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Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life – A Planetary Scientist's Guide to Astrobiology, NASA, and Our Cosmic Quest for Connection
It's been nearly four decades since Carl Sagan first addressed the general public from a scientist's perspective, confronting the possibility of extraterrestrial life. David Grinspoon, a planetary scientist who has helped to shape modern planetary exploration, brings the subject to a new generation of readers with his reflections on the most recent developments in astrobiology, including NASA's search for life on Mars. In Lonely Planets , he investigates the big How widespread are life and intelligence in the cosmos? Is life on Earth an accident or in some sense the "purpose" of this universe? And how can we, working from the Earth-centric definition of "life," even begin to think about the varieties of life-forms on other planets? Using the topic of extraterrestrial life as a mirror with which to view human beliefs, evolution, history, and aspirations, Grinspoon provides an authoritative scientific narrative of cosmic evolution, along with provocative ruminations on how we fit into the story of the universe. An accessible, lively blend of science, history, philosophy, and personal narrative, Lonely Planets reveals how the search for extraterrestrial life unites our spiritual and scientific quests for connection with the cosmos.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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January 6, 2010
I first encountered Dr. David Grinspoon when I was reading a biography on Carl Sagan. David is the son of Dr. Lester Grinspoon; a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School that has done original work in cannabis research and mental health, and was a close friend of Sagan. The next encounter I had with David was at a lecture he gave at DU for the Denver Astronomical Society to promote this book and his research. Observing his natural exuberance and love for these topics make him a highly likable character. Why, y’all ask? Because he’s not the stereotypical science lecturer that radiates boredom, dryness, uninteresting logic, and social skills that bottom out in the negative extremis; but rather, Dr. Grinspoon gives highly charged and invigorating descriptions of all things astronomical – plus the dichotomy of his possession of degrees in philosophy and planetary science with a doctorate in the latter, and his physical appearance of multiple earrings and a frizzy, thinning afro atop a tall body, make for an interesting lecturing experience. Also, I must mention that he’s a local that’s based in Boulder and a fellow musician, and that I’ve seen a few of his talks at this point. Yes, he’s quirky, funny, and damn smart; and he wrote this amazing book that masterfully paints his individuality and passion for science across its 428 pages.
Some samples:
On Earth being in the habitable zone:
The surface of a planet can be a good place for elements and simple molecules to get together, try new variations on their structural themes, and make ever more complex molecules. Especially if, as was this particular planet, the third stone from a third-generation star, it is blessed with a sprinkling of holy water rich in carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus – the “biogenic elements.” It also helps if, when the music stops after the random accretionary dance, your planet winds up at a healthy distance from the irradiating glow of its newborn star.
On what “life” is:
Try this: Life is a self-perpetuating, self-contained chemical phenomenon that extracts or manufactures high-energy nutrients from its environment, excretes waste material of lower chemical energy, and surfs the energy difference between food and shit to go on living. Life is a breakfast cereal, a board game, a very long sentence, a bitch and then you die. I’ll let you in on a dirty little secret: We don’t really know what life is. We may as well try and catch the wind as pin life down with a tidy definition… Now that I’ve established that we don’t know what life is, I’ll continue to describe where we think it came from.
On attending a conference in his adopted home turf of Boulder, CO:
It was a classic Boulder crowd: well-heeled hippies with carefully matted dreadlocks falling over designer tie-dyes, bespectacled academics toting tattered notebooks, and smatterings of spandex, bike helmets, laptops, dogs, beards and peasant dresses (not necessarily on the same person but not necessarily not), the occasional whiff of patchouli oil or pot (but absolutely no tobacco smoking, under pain of death)… Boulder is a bubble town nestled against the mountains thirty miles northwest of Denver. It’s sort of like the city in Logan’s Run, a pleasant place, and anybody who is unhappy or unattractive or too old or unwealthy is recycled, and used to grow organic, free-range fruits and vegetables.
Ha! Learning has never been so fun as Lonely Planets! It’s a bullet-train ride through history, pseudoscience, real science, philosophy, astrobiology, and his specialty, planetary science. I must say that this is probably my favorite astronomy book, because I’ve plowed though it twice now and I’m sure I’ll do it a few more times as the years go on.
