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The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People
From one of our finest and most popular science writers, the best-selling author of Your Inner Fish, comes the answer to a scientific mystery story as big as the world itself: How have astronomical events that took place millions of years ago created the unique qualities of the human species?
In his last book, Neil Shubin delved into the amazing connections between human anatomy—our hands, our jaws—and the structures in the fish that first took over land 375 million years ago. Now, with his trademark clarity and exuberance, he takes an even more expansive approach to the question of why we are the way we are. Starting once again with fossils, Shubin turns his gaze skyward. He shows how the entirety of the universe's 14-billion-year history can be seen in our bodies. From our very molecular composition (a result of stellar events at the origin of our solar system), he makes clear, through the working of our eyes, how the evolution of the cosmos has had profound effects on the development of human life on earth.
From the Hardcover edition.
In his last book, Neil Shubin delved into the amazing connections between human anatomy—our hands, our jaws—and the structures in the fish that first took over land 375 million years ago. Now, with his trademark clarity and exuberance, he takes an even more expansive approach to the question of why we are the way we are. Starting once again with fossils, Shubin turns his gaze skyward. He shows how the entirety of the universe's 14-billion-year history can be seen in our bodies. From our very molecular composition (a result of stellar events at the origin of our solar system), he makes clear, through the working of our eyes, how the evolution of the cosmos has had profound effects on the development of human life on earth.
From the Hardcover edition.
240 pages, Audiobook
First published January 1, 2013
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5111 people want to read
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February 26, 2021I don't really understand the physics. I read that the universe 1 trillionth of a second after the 'big bang' was about the size of a baseball and there were only three elements. So imagining nothing is possible, the closest I can get is to a vast emptiness - the sky without stars and galaxies. It needs an explanation of what there was before the Big Bang (nothing) and how something can come from nothing. And why it should be in three elements that rapidly increase along with the universe, the shock waves, hundreds of billions of years later, are still expanding it outwards.
And could the process ever reverse and we would be tucked up, us planets, stars and galaxies, neatly back into the baseball-sized black hole from whence we came, and then poof, nothing again?
I'm on a Neil Shubin roll. I started with Your Inner Fish: a Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body - a 10 star book. So then I read Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA which works either as a sequel or prequel to the Inner Fish book, also a 10 star read, so now it's this book.
And could the process ever reverse and we would be tucked up, us planets, stars and galaxies, neatly back into the baseball-sized black hole from whence we came, and then poof, nothing again?
I'm on a Neil Shubin roll. I started with Your Inner Fish: a Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body - a 10 star book. So then I read Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA which works either as a sequel or prequel to the Inner Fish book, also a 10 star read, so now it's this book.
December 28, 2012
When the continent of India slammed into Asia creating the Himalayas it changed the world climate which altered the plants available for food eventually leading to our ability to perceive color. How? This fascinating book, a sort of big history/big science blend, is exactly as its title describes it. The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets and People explores how the properties of our bodies and the course of our lives have been affected by the universe we live in, beginning with the big bang. It also includes some science history with personality filled stories of how plate tectonics and other scientific theories were first hypothesized, and it gives a taste of how current scientists in in the author’s field of biological sciences work, for instance dropping to all fours to hunt for tiny fossils that shed light on the evolution of our Earth. The tone is enthusiastic, and the endnotes include lots of suggestions for further reading. My copy of the book is decked with post it flags marking sections I have already reread several times, often sharing them with whoever happens to be around me at the time.
February 10, 2013
I've had Your Inner Fish on my to-read shelf for a while now, but I thought I'd give Neil's new one a try first. What a little condensed power-house it was.
As a fellow scientist I'm well-versed in the theories presented here; but teh book offered much more. Firstly, it ties together multidisciplinary sciences in a neat little dialogue. One moment you're reading about biology, the next geology, but it all ties together. Science as a spectrum is well demonstrated here.
Secondly, the history of these discoveries was told with great detail. Shubin discusses the political and scientific climate of the time of the discoveries giving great detail and insight into the nature of scientific research.
This book is recommended for fellow scientist and science enthusiasts. I'd question whether a layman may find it too dense in comparison to other popular science books (such as Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything). Great read!
As a fellow scientist I'm well-versed in the theories presented here; but teh book offered much more. Firstly, it ties together multidisciplinary sciences in a neat little dialogue. One moment you're reading about biology, the next geology, but it all ties together. Science as a spectrum is well demonstrated here.
Secondly, the history of these discoveries was told with great detail. Shubin discusses the political and scientific climate of the time of the discoveries giving great detail and insight into the nature of scientific research.
This book is recommended for fellow scientist and science enthusiasts. I'd question whether a layman may find it too dense in comparison to other popular science books (such as Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything). Great read!
February 17, 2015
I have a bit of a nerd crush on Shubin, having now read both of his books this year. What I like about his writing, is that it is as smart and informative as it is accessible. I don't know about your average Joe, but I do not have a degree in evolutionary biology, astronomy, or tectonics, so it was sure nice to find an author who can really explain the tricky details. I've read explanations of Carbon 14 dating of fossils in both this book and Nick Lane's Oxygen, and I only really got Shubin. Lane went right over my head, like a supersonic jet.
