Philip PlaitReseñas

Visit a dozen different areas of the universe, starting close and moving to light years away. Phil does a good job blending what we know from observational data with hypothetical views across the universe. Each chapter could be read on its own as a short story and I felt like I could've skipped around the book and enjoyed it just as much as reading it start to finish.

An interesting twist on the fascinating thing out there called out universe. The book profiles and number of the planets and then moves on to asteroids, star factories, and the ultimate mystery black holes. Wait he missed dark matter, something we know almost nothing about. It seems we are still in the dark ages here.

The author takes the position of something like a tour guide and show you the experience you would have along for the ride close up. It is an entertaining approach but he does get bogged down into some heavy wonkish science that brings back flashbacks as the type of text books you have read.

Vivid and lively descriptions of what it would be like to be on the surface of, or in the surroundings of, Luna ("the Moon"), Mars, an asteroid, a comet, Saturn, Pluto, a planet in the Trappist-1 red-dwarf system, planets in a binary-star system, a planet in a system within a globular cluster of stars, a stellar-nursery nebula, and a supermassive black hole. Plait's alternation of factual sections with fictional you-are-there scenarios works to ensure that the book will leave all readers with a good deal of astronomical knowledge. Particularly knowledge-solidifying, I think, is the chapter on black holes.

Under Alien Skies (2023) by Philip Plait, PhD. This book can be looked upon as the local version of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide…” not the Earth published novel but the intergalactic guide mentioned therein. Take a tour of the heavens and beyond with “The Bad Astronomer” Dr. Philip Plait and experience the wonder and awe and weirdness that awaits beyond our skies.
The Doctor puts FUN into (well I was going to use a word that has fun as a beginning, middle or end, but that would be the exact opposite of what I was going for, so…) everything he is talking about. From the moon to Mars to Saturn, asteroids and comets and beyond, Dr. Plait takes you to alien worlds where our common sense is skewed and slued into mind twisting, yet real, calisthenics that will have you amazed but wanting more.
This book is an essential introduction to what awaits further travelers. And it is a great introduction to young readers as a gateway to the wonders of science, astronomy, space exploration and much more.
It would seem I am very enthused about this book. Read it and you will be likewise.

Some interesting information, but sometimes I found Plait whiny and condescending. Overall, I prefer Neil DeGrasse Tyson's writing.

I learned some interesting facts, but this book will only ever preach to the converted.

Not marking dates because I don't want this to count as a read for the year.
Short but effective.

Some interesting information, but sometimes I found Plait whiny and condescending. Overall, I prefer Neil DeGrasse Tyson's writing.

Comes with explanatory footnotes, for which I am grateful.

This is Phil Plait's first book, born out of his Bad Astronomy website, and it's an excellent and entertaining takedown of, as it says on the label, bad astronomy. He takes on many popular misunderstandings and misrepresentations of astronomical facts and realities.

Why is the sky really blue? Are meteorites hot enough to cause fires when they hit the ground? Can you see stars during the day if you are at the bottom of a well?

Plait takes on creationism, astrology, and UFOs, as well as bad science in movies and television. He talks about the Hubble telescope, and what it can and can't do, and why its data is not released publicly for a year after after collection.

I especially enjoyed the chapter dealing with the moon landing "hoax" (spoiler: yes, we really did land on the moon). Also quite interesting is the discussion of Velikovsky's crazy theory about Venus being ejected from Jupiter towards the inner solar system, and causing many of the dramatic events recorded in the Bible, such as when Joshua is reported to have stopped the sun in the sky for a full day. There are many reasons this doesn't make sense, but, really, read or listen to Plait's explanation.

Plait does a great job of making this entertaining, educational, and just really interesting. At times it's clear the nonsense that gets presented as plausible science makes him really cranky, but he's also very clear about how much he has enjoyed science fiction tv and movies with really bad science, and how it got him interested in real science and a career in astronomy.

The book was originally published in 2002, and is naturally a little dated in some respects. That's mostly in ways such as talking about the space shuttle as still an active part of our space program, and other relatively minor details. And if you catch him out in something more significant that scientific research since 2002 has proven wrong, well, he'd say, "Good!" He'd be delighted you're paying attention to scientific progress, and science's natural self-correcting features.

Recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

This was a godsend. I've never been very good at witty ripostes and suffer from a congenital case of l'esprit de l'escalier. To exacerbate this I work at a University, so any retort I do come up with has to be awfully clever as well as witty. Why, just consider these snippets of my week thus far (my name has been changed to protect my innocence).