Some samples:
On Earth being in the habitable zone:
The surface of a planet can be a good place for elements and simple molecules to get together, try new variations on their structural themes, and make ever more complex molecules. Especially if, as was this particular planet, the third stone from a third-generation star, it is blessed with a sprinkling of holy water rich in carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus – the “biogenic elements.” It also helps if, when the music stops after the random accretionary dance, your planet winds up at a healthy distance from the irradiating glow of its newborn star.
On what “life” is:
Try this: Life is a self-perpetuating, self-contained chemical phenomenon that extracts or manufactures high-energy nutrients from its environment, excretes waste material of lower chemical energy, and surfs the energy difference between food and shit to go on living. Life is a breakfast cereal, a board game, a very long sentence, a bitch and then you die. I’ll let you in on a dirty little secret: We don’t really know what life is. We may as well try and catch the wind as pin life down with a tidy definition… Now that I’ve established that we don’t know what life is, I’ll continue to describe where we think it came from.
On attending a conference in his adopted home turf of Boulder, CO:
It was a classic Boulder crowd: well-heeled hippies with carefully matted dreadlocks falling over designer tie-dyes, bespectacled academics toting tattered notebooks, and smatterings of spandex, bike helmets, laptops, dogs, beards and peasant dresses (not necessarily on the same person but not necessarily not), the occasional whiff of patchouli oil or pot (but absolutely no tobacco smoking, under pain of death)… Boulder is a bubble town nestled against the mountains thirty miles northwest of Denver. It’s sort of like the city in Logan’s Run, a pleasant place, and anybody who is unhappy or unattractive or too old or unwealthy is recycled, and used to grow organic, free-range fruits and vegetables.
Ha! Learning has never been so fun as Lonely Planets! It’s a bullet-train ride through history, pseudoscience, real science, philosophy, astrobiology, and his specialty, planetary science. I must say that this is probably my favorite astronomy book, because I’ve plowed though it twice now and I’m sure I’ll do it a few more times as the years go on.
May 16, 2010
Grinspoon, David. Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life (2003) *****
Toward a new science and a new way of thinking?
What planetologist David Grinspoon is working on in this book is similar to the consilience that biologist Edward O. Wilson talked about in his book of that name and what C.P. Snow dreamed about in his discussions of the two academic cultures half a century ago. But what Grinspoon is reconciling is the informed and creative speculation of the human mind with the rigorous requirements of scientific orthodoxy. He uses the almost forgotten term "natural philosophy" as a means to the end of reconciling the dreamer in his soul with the scientist in his head.
Grinspoon represents a new breed of scientist not afraid to speculate aloud and in public about matters that cannot be proven, to joke about them, to relate to them personally and passionately, and to say that it shouldn't be career-threatening for a scientist to venture into the realm of the unknown.
He realizes how complex and wondrous is all that we know and especially all that we don't know, and that in a world of uncertainty one can still make decisions and speculate while recognizing that there is a place where science ends and natural philosophy begins. In this regard is a nice quote from Bertrand Russell:
"When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also add that some things are more nearly certain than others." (p. 374)
This is perhaps Grinspoon's major point. He seeks to separate not just pseudoscience from science, but the likely from the unlikely, and to allow the unproven to remain the unproven but without prejudice. He admits his biases and he gives his reasons for them. At the same time he allows that he could be wrong and hopes that in some cases he is. "Aliens on the White House lawn?--Not yet, but it could happen," might be a fair way to summarize Grinspoon's position.
This book is about why we think about alien life (which is in some sense just a metaphor for the unknown) and how our emphasis and focus have changed over time, and what we know and what we don't know, and what the prospects are for finding answers. Grinspoon is clearly on the side of the angels in spirit, but with the Skeptical Inquirer in cognition.
Grinspoon knows that the new science, like the new music, always sounds discordant to the establishment. But because he comes from a personal culture steeped in the ideas of Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Olaf Stapledon, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, etc., not to mention Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg, Bob Dylan and Jerry Steinfeld and, yes, even Madonna, he doesn't care. Let the establishment cope with the new sciences of complexity, astrobiology, chaos, and let them grapple with the inadequate definitions of "life" and "consciousness." Let them rankle at Gaia and squirm at group selection. Grinspoon wants to go beyond that. He wants us to become one of the "immortals"--civilizations so advanced and in tune with the cosmos that they will never die until the universe grows cold, and maybe not even then.