Compared to Your Inner Fish, the author's first book, The Universe Within has a broader scope. Sometimes Shubin steps aside to weave in relevant stories of great scientists, and it takes a page or two to connect the dots, but the desirable "a-ha" moment never seems to miss the reader. The first few chapters that deal with formation of our planet and life in general, as well as chapter nine that talked about human evolution were of the most interest to me. There are a few theories and topics that I would love to expand my knowledge on a little further: the great conveyor belt of the bedrock, life in pre-historic Antarctic, a single male ancestor of all Native American people, and the mysterious civilization of Natufians. Thankfully, the book also contains a fascinating and very extensive section with notes and further reading suggestions, with the help of which I have already added several other scientific works to my shelves.
I cannot wait to see what else Mr. Shubin publishes.
Compared to Your Inner Fish, the author's first book, The Universe Within has a broader scope. Sometimes Shubin steps aside to weave in relevant stories of great scientists, and it takes a page or two to connect the dots, but the desirable "a-ha" moment never seems to miss the reader. The first few chapters that deal with formation of our planet and life in general, as well as chapter nine that talked about human evolution were of the most interest to me. There are a few theories and topics that I would love to expand my knowledge on a little further: the great conveyor belt of the bedrock, life in pre-historic Antarctic, a single male ancestor of all Native American people, and the mysterious civilization of Natufians. Thankfully, the book also contains a fascinating and very extensive section with notes and further reading suggestions, with the help of which I have already added several other scientific works to my shelves.
I cannot wait to see what else Mr. Shubin publishes.
August 1, 2019
تساءلت في بدايات الكتاب: لماذا يكتب عالم حفريات وبيولوجيا تطورية عن الانفجار العظيم والجسيمات المضادة وتفاصيل فيزيائية خارج تخصصه.. وتساءلت: هل الكتاب هو مجرد عمل تجاري بعد نجاح كتابه الأول (السمكة داخلك) وهو كتاب ذو فكرة واضحة وفي صميم تخصص الكاتب.
مع استمراري في القراءة وجدت أن الكاتب أبدع في شرح التفاصيل الفيزيائية الكونية أكثر من بعض المتخصصين، ووجدت للكتاب فكرة مترابطة تتعلق بالظروف الكونية والجغرافية والبيئية التي أدت إلى وجودنا نحن البشر.
بالتحديد منذ الفصل الرابع بدأت بالاستمتاع في الكتاب..
من الأمثلة على المواضيع الشيقة في الكتاب:
- كيف تعمل الساعات البيولوجية في جسمنا؟
- لماذا نتحطم إذا سقطنا من مكان مرتفع بينما تنجو الفئران؟
- ما هو العامل الأهم لبقاء الكائن الحي بعد الكوارث العظمى؟
- ارتطام شبه القارة الهندية بآسيا وعلاقة ذلك بتغير مناخ الأرض وقدرتنا على تمييز الألوان!؟
- قصة التغيرات الكونية والأرضية (المناخية) التي سمحت للبشر أن يتطورا.
بالإضافة إلى دروس مناخية وجغرافية متنوعة.
مع استمراري في القراءة وجدت أن الكاتب أبدع في شرح التفاصيل الفيزيائية الكونية أكثر من بعض المتخصصين، ووجدت للكتاب فكرة مترابطة تتعلق بالظروف الكونية والجغرافية والبيئية التي أدت إلى وجودنا نحن البشر.
بالتحديد منذ الفصل الرابع بدأت بالاستمتاع في الكتاب..
من الأمثلة على المواضيع الشيقة في الكتاب:
- كيف تعمل الساعات البيولوجية في جسمنا؟
- لماذا نتحطم إذا سقطنا من مكان مرتفع بينما تنجو الفئران؟
- ما هو العامل الأهم لبقاء الكائن الحي بعد الكوارث العظمى؟
- ارتطام شبه القارة الهندية بآسيا وعلاقة ذلك بتغير مناخ الأرض وقدرتنا على تمييز الألوان!؟
- قصة التغيرات الكونية والأرضية (المناخية) التي سمحت للبشر أن يتطورا.
بالإضافة إلى دروس مناخية وجغرافية متنوعة.
December 9, 2020
Amazon lists two versions of this book, with different subtitles: ISBN 0307378438, The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People is described as the first edition and is only available in hardcover. ISBN 0307473279, The Universe Within: The Deep History of the Human Body is offered in hardcover, paperback, and as an eTextbook. Both show as having 240 pages so the text is probably the same, and the subtitle was likely changed for some marketing reason after the book was originally published. The original subtitle describes the book much better than the second.
It is a good book, interesting, informative, and well written. It provides an introduction to the interconnectedness of cosmology, physics, geology, chemistry, and evolution, but only a few pages are actually about “the deep history of the human body.” The book is also short, with the main text coming in at under 190 pages. If this were fiction it would be a novella.