Monday
Matt: Your writing style is like your preferred sports team: hopeless!
Leopold: Oh yeah? Well your writing is like your face: badly spelled!

Tuesday
Matt: Hey nice haircut. Just kidding, it looks terrible!
Leon: Oh yeah? Well your hair is like your face: attached to your head!

Wednesday
Matt: So you have an h-index of one? That's impressive. Impressively low! (Burn!)
Leofric: Oh yeah? Well your h-index is like your face: higher than mine!

Thursday
Matt: Do I want to come to yours for dinner? No thanks, I don't have life insurance!
Leeroy: Oh yeah? Well your cooking is like your face: in that, you know, it's… kind of like your face!

Friday
Lee: Your writing is like a Marxist utopia: it lacks class!
Empty office: …
Lee: …Dammit.

But these indignities I will suffer no more!

This was a godsend. I've never been very good at witty ripostes and suffer from a congenital case of l'esprit de l'escalier. To exacerbate this I work at a University, so any retort I do come up with has to be awfully clever as well as witty. Why, just consider these snippets of my week thus far (my name has been changed to protect my innocence).

Monday
Matt: Your writing style is like your preferred sports team: hopeless!
Leopold: Oh yeah? Well your writing is like your face: badly spelled!

Tuesday
Matt: Hey nice haircut. Just kidding, it looks terrible!
Leon: Oh yeah? Well your hair is like your face: attached to your head!

Wednesday
Matt: So you have an h-index of one? That's impressive. Impressively low! (Burn!)
Leofric: Oh yeah? Well your h-index is like your face: higher than mine!

Thursday
Matt: Do I want to come to yours for dinner? No thanks, I don't have life insurance!
Leeroy: Oh yeah? Well your cooking is like your face: in that, you know, it's… kind of like your face!

Friday
Lee: Your writing is like a Marxist utopia: it lacks class!
Empty office: …
Lee: …Dammit.

But these indignities I will suffer no more!

Este libro es directamente fantástico. Es como Malaciencia, pero aplicado únicamente a la astronomía, al Espacio y a alguna cosa más. El autor es humilde y a la vez mordaz, y no deja títere con cabeza cuando se pone a analizar uno por uno bastantes mitos sobre la ciencia. El estilo es simple, claro y conciso. Me encanta. Un breve resumen de los temas que trata seguro que les hace la boca agua:

- Huevos que se sostienen solos durante el equinoccio
- El efecto Coriolis y hacia dónde gira el agua en los lavabos
- MalaCiencia en el lenguaje cotidiano
- Por qué el cielo es azul
- Por qué hay estaciones (no es por la distancia al Sol, auqnue ésta influye un poquito en las temperaturas diferentes entre hemisferios)
- Las fases de la luna
- Las mareas
- Por qué la luna parece más grande cuando está cerca del horizonte
- Por qué las estrellas titilan
- Los colores de las estrellas
- Por qué las estrellas no se ven de día
- La estrella Polar no es la más brillante
- ¡No mires al sol durante un eclipse!
- Meteoritos, meteoros y meteoroides
- El origen del Universo
- Sí llegamos a la Luna
- Las paranoias de Velikovsky
- Creacionismo y astronomía
- Ovnis
- Marte está en la séptima casa pero Venus se ha largado del edificio. Por qué la astrología no funciona.
- Creencias sobre el telescopio Hubble
- Sobre las empresas que bautizan estrellas a cambio de un módico precio
- Los diez peores ejemplos de MalaCiencia en el cine

Todos y cada uno de los capítulos son estupendos. Éste es un libro que penso regalar a mucha gente. Imprescindible.

Mildly interesting content - I'm already familiar with a good bit of it, from Phil Plait's blog and other sources. It got a bit much after a while - debunking, unfortunately, is usually less interesting than the stories it's trying to correct. There were some good bits - details about tides, for instance, or the Hubble telescope. Part of the problem was that I was reading the ebook, and the formatting job was horrible - large chunks missing at the beginning of (almost?) every chapter, drop caps overlapping text, scannos throughout ("Ali! I thought..." It's supposed to be "Ah! I thought..."). I'm going to get the paper copy and check to see what I missed.