Here are some examples of Grinspoon's thought and expression in this wonderfully expressive and exciting book:
"[O:]ther planets must be inhabited because natural selection would fashion living beings to take advantage of local conditions..." (p. 36)
Recalling Percival Lowell's Martian canals: Gaps in the "sketchy data at the limits of current abilities...may be filled by our desires, [and:] by the power of suggestion..." (p. 39)
Asserting that "the planets were where we thought they'd be and...we reached them...has got to be the most solid confirmation of the scientific and technological revolutions of the past four centuries," Grinspoon adds in a characteristic footnote: "Stuff that in your socially constructed pipe and smoke it!" (p. 62)
"We don't really know what life is. We may as well try and catch the wind as pin life down with a tidy definition." (p. 98) --By the way, this incorporation of song lyric and scientific thought is something that Grinspoon does very well throughout the book. ("We really don't know life at all." --Joni Mitchell)
How did single-celled organics beget multi-celled organisms? "This, not some shadowy ape-man, is the real 'missing link' in evolution." (p. 113)
"We are the life of the sun." (p. 123) --One of my favorite ideas that is not scientific because it begs the question of the definition of life. It is an idea--typical of what Grinspoon is getting at--that needs contemplation.
"Thank Gaia..." (p. 134)
"The classical concept of the habitable zone starts to seem like a bourgeois notion invented by self-centered, Sun-worshiping surface dwellers." (p. 199)
"Who are we to say that the universe couldn't make some kind of complex, self-organizing, evolving structures using its gravitational or nuclear forces, forming living structures that are too large or small for us to notice?" (p. 265)
Our consciousness "is most likely just some vague foreshadowing of what would be called true consciousness..." (p. 396)
Grinspoon employs a self-effacing, disarming literary style that uses the idioms of popular culture to make his points. Don't be fooled! Grinspoon is an expert in several disciplines including evolutionary biology, astronomy and cosmology. Although he makes no such claim I can tell by some of what he writes that he is also an expert on world religions. (See especially pages 383-385.) It is refreshing to read a scientist who understands religion since few people do, including the so-called religious. Grinspoon rejects monotheism. He doesn't say why or for what, but I suspect he sees God as beyond any of the attributes that we can dream up for God. Perhaps Grinspoon is enamored of the God of the Vedas about which nothing can be said, a God without an attribute that we could name. Certainly he rejects "scientism" and any personal god. My guess is he is saving these ideas for a future opus. I will be reading that book. I highly recommend that you read this one.
--a review by Dennis Littrell
Toward a new science and a new way of thinking?
What planetologist David Grinspoon is working on in this book is similar to the consilience that biologist Edward O. Wilson talked about in his book of that name and what C.P. Snow dreamed about in his discussions of the two academic cultures half a century ago. But what Grinspoon is reconciling is the informed and creative speculation of the human mind with the rigorous requirements of scientific orthodoxy. He uses the almost forgotten term "natural philosophy" as a means to the end of reconciling the dreamer in his soul with the scientist in his head.
Grinspoon represents a new breed of scientist not afraid to speculate aloud and in public about matters that cannot be proven, to joke about them, to relate to them personally and passionately, and to say that it shouldn't be career-threatening for a scientist to venture into the realm of the unknown.
He realizes how complex and wondrous is all that we know and especially all that we don't know, and that in a world of uncertainty one can still make decisions and speculate while recognizing that there is a place where science ends and natural philosophy begins. In this regard is a nice quote from Bertrand Russell:
"When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also add that some things are more nearly certain than others." (p. 374)
This is perhaps Grinspoon's major point. He seeks to separate not just pseudoscience from science, but the likely from the unlikely, and to allow the unproven to remain the unproven but without prejudice. He admits his biases and he gives his reasons for them. At the same time he allows that he could be wrong and hopes that in some cases he is. "Aliens on the White House lawn?--Not yet, but it could happen," might be a fair way to summarize Grinspoon's position.