Shubin is best known for his book Your Inner Fish, which recounts finding Tiktaalik, a 375 million year old transitional fossil that shows how animals made the move from water to land. Remarkably, while the bones in our own hands and feet have been heavily modified over time, they are still recognizably the same anatomical structures as those of Tiktaalik.
He has a talent for presenting facts in memorable ways, such as “Hydrogen and helium today remain the most common elements in the universe. Hydrogen makes up about 90 percent of all matter, helium about 5 percent. All the others that compose us and run through the lives of people and stars are but a rounding error.” Similarly, in accounting for the creation of the heavier elements, everything up to iron can be forged in ordinary stars like our own, but “All the elements heavier than iron, such as the cobalt and cesium in our bodies, derive from supernovae.”
He can also provide logical and interesting explanations for things I had never thought about, as in “The gravitational pull of the sun meant that heavier material would orbit closer to it, while lighter particles and gas orbited farther away. To some extent, this state of affairs remains in effect today, with the solar system composed of rocky inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and gaseous outer ones, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.”
Much of the book consists of one or two page biographical sketches of people who made important contributions to science, many of them revered in their field but unknown to most readers. The explanations of their work show the cumulative power of science, as one great idea builds on another. Of course, people being who they are, it was not a smooth ascent to ever greater knowledge. Some important ideas were ridiculed or ignored, and geology departments around the world almost went to war over plate tectonics, complete with underhanded sabotage of those with opposing views.
In order for life to have survived and evolved, the Earth had to maintain temperatures within a narrow range, but the sun has varied considerably over its life, “The sun is not a constant beacon of light; it started its stellar life as a relatively dim start over 4.6 billion years ago and has increased in brightness ever since, being about 30 percent brighter and warmer now than when it formed.” The key to maintaining life on Earth is carbon.
The planet’s temperatures are kept within a narrow range by the movement of carbon molecules through air, rain, rock, and volcano. Hot weather leads to more rock erosion, which leads to more carbon being pulled out of the air and thus colder weather. Then, just as things get colder, the cycle moves the planet’s temperatures in the opposite direction: colder weather leads to less erosion, increasing amounts of carbon in the air, and hotter temperatures.
There is an excellent discussion of how the 100,000 year ice age cycle was discovered, which was at first seemed a plausible but unconfirmed explanation, and it took decades before it was backed up with evidence from geology and ice cores. “Earth’s orbit changes in three major ways. Over 100,000 years Earth’s orbit goes from the shape of an oval to a more circular pattern. During 41,000 years Earth rocks back and forth about 2 degrees. And in the course of 19,000 years Earth’s tilt wobbles like a top.”
Having established how the Earth was formed and became hospitable for life, the book moves into evolution, again providing interesting observations, such as “no individual dwelling on Earth for the first 3 billion years was larger than a grain of rice.” Clear evidence of life goes back to 3.4 billion years ago, but it took a very long time for the first multicellular creatures to evolve. “The first 2.5 billion years of the history of [life on] the planet were entire devoid of big creatures; then, by about 1 billion years ago, there were not one but several different species with bodies populating the ancient seas: plant bodies, fungal bodies, and animal bodies, among others.”
In discussing the evolution of ever larger and more complex creatures, the author eventually gets to humankind. He makes an observation that contradicts other things I have read, that “DNA of Native Americans reveals that they are derived from a single male who likely crossed the Bering Strait when an ice bridge formed during the last ice age.” I accept that he is the expert here, but other studies indicate that people crossed the Siberian ice bridge for thousands of years, and it seems unlikely that all Native Americans could be traced back to a single individual unless the times scale is greatly enlarged, so that we are talking about a distant ancestor of everyone who once lived in Siberia, tens of thousands of years before the crossing of the Bering Strait.
Occasionally the author seems to remember the subtitle of the book, and inserts a fact that shows how today we are still connected with the cosmos, stretching back to the beginning of the Earth, and even farther “Whether originating from the ice of comets or vaporized from the rocky debris of the early solar system, or both, each glass of water we drink is derived from sources at least as old as the solar system itself.”
I enjoyed this book, and learned a lot from it, even though it is only occasionally about what the subtitle of the second edition says. And once again, it is much too short; it would have been better with another hundred pages of explanations and examples.
It is a good book, interesting, informative, and well written. It provides an introduction to the interconnectedness of cosmology, physics, geology, chemistry, and evolution, but only a few pages are actually about “the deep history of the human body.” The book is also short, with the main text coming in at under 190 pages. If this were fiction it would be a novella.
Shubin is best known for his book Your Inner Fish, which recounts finding Tiktaalik, a 375 million year old transitional fossil that shows how animals made the move from water to land. Remarkably, while the bones in our own hands and feet have been heavily modified over time, they are still recognizably the same anatomical structures as those of Tiktaalik.
He has a talent for presenting facts in memorable ways, such as “Hydrogen and helium today remain the most common elements in the universe. Hydrogen makes up about 90 percent of all matter, helium about 5 percent. All the others that compose us and run through the lives of people and stars are but a rounding error.” Similarly, in accounting for the creation of the heavier elements, everything up to iron can be forged in ordinary stars like our own, but “All the elements heavier than iron, such as the cobalt and cesium in our bodies, derive from supernovae.”
