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A Short History of Nearly Everything
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May 2013: A Short History of Nearly Everything
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Kristoffer
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Apr 27, 2013 01:49AM
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Wonderful! I've listened to this on audio CDs and it was excellent. I'm looking forward to reading it next month!
I'm so glad this book was chosen. I read it several years ago and was "blown away." For Bryson, a satirical travel writer, to take on writing about science was incredible in itself, but to also do a good job of it floored me. The book is full of interesting facts, "stuff" I didn't know before even though I think for a lay person I'm relatively well read in science ....and in parts it's funny. It's one of my favourite books and I've given several copies to others. I hope you all enjoy it...I'm eager to hear your comments - the good, the bad, and the ugly. : )
Every atom in our bodies is not formed here on Earth but in the depths of space through the epic life cycle of the stars. A nebula is a stellar nursery where new stars are created and burst into life and burn for billions of years until the need for fuel forces them to become giants and then blow up--going out with a big bang in the universe. As I begin the book I wonder when was the dawn of time? Everything is made basically of the same materials and it may have come from a tiny dot unimaginably dense. Where did the elements come from? There is much to ponder as we start our reading.
Hope this isn't too general for the group but the book is a modern classic in my opinion. I talk to people about this book more than any other I have read. It's truly wonderful. Enjoy
Jason wrote: "Hope this isn't too general for the group but the book is a modern classic in my opinion. I talk to people about this book more than any other I have read. It's truly wonderful. Enjoy"Jason - I'm so glad you like it (I recommended it). I too talk about it almost more than any other book I've read...and I've given away several copies...mostly to professors who teach science...and they love it. Enjoy!
Same here Jason... I'm constantly reading excerpts to my high school science students from this book!Dan
Jason wrote: "Hope this isn't too general for the group but the book is a modern classic in my opinion. I talk to people about this book more than any other I have read. It's truly wonderful. Enjoy"
I love the quote from J.B.S.Haldane, "the universe is not only queerer than we suppose; it is queerer than we can suppose."
The author has a good section on geology. He notes the growth of it as a science but leaves some important things out. During the growth of geology a number of things were occurring in Britain. Canals were being dug and railroads were cutting through hills, both activities revealed rock strata and sometimes fossils. This stimulated a lot of interest in gentlemen scholars. In those days an estate passed on to the oldest son, the younger sons could have a career in the military or join the Church of England as a cleric. A number of people who investigated geology were clerics with the time available to ponder what was being exposed.I live near where Cope and Marsh spent some time finding dinosaurs (Garden Park, Colorado). Marsh had the better site. Today the bones of dinosaurs continue to weather out of the rocks and can be found everywhere. There is one site that is also covered with Jurassic eggshells--I think this area may be the largest in the world for eggs and eggshells. These eggshells are much thinner than the ones in the Cretaceous. The Jurassic eggshells have the outside ornamentation as do the Cretaceous shells. In the 1990s a large Stegosaurus was recovered there. It had a high degree of articulation.
It is hard to believe that the main theory of geology, plate tectonics, was not fully adopted by aegis of geological scholars until early 70s.
Steven wrote: "It is hard to believe that the main theory of geology, plate tectonics, was not fully adopted by aegis of geological scholars until early 70s."I found it even harder to realize when I got to that realization also, is that I was working at York University, Toronto, at the time that Tuzo Wilson was Chancellor there and I used to bump into him every now and then in the elevator. He was a card...always good for a laugh. Later, after my father's death, I discovered Dr. Wilson's book on plate tectonics among my dad's effects. If I'd only known earlier so that I could have talked to my dad about him.
Bette wrote: "Steven wrote: "It is hard to believe that the main theory of geology, plate tectonics, was not fully adopted by aegis of geological scholars until early 70s."I found it even harder to realize ..."
For my MS I had to study the Wilson cycle of seabed expansion and contraction that was named for Tuzo Wilson. My first geology text did not reference him, Harry Hess, Fred Vine, or Drummond Matthews. My text did mention Wegener and continental drift as just a theory. When Wegener gave his first speech on his theory it was to a British audience of scientists, and since WWI was underway, his reception and reaction to his speech was somewhat hostile as I recall. Plate tectonics was a breakthrough in geology as evolution was to biology. We think of these great men as the icons of geology now. I just finished an Ice Age study on pollen with Estella Leopold who is the daughter of Aldo Leopold. I think I need to contact her again and talk more about Estella and her life. That effort would be more valuable than my Ice Age pollen study. Thanks for your post!
Bryson has an interesting discussion about Yellowstone and volcanism. Near where I live we have a nested series of volcanic vents and diatremes that reach the mantle. Rich gold deposits ensue. Small bits of carbonized wood were found in a core sample at 3000 ft depth. A few weeks ago a larger chunk of petrified wood was found at 900 ft. I will be studying this geophenomena with students soon. This is an unusual way for a fossil to form--in an igneous rock! There is much to be learned from studying Yellowstone. and other volcanic complexes.[I had to delete an earlier version of this post as I typed it on a tablet and had too many typos]
Our nearby gold mine offers a unique view of mantle materials. The diateremes are generally made of lamprophyre, a mafic rock that is mantle derived. Often as it rises explosively to the surface it grabs chunks of wall rock and “entrains” this material. The miners in the early days looked for these rocks as the absorbed gold telluride minerals. Many lamprophyre rocks are being dumped by the trucks near the main open pit. These rocks do not last long at the surface. Without the intense pressure from where they came from, they begin to disintegrate at the surface. The best way to collect them is to take lots of pictures of them. There were many phreatic explosions on the surface. The volcanic complex is six miles across—nothing like the super volcano of Yellowstone. The area where the volcanic complex is emplaced is an area where three rock units come together, forming an area of weakness. There may be a relationship to the Rio Grande Rift.
Steve, those are quite some accomplishments for your students! Congratulations!I have to ask, Did you finish the book last night?
I'm on page 456 and am going to try to finish today. We will see if life (as it so often does) will interfere with my plan!
I have not participated with this discussion as I read this a decade ago, and had too many others to read. I remember it being a good overview of all the sciences and it was written in Bryson's considered prose, with enough wit to make you smile every now and again.
Steven wrote: "I am on Chapter 27 and trying to finish. This is such a good book. The author writes about Tambora’s blast in 1815 that resulted in a huge number of human casualties and so much ash in the atmosphe..."The Tambora eruption is very interesting. According to Spencer Wells in his book "Pandora's Seed" it actually may have changed the course of history. Due to the abscence of that growing season horses became too expensive to feed. The "Velocipede" ancestor to the modern bicycle was supposedly invented in the aftermath of the Tambora eruption as an inexpensive alternative to the horse. Maybe one could go as far to say this led in part to future mechanized modes of transportation. Also, author Mary Shelley was vacationing with friends in Switzerland in Fall following the eruption. The story goes that it was unusually rainy due to the eruption and she was forced into spending most of her time indoors where she wrote "Frankenstein".
Finished! Excellent to the very end!