This book is about why we think about alien life (which is in some sense just a metaphor for the unknown) and how our emphasis and focus have changed over time, and what we know and what we don't know, and what the prospects are for finding answers. Grinspoon is clearly on the side of the angels in spirit, but with the Skeptical Inquirer in cognition.
Grinspoon knows that the new science, like the new music, always sounds discordant to the establishment. But because he comes from a personal culture steeped in the ideas of Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Olaf Stapledon, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, etc., not to mention Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg, Bob Dylan and Jerry Steinfeld and, yes, even Madonna, he doesn't care. Let the establishment cope with the new sciences of complexity, astrobiology, chaos, and let them grapple with the inadequate definitions of "life" and "consciousness." Let them rankle at Gaia and squirm at group selection. Grinspoon wants to go beyond that. He wants us to become one of the "immortals"--civilizations so advanced and in tune with the cosmos that they will never die until the universe grows cold, and maybe not even then.
Here are some examples of Grinspoon's thought and expression in this wonderfully expressive and exciting book:
"[O:]ther planets must be inhabited because natural selection would fashion living beings to take advantage of local conditions..." (p. 36)
Recalling Percival Lowell's Martian canals: Gaps in the "sketchy data at the limits of current abilities...may be filled by our desires, [and:] by the power of suggestion..." (p. 39)
Asserting that "the planets were where we thought they'd be and...we reached them...has got to be the most solid confirmation of the scientific and technological revolutions of the past four centuries," Grinspoon adds in a characteristic footnote: "Stuff that in your socially constructed pipe and smoke it!" (p. 62)
"We don't really know what life is. We may as well try and catch the wind as pin life down with a tidy definition." (p. 98) --By the way, this incorporation of song lyric and scientific thought is something that Grinspoon does very well throughout the book. ("We really don't know life at all." --Joni Mitchell)
How did single-celled organics beget multi-celled organisms? "This, not some shadowy ape-man, is the real 'missing link' in evolution." (p. 113)
"We are the life of the sun." (p. 123) --One of my favorite ideas that is not scientific because it begs the question of the definition of life. It is an idea--typical of what Grinspoon is getting at--that needs contemplation.
"Thank Gaia..." (p. 134)
"The classical concept of the habitable zone starts to seem like a bourgeois notion invented by self-centered, Sun-worshiping surface dwellers." (p. 199)
"Who are we to say that the universe couldn't make some kind of complex, self-organizing, evolving structures using its gravitational or nuclear forces, forming living structures that are too large or small for us to notice?" (p. 265)
Our consciousness "is most likely just some vague foreshadowing of what would be called true consciousness..." (p. 396)
Grinspoon employs a self-effacing, disarming literary style that uses the idioms of popular culture to make his points. Don't be fooled! Grinspoon is an expert in several disciplines including evolutionary biology, astronomy and cosmology. Although he makes no such claim I can tell by some of what he writes that he is also an expert on world religions. (See especially pages 383-385.) It is refreshing to read a scientist who understands religion since few people do, including the so-called religious. Grinspoon rejects monotheism. He doesn't say why or for what, but I suspect he sees God as beyond any of the attributes that we can dream up for God. Perhaps Grinspoon is enamored of the God of the Vedas about which nothing can be said, a God without an attribute that we could name. Certainly he rejects "scientism" and any personal god. My guess is he is saving these ideas for a future opus. I will be reading that book. I highly recommend that you read this one.
--a review by Dennis Littrell
October 12, 2022
It’s no accident that UFO photos are all blurry blobs. That’s because those that are in focus are easily identified as mundane objects like clouds or weather balloons.
In Lonely Planets astrobiologist David Grinspoon examines something for which no evidence exists whatsoever … alien life. If Seinfeld was “a show about nothing”, then I suppose that makes Lonely Planets “a book about nothing” and, given that it goes on for 400+ pages, it’s a comprehensive one at that. Basically, I’d characterize the book as … everything you’d want to know about a subject that no one knows anything about … but were afraid to ask.