He can also provide logical and interesting explanations for things I had never thought about, as in “The gravitational pull of the sun meant that heavier material would orbit closer to it, while lighter particles and gas orbited farther away. To some extent, this state of affairs remains in effect today, with the solar system composed of rocky inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and gaseous outer ones, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.”
Much of the book consists of one or two page biographical sketches of people who made important contributions to science, many of them revered in their field but unknown to most readers. The explanations of their work show the cumulative power of science, as one great idea builds on another. Of course, people being who they are, it was not a smooth ascent to ever greater knowledge. Some important ideas were ridiculed or ignored, and geology departments around the world almost went to war over plate tectonics, complete with underhanded sabotage of those with opposing views.
In order for life to have survived and evolved, the Earth had to maintain temperatures within a narrow range, but the sun has varied considerably over its life, “The sun is not a constant beacon of light; it started its stellar life as a relatively dim start over 4.6 billion years ago and has increased in brightness ever since, being about 30 percent brighter and warmer now than when it formed.” The key to maintaining life on Earth is carbon.
The planet’s temperatures are kept within a narrow range by the movement of carbon molecules through air, rain, rock, and volcano. Hot weather leads to more rock erosion, which leads to more carbon being pulled out of the air and thus colder weather. Then, just as things get colder, the cycle moves the planet’s temperatures in the opposite direction: colder weather leads to less erosion, increasing amounts of carbon in the air, and hotter temperatures.
There is an excellent discussion of how the 100,000 year ice age cycle was discovered, which was at first seemed a plausible but unconfirmed explanation, and it took decades before it was backed up with evidence from geology and ice cores. “Earth’s orbit changes in three major ways. Over 100,000 years Earth’s orbit goes from the shape of an oval to a more circular pattern. During 41,000 years Earth rocks back and forth about 2 degrees. And in the course of 19,000 years Earth’s tilt wobbles like a top.”
Having established how the Earth was formed and became hospitable for life, the book moves into evolution, again providing interesting observations, such as “no individual dwelling on Earth for the first 3 billion years was larger than a grain of rice.” Clear evidence of life goes back to 3.4 billion years ago, but it took a very long time for the first multicellular creatures to evolve. “The first 2.5 billion years of the history of [life on] the planet were entire devoid of big creatures; then, by about 1 billion years ago, there were not one but several different species with bodies populating the ancient seas: plant bodies, fungal bodies, and animal bodies, among others.”
In discussing the evolution of ever larger and more complex creatures, the author eventually gets to humankind. He makes an observation that contradicts other things I have read, that “DNA of Native Americans reveals that they are derived from a single male who likely crossed the Bering Strait when an ice bridge formed during the last ice age.” I accept that he is the expert here, but other studies indicate that people crossed the Siberian ice bridge for thousands of years, and it seems unlikely that all Native Americans could be traced back to a single individual unless the times scale is greatly enlarged, so that we are talking about a distant ancestor of everyone who once lived in Siberia, tens of thousands of years before the crossing of the Bering Strait.
Occasionally the author seems to remember the subtitle of the book, and inserts a fact that shows how today we are still connected with the cosmos, stretching back to the beginning of the Earth, and even farther “Whether originating from the ice of comets or vaporized from the rocky debris of the early solar system, or both, each glass of water we drink is derived from sources at least as old as the solar system itself.”
I enjoyed this book, and learned a lot from it, even though it is only occasionally about what the subtitle of the second edition says. And once again, it is much too short; it would have been better with another hundred pages of explanations and examples.
November 21, 2024
Firstly, I'm no scientist, so I can't comment upon just how factual and up to date this information is, but I did enjoy listening to it!
Having read The Inner Fish by this author, I was very keen to read this, and I didn't find myself disappointed.
Physics is a subject that I wish I had understood more about, but I found this book gave me insight that was easy to digest, so I could grasp the concepts described.
Towards the last third of the book, I felt that the subject matter jumped between topics that made it hard to listen in sections, as I did, let alone as a solid read through.
Having read The Inner Fish by this author, I was very keen to read this, and I didn't find myself disappointed.
Physics is a subject that I wish I had understood more about, but I found this book gave me insight that was easy to digest, so I could grasp the concepts described.
Towards the last third of the book, I felt that the subject matter jumped between topics that made it hard to listen in sections, as I did, let alone as a solid read through.
April 28, 2013
Very solid 4 out of 5 *. Fascinating content, well-written, personal and easily digested. Popular science at its best!
