Science and Inquiry discussion

For November 2024 we will be reading Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer's Guide to the Universe by Philip Plait.

Please use this thread to post questions, comments, and reviews, at any time.

I'm about three-quarters through this book, and it's been an absolute delight! Phil Plait's writing makes complex astronomical concepts understandable and genuinely fun. Pairing each chapter with his 'Crash Course: Astronomy' series on YouTube has been a fantastic experience; the videos reinforce what I’ve read, adding a visual layer to most chapters. I love books that motivate me to explore similar topics further, and this one certainly did that. Let me know what you all thought of the book.

Awesome! I'm so glad you liked it and I am definitely going to check out that Crash Course.

I read this book about a year ago and I plan to read it again. I remember it was a fun read.

I just started reading this book. It's fun!

Oh, I have this book. I will join in - of course I have to find what shelf it is stored on first.

I've just begun this today, having received it a just a tad later than I hoped from the library. But it's so fun the wait was worth it!

I'm really enjoying how each chapter has a mélange of so many different sciences, all woven together by the main focus of that discussion. For those who haven't started or who are tentative, I'll give an example - the chapter on the moon covers: friction, thermodynamics, atmospheric science, even colour theory...

I'm finding, so far, that he's doing a great job at explaining complex ideas at a level appropriate for the general public audience. I'm also enjoying how he's framing each chapter with a hint of sci-fi.

Starting it today. Looks good! The photos are good.

I am making my way through but slowly. I'm with J, loving the hint of sci-fi.

I had a few outside thoughts while reading the moon chapter so I will try to articulate them here. I just read a book about the mind-body connection. One goal of the brain is to reduce uncertainty and movement is a great way to give our brain an overview of the world. On the moon, all movement would be different so there would be a great deal of uncertainty. You would be like a toddler (at least where movement is concerned) and the best way to help your brain reduce that uncertainty would be to move around. It's like when you have sea sickness and the captain tells you the best remedy is to move around on deck. But if the brain is uncertain, it produces this sickness behavior to protect you and cause you to hunker down until it can sort things out, and the last thing you want to do is move around on deck. If there are ever a fair number of people going to the moon, I wonder if there will be moon sickness equivalent to sea sickness?

In summation, movement is good for the brain on Earth, on the Moon, and on a ship! Such a simple concept but, I think, very powerful.

@Harsh Sethia Good idea to pair the chapters with the author's YouTube videos.

Kathleen wrote: "@Harsh Sethia Good idea to pair the chapters with the author's YouTube videos."

I'm glad you liked it as well!

I finished it today, but I wish it had been longer, more. (Yes, perhaps I am feeling a little giddy with it being Christmas week and all.) I liked it very much. 5 globular cluster stars!

I very much enjoyed it, too. A good book on complex subjects very well presented and explained. His time-traveller tourist was a useful way of positioning a subject or example.

I am still working on the book -- enjoying it, but slowly.

I finally finished this book. It's a wonderful tour of the sights of the universe. Highly recommended! Here is my review.