I’ve written about my skepticism regarding the search for extraterrestrial life in some detail in other book reviews so I won’t go into a lot of detail here, but it seems apparent that life in the universe is incredibly rare. So rare, in fact, that it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the only life forms humans ever discover are those found on our own planet. It thus aggravates me to no end when purportedly rational scientists state firm beliefs in a universe teeming with alien life. Needless to say, there’s no evidence to suggest that this is the case (and I would argue that this absence of evidence represents evidence of absence), but for some reason scientists feel remarkably comfortable veering into the realm of pseudoscience when it comes to the subject of little green men.
To take one example – the pentagon recently declassified a number of photos and videos of UFOs (sometimes referred to as UAPs - unidentified aerial phenomenon) taken by military personnel. The defining feature of these images is that they consist of nothing more than blurry blobs and smudges that could literally be anything or nothing at all. This, despite the fact that modern camera technology is becoming ever more sophisticated and ubiquitous. When asked what these declassified images represent the current NASA Administrator Bill Nelson replied:
"We don't know if it's extraterrestrial. We don't know if it's an enemy. We don't know if it's an optical phenomenon," Nelson said. "We don't think [it's an optical phenomenon] because of the characteristics that those Navy jet pilots described ... And so the bottom line is, we want to know."
We don't know if it's extraterrestrial?!?
Really?!?
I suppose we don’t technically know that it isn’t a jetpack-wearing Bigfoot commuting to his night job in the salt mines of Atlantis, but one would think that someone who purportedly represents a scientific agency would be willing to rule out hypotheses that are beyond the bounds of evidence and reason. Why would Nelson choose to mislead the public by spouting such nonsense?
That was certainly a question I was asking myself and I’ll be darned if Grinspoon doesn’t provide the answer. It turns out that ‘alien life’ is a topic that resonates with the public and that the allocation of taxpayer dollars is based, in part, on the public’s support for such programs. Sometime in the mid-80s NASA learned that it could stimulate public interest (and by extension, generate additional public funding) by framing projects in terms of a search for ‘alien life’. Now everyone in NASA must apparently toe the line so as not to disabuse a gullible public that ‘the truth is out there’ in order to keep the tax dollars flowing. So what major discoveries has NASA made in its newfound mission to find life on other worlds? It can be summed up in its entirety by the astrophysical term … “diddly-squat” (sorry for the technical jargon).
To be clear – I fully support NASA funding, which has resulted in many remarkable discoveries that have nothing to do with life on other worlds. I’d simply prefer they use an honest rationale for their funding requests.
As to the book, Grinspoon has an engaging writing style and given that he has a PhD in Planetary Science has the expertise to do a deep dive on the topic. I have two minor criticisms of the text:
1. It seems as if Grinspoon felt compelled to pack absolutely everything he could think of about alien life into the book with little regards to whether it was interesting or not. For me … it was just too much. The book would have been greatly improved by a judicious narrowing of its scope, sharpening of the focus and corresponding paring-down of the text. If I were his editor, I would have suggested reducing the word count by half (if he had done so, the reader would have missed little).
2. Grinspoon writes in casual and light-hearted manner, but at times I found the playfulness grating. I get it, he’s a nerd, but not one of those tedious techno-jargon spewing, chalk-dust covered, professorial dorks. He’s one of the hip nerds who wants to be perceived as both knowledgeable and relatable to the cool kids with their intertubes, snapchats and tik-toks. That’s fine, maybe just dial it back a bit.
March 17, 2007
One of the most inspiring books about the Great Beyond I've ever read--a true masterpiece of nonfiction. It informs, enlightens, and mystifies at the same time, all the while with the amazing narration of David Grinspoon harmonizing the prose perfectly throughout. And I met the guy, which makes it even cooler.
If you ever wonder about What's Out There, this is the the book--die you Rare Earther scum, die!
If you ever wonder about What's Out There, this is the the book--die you Rare Earther scum, die!
August 28, 2010
This book was *so* great. A really awesome nutshell history of planetology and astronomy, and a lot of different ideas about alien life to chew on. Grinspoon is a logical, brilliant pop science writer with some of the funniest footnotes I've ever read. He discusses everything from the fanatically logical mathmatical theories behind SETI to thoughts about cosmic consciousness and ufology, all with a rational eye and infinite compassion.