"Ours is a species that can extend its biological inheritance to see vast reaches of space, know 13.7 billion years of history, and explore our deep connections to planets, galaxies, and ohter living things. There is something almost magical to the notion that our bodies, minds, and ideas have roots in the crust of Earth, water of the oceans, and atoms in celestial bodies. The stars in the sky and the fossils in the ground are enduring beacons that signal, though the pace of human change is ever accelerating, we are but a recent link in a network of connections as old as the heavens." (Page 190)
The above paragraph sums up what the themes that this book explores. One of the chapters deals with continental drift. I've read the story many times before but I still find it highly amusing and a bit distressing that what any child given a map of the world can see was considered a heretical idea as little as 50 years ago. The importance of continental drift? It created an enormous amount of new coast line, susceptible to erosion and dumping sediments into the sea, thus burying the mud consisting of rotting single celled organisms. This covering of this mud led to an increase in oxygen levels, enabling the evolution of warm-blooded mammals (page 117/118).
All in all, this book is immensely readable and highly recommended for anyone curious about the history of our world and its creatures.
"Ours is a species that can extend its biological inheritance to see vast reaches of space, know 13.7 billion years of history, and explore our deep connections to planets, galaxies, and ohter living things. There is something almost magical to the notion that our bodies, minds, and ideas have roots in the crust of Earth, water of the oceans, and atoms in celestial bodies. The stars in the sky and the fossils in the ground are enduring beacons that signal, though the pace of human change is ever accelerating, we are but a recent link in a network of connections as old as the heavens." (Page 190)
The above paragraph sums up what the themes that this book explores. One of the chapters deals with continental drift. I've read the story many times before but I still find it highly amusing and a bit distressing that what any child given a map of the world can see was considered a heretical idea as little as 50 years ago. The importance of continental drift? It created an enormous amount of new coast line, susceptible to erosion and dumping sediments into the sea, thus burying the mud consisting of rotting single celled organisms. This covering of this mud led to an increase in oxygen levels, enabling the evolution of warm-blooded mammals (page 117/118).
All in all, this book is immensely readable and highly recommended for anyone curious about the history of our world and its creatures.
April 14, 2013
This book reminded me of A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Except, it isn't as well written, or as comprehensive. Shubin introduces the formation of the planets and our moon. He talks about circadian rhythms. He talks about oxygen and how it allows for big bodies and mammals, etc. He tries to be Carl Sagan, with pontification on how stars go supernova and make the chemical elements that find their way into out bodies. That's about it. I guess that's the origin of the title? He never says. This book sort of felt like a waste of my time. It wasn't awfully written, but it wasn't that good, either.
April 19, 2015
I like sense-of-wonder science, like Carl Sagan’s assertions that we are “starstuff”. This sounds as if it’s going to be in that vein, and in a way it is — certainly it brings home that it’s only possible for us to have iron in our blood because of ancient fusion in the hearts of stars — but on a more banal level, it’s the perfect way of revising what you’ve learnt in the Open University’s introduction to science module, S104. If you can follow and understand everything here, you’re okay on at least the first and second book of that course.
It’s fairly simply written, not going too much into depth about the technical details, but more providing a survey of some important scientific discoveries. Though the title The Universe Within may imply that it’s more about our own bodies, it actually goes into a lot of Earth science, touching on continental drift, global warming, even the formation of planets and the existence of water in the solar system.
It’s an easy enough read, and not a bad way to check your understanding.
Originally posted here.
It’s fairly simply written, not going too much into depth about the technical details, but more providing a survey of some important scientific discoveries. Though the title The Universe Within may imply that it’s more about our own bodies, it actually goes into a lot of Earth science, touching on continental drift, global warming, even the formation of planets and the existence of water in the solar system.
It’s an easy enough read, and not a bad way to check your understanding.
Originally posted here.
June 10, 2024
I think Neil Shubin is a fairly talented science writer, but this is another excellent example of science communication that would benefit from concision. In other words, a book length treatment of this issue at the level of rigor appropriate for public consumption is not warranted. It is largely remedial earth science for those who forgot or missed primary school lessons. These are basic things everyone should know, but I think Shubin's talents are wasted on such an effort and that a book is unlikely to be the best format to deliver these points.
The central point is there is a shared and continuous history among matter in our universe. This is a very basic insight, the law of conservation of energy/mass. We also are treated to the ways this understanding has been demonstrated across various scientific disciplines. It was a fine refresher on these topics mixed with some interesting asides (e.g Camp Century - the Cold War military base in an arctic ice sheet), but I often felt my attention slipping.
The central point is there is a shared and continuous history among matter in our universe. This is a very basic insight, the law of conservation of energy/mass. We also are treated to the ways this understanding has been demonstrated across various scientific disciplines. It was a fine refresher on these topics mixed with some interesting asides (e.g Camp Century - the Cold War military base in an arctic ice sheet), but I often felt my attention slipping.
December 9, 2015
Not perfect, but pretty darn good. Rounded up to a full 5 stars because it was so full of memorable tidbits. Shubin may be a paleontologist, but you'll learn about astronomy, physics, microbiology, social sciences... And so many things in between. Accessible science writing that offers a solid starting point to many additional disciplines.
