John Boslough

As impossible as understanding the moment the universe was created seems this story is a great example of what happens when we try and of what can be accomplished. The authors do a great job of explaining many complex ideas in physics and astronomy.
While oversimplifications must abound in the end they echo Einstein’s dictum: “make everything as simple as possible but no simpler.”
Perhaps a little more than I wanted to hear about the interpersonal competitions but they are part of the story and part of the puzzle.… (más)

Every time a police car or fire truck drives by, I explain to the person I'm with that we are currently experiencing the Doppler effect...and then I get into how scientists are able to figure out that starts and galaxies are moving away from us based on the same principle. The response I get: "You read too much."

I take it as a compliment, of course.

In [b:Stephen Hawking's Universe|2102|Stephen Hawking's Universe|John Boslough|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1159814407s/2102.jpg|6153], David Filkin does an excellent job of explaining to the average person (meaning someone who doesn't study astronomy or cosmology for a living) the history of Newtonian physics, how we know dark matter exists, how we can 'find' black holes, and Hawking's Theory of everything. It even comes with pictures!

I can't say that I learned too much, but that's mainly because I've already read [b:A Briefer History of Time|2094|A Briefer History of Time|Stephen Hawking|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1159814394s/2094.jpg|16552333], where a lot of the information is the same. The good thing is that it's easier for me to remember this information. But if there's anything you ever wanted to know about today's science and how much we know about the universe, then this is the book to get. And who knows...next time you hear a siren, you might be able to dive into the principles behind the Doppler Effect!… (más)