October 5, 2009
Wow, this was quite a book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but definately to anyone who is interested in astrobiology. The author is a great writer, and writes with a sense of humor. I enjoyed the first two sections, History and Scienece, the most with the third section, Belief, only a little bit less. One of the best books I have read in a long time.
January 28, 2014
Love it. Grinspoon's bridging a divide between SETI and NASA and me. So thanks, Dr. G, for being able to keep your feet in the Establishment but understand the overflowing curiosity and unbounded ignorance of everyday people!
March 29, 2010
Accessible and astounding. I fell in love with Europa and made her my patron planet (although she is really a moon).
July 29, 2011
2004 PEN Center USA Award Winner for Research Nonfiction
July 31, 2011
Stoney piece of work, illuminating life from the origin of atoms thru the creation of molecules and planets, all the way to us and our contemplation of alien intelligence. Readable and clever.
September 28, 2012
Great read and a brilliant reference
January 10, 2019
Okay, the beauty of writing about a topic we know virtually nothing about is that you're allowed to take the long route and look at said topic from different angles. This is precisely what David Grinspoon did in Lonely Planets. And man, was it a truly magical journey or what?!
To even speculate about alien life, we must first understand what conditions must be present for life to arise elsewhere (spoiler alert: water is important but who says that our H2o and carbon-reliant model is the only successful one in the universe?).
Then come the REAL questions, what does life look like? Can we even define it? And what about intelligence? Do we have it? How could we hope to communicate with another civilisation that has been sentient for thousands if not millions of years before we took our first upright steps?
This book is a treasure trove of interesting questions, and it was a real eye opener for me. It forced me to look at the big picture with the magnifying glass of science and rationalism.
I also really enjoyed the book's relaxed tone and the author's funny, self-deprecating remarks; he doesn't take himself too seriously and doesn't judge others based on their beliefs.
What a way to kick off my 2019 reading challenge... Happy reading, everyone!
To even speculate about alien life, we must first understand what conditions must be present for life to arise elsewhere (spoiler alert: water is important but who says that our H2o and carbon-reliant model is the only successful one in the universe?).
Then come the REAL questions, what does life look like? Can we even define it? And what about intelligence? Do we have it? How could we hope to communicate with another civilisation that has been sentient for thousands if not millions of years before we took our first upright steps?
This book is a treasure trove of interesting questions, and it was a real eye opener for me. It forced me to look at the big picture with the magnifying glass of science and rationalism.
I also really enjoyed the book's relaxed tone and the author's funny, self-deprecating remarks; he doesn't take himself too seriously and doesn't judge others based on their beliefs.
What a way to kick off my 2019 reading challenge... Happy reading, everyone!
May 17, 2025
This was a tough read at times. I loved some parts and hated some parts. I loved learning the messy science of planetology and the actual philosophical and scientific ARGUMENTS. I did not appreciate the endless rambling speculation that didn’t go anywhere, indulging of pseudoscience as a misguided but supposedly valid viewpoint (I definitely think it’s NOT valid), as well as measuring religion equally to science as far as importance (I know this is just a difference of beliefs but I’m still allowed to hate it).
I wish we could go into more biological and planetary science. I’m an engineer and I love cold hard complex facts, so that’s literally why I read this book, and I was soooo disappointed that we didn’t dwell longer. I don’t need evolution explained at a basic level yet again. This is something I could’ve searched on wikipedia. Also some of the most interesting things in the world, jupiters moons, were just briefly touched on.
I do want to credit where credit is due. The explanation of the Fermi paradox was insightful. The Drake equation was sick af. I liked thinking about the levels of intelligence. I think the author has genuine philosophical skill that got completely lost at some points.
In the end, I think I’m too analytical for this damn thing.
I wish we could go into more biological and planetary science. I’m an engineer and I love cold hard complex facts, so that’s literally why I read this book, and I was soooo disappointed that we didn’t dwell longer. I don’t need evolution explained at a basic level yet again. This is something I could’ve searched on wikipedia. Also some of the most interesting things in the world, jupiters moons, were just briefly touched on.