April 21, 2013
I love readable scientific books that are written in an entertaining style and at a level that someone with a non-science college degree can understand. This book really filled that bill for me. It starts with the big bang and traces developments since then that led to human beings: how solar systems formed, how the earth's atmosphere came to contain so much oxygen, and so on. I am a person of faith and it disappoints and perplexes me that so many other people of faith are anti-science. To me, it is all the more awe-inspiring to understand that I am "fearfully and wonderfully" made of atoms that formed in the big bang over 13 billion years ago. Science is about what and how; it will never explain why. Why is the province of faith. But to humbly seek to understand what and how is just another form of worship in my opinion.
June 7, 2023
This book can be summed up like this: It’s about how we have evolved to be the way that we are because the universe and Earth are the way they are. The book shows the interconnectedness of nature and life.
I thought the title was a bit misleading, as only the first chapter or so related directly to the universe and what’s out there, while the rest of the book is focused on changes in the Earth. I didn’t really mind though. As an astrophysicist I read a lot about the universe, so it was actually refreshing to read about other stuff that felt new to me. Several of the aspects of how Earth's history has shaped the evolution of life was new to me.
For me the book was a very nice introduction to the history of Earth and the changes in its landmass, climate and life from its beginning until today (stuff I probably learned in school, but have long since forgotten).
Throughout the book the author shares stories about the scientists that were behind the big and important discoveries, telling the story about how those discoveries came about, which is a nice way to show how science progresses. The author also sometimes included his own experiences as a paleontologist working in the field, which I liked.
The book has black and white pictures. Mostly of old men of science, but sometimes motifs related to the topic at hand. I think I would have preferred it without the pictures of people. To me it is irrelevant how they look and it almost takes attention away from the text.
I really enjoyed reading the book and it was an easy read. Time just flew by. The author explains things well and in a simple enough manner to understand it. I can recommend it!
I thought the title was a bit misleading, as only the first chapter or so related directly to the universe and what’s out there, while the rest of the book is focused on changes in the Earth. I didn’t really mind though. As an astrophysicist I read a lot about the universe, so it was actually refreshing to read about other stuff that felt new to me. Several of the aspects of how Earth's history has shaped the evolution of life was new to me.
For me the book was a very nice introduction to the history of Earth and the changes in its landmass, climate and life from its beginning until today (stuff I probably learned in school, but have long since forgotten).
Throughout the book the author shares stories about the scientists that were behind the big and important discoveries, telling the story about how those discoveries came about, which is a nice way to show how science progresses. The author also sometimes included his own experiences as a paleontologist working in the field, which I liked.
The book has black and white pictures. Mostly of old men of science, but sometimes motifs related to the topic at hand. I think I would have preferred it without the pictures of people. To me it is irrelevant how they look and it almost takes attention away from the text.
I really enjoyed reading the book and it was an easy read. Time just flew by. The author explains things well and in a simple enough manner to understand it. I can recommend it!
January 2, 2021
Daha önce İçimizdeki Balık isimli kitabını okuduğum yazarın ikinci eseri bu. Diğer kitap daha çok evrim odaklı iken bu kitap evrime pek değinmeden evrenin oluşumu, galaksiler, güneş sistemi, gezegenlerin oluşumundan sonra dünyada hayatın ortaya çıkışı, kıtaların hareketleri, kitlesel yok oluşlar, buzul çağlarının oluşumları gibi konular hakkında anlaşılır detaylı bilgiler verirken bu konuları aydınlığa çıkarmış bilim insanlarını da tanıtıyor. Konuları itibarı ile ‘Hemen her şeyin kısa tarihi’ kitap ile paralel gidiyor. Bunlardan birini beğendiyseniz diğeri de ilginizi çekecektir.
Ne yazık ki alanı hakkında çok iyi eserler veren bu yazarın kitaplarının baskıları dilimizde artık bulunmuyor.
Ne yazık ki alanı hakkında çok iyi eserler veren bu yazarın kitaplarının baskıları dilimizde artık bulunmuyor.
March 14, 2017
Shubin's science, anecdotes, and warmly friendly writing style make "The Universe Within" an intriguing read. While I as a conservative Christian and pastor cannot agree with Shubin's evolutionary scientific conclusions, I nevertheless appreciated hearing his voice in this book, and found the breadth of topics to be sufficiently satisfying. All in all, a good read if you appreciate a scientist who is able to speak from his worldview with articulation and without condescension.
July 29, 2018
الكون داخلنا ، فلا زالت بعض العناصر المكونة للجسم الإنساني هي نفسها داخل النجوم ، فما نحن إلا بقايا منها ، فنحن نحمل في ذمتنا حياة نجم ما قد انفجر في وقت ما .
في هذا الكتاب يعود بنا "نيل شوبين" إلى النقطة التي خرج منها هذا الكون، بدراسة شاملة في الجيلوجيا ، البايلوجيا ، الكيمياء، والفيزياء، بسرد بسيط ورائع متناولاً قصص بعض العلماء وكيف بدأت أول شرارة للاكتشافات .
