of its discoveries. Also his book shows great erudite without typical for most scientists “flashy show off the EGO”. Tyson is humble and direct at the same time tackling biggest questions of our time. Truly one of the best books about “serious science” I ever read ☺
Of course one can tell from my review that I am a big enthusiast of science, so I will preach only to “the converted” and not to the people of the “evangelical mid west”, because what I noticed most of the time they love intelligent design and BIBLE and not real and undeniable science. So this book is not for the folks from Alabama, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma etc. – sorry guys I know that “Jesus loves you and most likely HE HATES SCIENCE” – ha ha ha I knew I got you going and boiling now ☺
On a serious note, how to justify the time and effort and, for my mostly American friends, the cost related to science and space exploration (NASA), well History shows that if we let people go to where their curiosity leads, great things come out of it. Let's take the discovery of quantum physics in the twenties of the last century. If we lived in those days, we would ask physicists: Why explore atoms? You can not even see them. However, 40, 50 years later, quantum physics became the basis of the information revolution, which according to some estimates generates ⅓ of global GDP. Tyson is not telling anyone what research should be done. We as people and Nations have to support financially all bold projects and then confront them with each other. This is my biggest take from this book. Read it with understanding and open mind and you will enjoy it immensly ☺
No wonder it is over 60 weeks on NYT Bestseller List (July 2018). As I know from various sources (YouTube, NETFLIX - COSMOS, etc.) he (Niel) has very rare talent to speak about most complex scientific problems and outcomes of its discoveries. Also his book shows great erudite without typical for most scientists “flashy show off the EGO”. Tyson is humble and direct at the same time tackling biggest questions of our time. Truly one of the best books about “serious science” I ever read ☺
Of course one can tell from my review that I am a big enthusiast of science, so I will preach only to “the converted” and not to the people of the “evangelical mid west”, because what I noticed most of the time they love intelligent design and BIBLE and not real and undeniable science. So this book is not for the folks from Alabama, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma etc. – sorry guys I know that “Jesus loves you and most likely HE HATES SCIENCE” – ha ha ha I knew I got you going and boiling now ☺
On a serious note, how to justify the time and effort and, for my mostly American friends, the cost related to science and space exploration (NASA), well History shows that if we let people go to where their curiosity leads, great things come out of it. Let's take the discovery of quantum physics in the twenties of the last century. If we lived in those days, we would ask physicists: Why explore atoms? You can not even see them. However, 40, 50 years later, quantum physics became the basis of the information revolution, which according to some estimates generates ⅓ of global GDP. Tyson is not telling anyone what research should be done. We as people and Nations have to support financially all bold projects and then confront them with each other. This is my biggest take from this book. Read it with understanding and open mind and you will enjoy it immensly ☺
Abba
No, the book is clearly secular although he does reference religious texts as others have pointed out. He specifically comments that "the cosmic perspective is spiritual but not religious."
Alex Shrugged
Knowing Dr. Tyson's position on religion, I found his Bible quotes mocking. But if one did not know his position on religion, one would find such quotes somewhat relevant and possibly respectful. Frankly, had he left off the last chapter of virtue-shaming us all, I would have been delighted to recommend his book to my friends. But he flipped off all religious people and political conservatives at the end. It seemed pointless and had nothing whatsoever to do with astrophysics.
Renee Kahl
He very much does, as you should be able to tell from the prejudices expressed in the other answers. I wrote a review explaining the religious position he takes and the fundamental problem with it. That said, he isn't very intrusive about it; it appears mostly in the last chapter and only one or two other places.
ShanDizzy
It seems to support the theory of evolution so the "God-factor" is certainly not included. Also, there appears to be an underlying disdain, contempt even, for people who believe in creation as opposed to evolution. Having said that, it is informative and enlightening.
Toby
I agree that the text sticks mostly to the science even though he would have had every opportunity to take on the philosophical question. *But* his viewpoint is well known, *and* a number of the section names are quotes or paraphrases from scripture. To me, that is a subtle 'dig' at Christianity despite a pretty good focus within the text itself.
Forked Radish
This answer contains spoilers…
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Andrei
well, he says pretty clear that science doesn't know anything before the big bang, so you can assume that a God created the universe ( as the myths suggest) like we know it or as we will discover
Joel
The book doesn't really discuss religion much, but the final chapter does take a few convenient jabs at religion.
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