I do want to credit where credit is due. The explanation of the Fermi paradox was insightful. The Drake equation was sick af. I liked thinking about the levels of intelligence. I think the author has genuine philosophical skill that got completely lost at some points.
In the end, I think I’m too analytical for this damn thing.
July 25, 2019
Good grief. This took me FOR EV ER to read. Not because of the book itself. The book was great and maybe that was the problem, I didn’t want to miss anything.
I believe I went from covering overnights back to my normal shift but got hella hit with mandates (typically a great time to read) but being so exhausted I read the same pages over and over and over again. For days on end. What I like was the book never claims anything definitively... just here are things as we know them and what that might mean and also here are our/my biases that might be in the way as well. I want to believe
I believe I went from covering overnights back to my normal shift but got hella hit with mandates (typically a great time to read) but being so exhausted I read the same pages over and over and over again. For days on end. What I like was the book never claims anything definitively... just here are things as we know them and what that might mean and also here are our/my biases that might be in the way as well. I want to believe
February 6, 2020
Wow, what a great experience reading this has been! It's an informative, fascinating, funny, thought provoking, awe-inspiring, and eminently readable work. I'll even admit that I teared up a couple of times during the "greatest story ever told" chapter. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in astronomy/biology/science/philosophy.
January 9, 2018
Tried to finish it. It is outdated at this point and I love the science of planets, but he devotes WAY to much time to it, and not near enough time to his actual title - The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life.
January 17, 2023
i think bc i was a bio major the science in the first two sections dragged on (which isn’t his fault! i’m just not the intended audience) but i read this for research anyway + was mainly looking forward to the third section which absolutely delivered. also? my guy dave is just hilarious
December 6, 2023
This was a great exploration of history, science, and belief. I only wish that I had either read it closer to publication, or that there was an updated edition talking about advancements in the past couple of decades.
April 23, 2024
Obviously a book about space exploration from 20 years ago is going to be extremely out of date, but the basics of the history and philosophy still stand, and I really enjoyed this book. Even though it made me have an existential crisis almost every chapter.
September 29, 2020
Enriches my knowledge abiut astronomy and astrobiology, provided me with stunning point of views to look at the universe in an innovative mannner.
February 26, 2020
The history and science of our search for intelligent life is richer and more fascinating than I ever expected.
I got the ebook for research purposes and I'll buy a print copy because I want it on my book shelf next to some of my other thought-provoking, philosophical explorations of our place in the universe.
"This vasty deep is thick with spirits. The wise ones are out there waiting for us to join them." (p. 415)
Want know how an acclaimed astrobiologist reached such a conclusion? Get this book!
I got the ebook for research purposes and I'll buy a print copy because I want it on my book shelf next to some of my other thought-provoking, philosophical explorations of our place in the universe.
"This vasty deep is thick with spirits. The wise ones are out there waiting for us to join them." (p. 415)
Want know how an acclaimed astrobiologist reached such a conclusion? Get this book!
August 23, 2020
Really enjoyed. Well written, funny, highly informative and balanced.
March 6, 2017
Pretty interesting exposition of science and thought related to extra-terrestrial life
February 9, 2023
I totally love Lonely Planets. This is a beautifully written book about the current state of research into space science and other planets – at least as of the 2003-2004 period when it was written. It gives a serious overview of the history of the development of our ideas of space and our beginning explorations of the universe external to our own planet.
Since the study of outer space seems inevitably to reach into the philosophy of science, there is quite a bit of scientific philosophy in evidence along with the latest adventures of Mars rovers and observations into deep space looking for planets outside our solar system. By this time scientists seem to have discovered several planets of this type.
Along with the philosophical aspect, there is a discussion of science and religion and what people do and do not believe. One of the topics was UFOs and the prevalence of belief in government coverups concerning them.
Interestingly, it turns out that nearly half the people in this country don’t believe anything science has discovered. I knew there were some people like this, and that they have become more common lately, but did not realize things were that bad.
A particularly delightful chapter was one where he visited the San Luis Valley in Colorado to check up on what the UFO watchers there were up to. This was a light and mostly humorous chapter but also contained a little introspection.