عدد الصفحات ٢٧٤
في هذا الكتاب يعود بنا "نيل شوبين" إلى النقطة التي خرج منها هذا الكون، بدراسة شاملة في الجيلوجيا ، البايلوجيا ، الكيمياء، والفيزياء، بسرد بسيط ورائع متناولاً قصص بعض العلماء وكيف بدأت أول شرارة للاكتشافات .
عدد الصفحات ٢٧٤
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March 15, 2019I did not want this book to end. From beginning to the end every part was fascinating.
November 23, 2019
I did learn quite something in this book. That the continental drifting resulted in more oxygen. And that India bumping into Asia led to a cooling of the Earth and that made our ancestors developing color vision (because this helped them finding more nutritious food.) But I did not like the astronomical part of the book and certainly not the biographical stuff. Shubin was a student of Gould. So he felt he had to mention Baseball, by the way.
I had never heard of Stigler’s law, which states that no scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer. This law was found by Robert Merton. Okay, so it is kind of funny. But somehow it reminds me of Sturgeon's law. And that, I believe, was pronounced by Ted. 7/10
I had never heard of Stigler’s law, which states that no scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer. This law was found by Robert Merton. Okay, so it is kind of funny. But somehow it reminds me of Sturgeon's law. And that, I believe, was pronounced by Ted. 7/10
April 17, 2019
I had this book on my pile to read for a while now, but didn't happen until I found a used copy of the audiobook and was able to listen to that while I worked. This was a good, but obviously compact, look on how life started and evolved on Earth, using astronomy, geology, physics, chemistry and paleontology to tell the story. The best part is while telling the parts of the story, some of the people and scientists mentioned aren't the usual ones that always brought up in popular science books - so even if you have read other science books about the general ideas on how the Earth was created or how life began, you will still learn plenty of new things from this book.
August 11, 2023
I was amazed by Carl Sagan's book "Cosmos," which taught me about the universe and how it's connected to us. Now, Neil Shubin does the same thing in his book, but in a different way with some new insights and information. He introduces new scientists and concepts that I haven't heard of before.
In this book, you'll learn everything about the universe in just 190 pages. The author shows us how everything is connected, and that life on Earth isn't random. It took a long time for life to happen, from the Sun forming billions of years ago to the collision of tectonic plates that created mountains like Everest and Himalayas. This paved the way for life on Earth.
There is an unbreakable tether binds us, from the fish in the deep sea to humans exploring outer space with an unquenchable quest to know everything, we all are associated with each other one way or another !!!
"We are all connected, to each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically. Not only are we in the universe, the universe is in us !!!"
In this book, you'll learn everything about the universe in just 190 pages. The author shows us how everything is connected, and that life on Earth isn't random. It took a long time for life to happen, from the Sun forming billions of years ago to the collision of tectonic plates that created mountains like Everest and Himalayas. This paved the way for life on Earth.
There is an unbreakable tether binds us, from the fish in the deep sea to humans exploring outer space with an unquenchable quest to know everything, we all are associated with each other one way or another !!!
"We are all connected, to each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically. Not only are we in the universe, the universe is in us !!!"
June 15, 2017
Some aspects of this book were entertaining and the science seems very up-to-date. But overall it was too disjointed. I think the best part of this book is going to be the suggestions for further reading, because there is such a wide range of topics he touched on.
March 18, 2019
A really great introduction to basic sciences. Does a wonderful job of connecting the dots between cosmology, physics, biology, geology, etc. Recommend it to anyone with an interest in science without formal education in it.
April 17, 2022
Neil is a good writer. I really enjoyed the reading, even if his first book "your inner fish" has a unique signature while "the universe within" content can be found in many scientific books.
May 5, 2023
This book features many different kinds of science, but it reads almost like religious adoration. The writer expresses deep appreciation for all aspects of the universe and how they and we are all connected. Very informative, but I got lost a few times. The overall premise is beautiful though.
January 22, 2020
"The Universe Within" takes a new sight in understanding human position in Universal and biological terms. Book is written with an exiting taste and true discerning of its subject; book is read fast and contains valuable and amusing information about Universe, planets and nature. Mostly, I praise chapters that discuss about geology and climate in the planet Earth.
February 28, 2022
I love the way Neil Shubin strings together all these complex ideas to drive home the simple point that everything in the universe is connected. It makes you feel small in a good way.
February 23, 2017
This was very entertaining, but I couldn't help but feel by the end that is was a bit lacking in substance. Maybe it is just because I came off a monster of an 19hours audiobook, but by the time we got to the end, it felt like it was just starting to get going. I kinda wanted it to go into further detail about a lot of this stuff. It was very easy to listen to, though, so I have to give it points for readability.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
February 17, 2014
I don't understand how this book gets its name. It is really a geological/biological/astronomical survey of earth over time.
13.7 billion years ago - The formation of the universe and how the different elements were created. This chapter includes a nice write up of how scientist estimate the age of the universe and the odd fact that all of the stars are red-shifted indicating they are moving away and why that radio telescope in New Jersey was important.
4.7 billion years ago - The creation of the earth and other planets in the solar system including the formation of the moon from a collision with earth. This chapter includes an explanation of how scientists date the earth and why those comet rocks were important, but not the only way they did it (they also used some very old rocks in Australia).