Since the study of outer space seems inevitably to reach into the philosophy of science, there is quite a bit of scientific philosophy in evidence along with the latest adventures of Mars rovers and observations into deep space looking for planets outside our solar system. By this time scientists seem to have discovered several planets of this type.
Along with the philosophical aspect, there is a discussion of science and religion and what people do and do not believe. One of the topics was UFOs and the prevalence of belief in government coverups concerning them.
Interestingly, it turns out that nearly half the people in this country don’t believe anything science has discovered. I knew there were some people like this, and that they have become more common lately, but did not realize things were that bad.
A particularly delightful chapter was one where he visited the San Luis Valley in Colorado to check up on what the UFO watchers there were up to. This was a light and mostly humorous chapter but also contained a little introspection.
May 30, 2015
"Natural selection can act on a much larger scale than we're used to thinking about. Imagine one hundred thousand worlds, all with some form of 'intelligent life' at roughly our current level. Certain qualities will aid survival, and these will be selected for. Eventually some worlds will live to reproductive age and spread life to other worlds, as Gaia may soon start to do. Technical advancement without spiritual progress creates a dangerous and unstable condition that will be selected against. Natural selection on a galactic level will favour those living worlds where technical and spiritual advancement proceed together. Cosmic spiritual advancement by Darwinian natural selection!"
This book was so refreshing. Grinspoon demonstrated none of the arrogance or dismissiveness common amongst scientists when discussing views which are typically irritating to the field (creationism, various new age philosophies, etc) but instead lays out his arguments with humble rationality and an impressively open mind. This book was well-written, even inspiring, and contains a hopeful message for humanity, along with a great deal of interesting and educational (from a layperson's perspective) information about cosmic evolution. I recommend it to anyone curious about humanity's place in the cosmos.
This book was so refreshing. Grinspoon demonstrated none of the arrogance or dismissiveness common amongst scientists when discussing views which are typically irritating to the field (creationism, various new age philosophies, etc) but instead lays out his arguments with humble rationality and an impressively open mind. This book was well-written, even inspiring, and contains a hopeful message for humanity, along with a great deal of interesting and educational (from a layperson's perspective) information about cosmic evolution. I recommend it to anyone curious about humanity's place in the cosmos.
September 8, 2007
Grinspoon is a comparative planetologist and uses a variety of scientific disciplines to speculate about how life on other planets may have developed. After a fairly intensive exploration of the ways in which life might have developed on the earth, and a comparison between the earth and other planets in out solar system he is able to make some fascinating conjectures about the possibilities for life elsewhere in our universe. The book is enjoyable, but marred by a too smarmy and self-referential tone in places.
June 26, 2014
Overall, I really liked it. The history and science sections seemed very good. However when it came to his philosophy I was not fully convinced of his point of view. I don't follow with Gaia or Noospheres and such. His idea of spirituality does resonate with mine in that he sees it in the connections we have with others and god is not neeeded for this. I would add that it involves are connections to the world as well. My personal idea is that spirituality is the search for order and has nothing to do with god who I believe does not even exist.
April 13, 2016
Fascinating! This book was obviously thoroughly researched. The author provided lots of insights into the theories involving how life got started on Earth, how it evolved, and the ways it may have evolved on other planets (or moons). He also discussed the possible reasons why we have yet to discover definitive proof of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. There's even a fun chapter on UFO theories, crop circles, and government conspiracies.
The book was a great read. I'd definitely recommend it to others!
The book was a great read. I'd definitely recommend it to others!
June 12, 2017
This is a very readable blend of science, history, and sociology focused on the study of life in the universe. Specifically, of life on earth and the possibility of life beyond our planet. Since this was published in 2004, some of the information is outdated, such as Pluto still being classified as a planet, but that doesn't change the big question - is there life out there and how can we detect it if there is? My one complaint is that the images weren't formatted properly in the kindle version.
March 30, 2007
I love the premise of this book and was inspired by its logic and reasoning. However, it flags in intensity and tended towards repetition as it progresses so I found it overlong for its scope and sometimes light on the hard science necessary to support its conclusions. Worth the read but not best in class.
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