2.4 billion years ago - The evolution of large animals from the single-celled and simple multi-celled forms of life that dominated the fossil record of earth the previous 2 billion years.
65 million years ago - The great die off of dinosaurs and other reptilian forms of life that happened when an asteroid hit the earth and how such cataclysmic events are not uncommon, including one die-off that occurred as a result of changing sea chemistry.
Reading this book and watching that Bill Nye debate brings up some issues between science and religion. Science shows the universe is unimaginably old with billions of stars at vast distances. The religion teaches that God only took the same time to create all of that as he did on the oceans. One view encourages a view of man as a humbly small part of a huge universe, the other as something special.
Science shows that all life is related. We share DNA with even the humblest jelly fish. Religion teaches that man is a special creation of God and can therefore do what he pleases to the earth and all other life forms on it.
Science shows the earth has gone through several biological apocalypses where almost every species on earth has gone extinct. Religion claims the earth is only 6000 years old and the species on it are immutable. We can do whatever we want to the planet and not worry.
I think I am buying the science. That does not eliminate a belief in God, it just eliminates a belief in most religions.
13.7 billion years ago - The formation of the universe and how the different elements were created. This chapter includes a nice write up of how scientist estimate the age of the universe and the odd fact that all of the stars are red-shifted indicating they are moving away and why that radio telescope in New Jersey was important.
4.7 billion years ago - The creation of the earth and other planets in the solar system including the formation of the moon from a collision with earth. This chapter includes an explanation of how scientists date the earth and why those comet rocks were important, but not the only way they did it (they also used some very old rocks in Australia).
2.4 billion years ago - The evolution of large animals from the single-celled and simple multi-celled forms of life that dominated the fossil record of earth the previous 2 billion years.
65 million years ago - The great die off of dinosaurs and other reptilian forms of life that happened when an asteroid hit the earth and how such cataclysmic events are not uncommon, including one die-off that occurred as a result of changing sea chemistry.
Reading this book and watching that Bill Nye debate brings up some issues between science and religion. Science shows the universe is unimaginably old with billions of stars at vast distances. The religion teaches that God only took the same time to create all of that as he did on the oceans. One view encourages a view of man as a humbly small part of a huge universe, the other as something special.
Science shows that all life is related. We share DNA with even the humblest jelly fish. Religion teaches that man is a special creation of God and can therefore do what he pleases to the earth and all other life forms on it.
Science shows the earth has gone through several biological apocalypses where almost every species on earth has gone extinct. Religion claims the earth is only 6000 years old and the species on it are immutable. We can do whatever we want to the planet and not worry.
I think I am buying the science. That does not eliminate a belief in God, it just eliminates a belief in most religions.
August 17, 2013
In this lively book, Neil Shubin (noted author of Your Inner Fish), makes paleontology, carbon chemistry, and climate science all come together in explaining our lives and the world around us. Drawing on the deep connectivity between our chemical composition and the natural processes in our universe, Shubin makes an immediate case of how dependent we are on almost everything around us. He explains how the state of the planet is greatly dependent on its carbon balance, a process maintained and governed by seemingly discrete earth processes. Volcanoes spew carbon into the air, which then settles in rocks via acid rain. This flows into the ocean by way of erosion due to rivers and glaciers. The ocean floor has rifts that create new ocean floor, while at another end, older sea floor gets buried into the earth's internal core at subduction fault zones, thus feeding the volcanic activity. In typical flowing writing style, Shubin identifies how the collision of India into the Tibetan landmass led to the formation of the Himalayan range, an activity so profound in its absorption of carbon from the air, that it led to steady declines in the world's temperature, thus leading to the Ice Ages.
This book nicely pulls together facts available from other sources - but it excels in its ability to intertwine all these discrete facts into a yarn that clearly and compellingly demonstrates our intimate connection to the universe around us. Besides, there is the passion of interbeing here, as Shubin succintly summarizes his story in ten quick chapters, accompanied by an exhaustive list of references for the more serious reader. As the universe changes, so do we. Sometimes these changes are catastrophic, as when the landmass pulled away from Antartica, transforming it very quickly into a teeming landscape of frozen ice instead of the greenery it once nurtured. In other cases, the changes are more gradual, but still going on. It gives special relevance to the Upanishadic quip: "Tat tvam asi" - that thou art..
This book nicely pulls together facts available from other sources - but it excels in its ability to intertwine all these discrete facts into a yarn that clearly and compellingly demonstrates our intimate connection to the universe around us. Besides, there is the passion of interbeing here, as Shubin succintly summarizes his story in ten quick chapters, accompanied by an exhaustive list of references for the more serious reader. As the universe changes, so do we. Sometimes these changes are catastrophic, as when the landmass pulled away from Antartica, transforming it very quickly into a teeming landscape of frozen ice instead of the greenery it once nurtured. In other cases, the changes are more gradual, but still going on. It gives special relevance to the Upanishadic quip: "Tat tvam asi" - that thou art..
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