"სიკვდილი ზეციდან" იმდენადვე სასიამოვნო და სასარგებლო წასაკითხია როგორც თქვენი ფავორიტი დოკუმენტური ფილმის ყურება კოსმოსზე, რომელსაც ამშვენებს არა მხოლოდ კარგი გრაფიკა და ლამაზი სიმულაციები. არამედ საინტერესო ისტორია, ნამდვილი მეცნიერული პერსპექტივა, აღფრთოვანება, ჩაფიქრება უსასრულობასა და უკიდეგანობაზე.
სამყარო არა მარტო მრავალფეროვანი და ლამაზია, არამედ საშიში. მას შეუძლია თვალის დახამხამებაში გაგვაქროს, გაანადგუროს ის მცირე ადგილი სადაც ჩვენთვის სასიცოცხლოდ მნიშვნელოვანი ბალანსი იქმნება კოსმოსურ ექსტრემებს შორის. სწორედ ამ განადგურების გზებს ეხება წიგნი. რა გზებით შეუძლია სამყაროს მოგვკლას. ასტროიდი და კომეტა, მზის კორონალური ამოფრქვევა თუ მზის ქარი. ზეახალი ვარსკვლავის აფეთქება თუ შავი ხვრელის უკიდეგანო გრავიტაცია.
წიგნი ყველასთვის გასაგებ ენაზეა დაწერილი. ვიმედოვნებ რომ ბევრისთვის საინტერესოც იქნება (ასტრონომიის მოყვარულების გარდა) რადგან პლეიტის მსუბუქი და ინტერესის აღმძრავი მოყოლა, საკითხის უაღესად საინტერესო მხარეები, საშიშროებები, რომელიც უყვარს ხალხს, აინტრიგებს მათ, ასტრონომიული დრო და სივრცე, მკითხველს გულგრილს ვერ დატოვებს.
ასტრონომია ისეთ სივრცეებს და დროს წვდება, საიდანაც ჩვენი ყოველდღიურობა სულ სხვანაირად ჩანს. სამყაროს სიკვდილის და მისი მასშტაბების წარმოსადგენადაც კი ძალიან რთულია, თუმცა იქიდან უკან დაბრუნება, სულ სხვა კუთხით განახებს ჩვეულ გარემოს. სიცოცხლის ხანგრძლივობას. იქიდან დაბრუნებული სადაც ვარსკვლავური ერაც კი თვალის დახამხამებაა, ბრუნდები თითქოს უსასრულო დროში ჩაკარგული ბრძენი. რომელმაც თავის თვალით იხილა სამყაროს უკიდეგანო მომავალი და შეიცნო რომ მთელი კაცობრიობის ყველაზე ოპტიმისტური და ხანგრძლივი მომავალიც კი წამიერი, საცოდავი შეფრთხიალებაა განუზომელი დროის და სივრცის წინაშე.
წიგნი ასტრონომიულ ცოდნას მნიშვნელოვნად გაგიღრმავებთ, კომეტების ასტეროიდების შესახებ, ვარსკვლავების ბუნების და ბედის შესახებ: - განსაცვიფრებელი ზეახალი ვარსკვლავების და გამა ამოფრქვევების შესახებ.
მიუხედავად იმისა რომ ჩემთვის ყველა საკითხი ნაცნობი იყო, ბევრი დეტალი აღმოვაჩინე, რომელიც არ ვიცოდი,
მაგალითად დეგენერაციის პროცესი, ასე რომ გამოცდილ ასტრომოყვარულებსაც არ მოგწყინდებათ, ათასჯერ გაგონილ და წაიკითხულ თემაზე კიდევ ერთი თვალის გადავლება.

I enjoyed reading Bad Astronomy. Explanations of astronomical misconceptions were easy and absolutely comprehensive. Plait's writing is light and clear. He has a good sense of humor. But this book is for dummies rather than for smart guys. To be more correct. If you like Astronomy and somehow you know very little about it, this book is brilliant for you. But even if you think you know about such small matters why the sky is blue, why the seasons change, why the star Polaris is important. Maybe you'll find some details you didn't understand before, or details you knew was wrong. I learned some of the details from this book especially about tides. So the book is not for only dummies. :) Imperfection of this book is a lack of profound explanations. I wish that there would be more details about the lunar hoax, about creationist debunking. Although the book is good especially for students and for those who just discovered astronomy.

Plait is wonderfully witty and educational as he debunks the myths, legends, and conspiracies that abound in our society on astronomy

After the first chapter I had to put the book down for a bit, because it made me think about my mortality and that's always a bummer. HOWEVER the science in here is pretty cool, and the author's enthusiasm and knowledge is the real deal. Sometimes the writing felt a little redundant, and over the top (but I think that's intentional...I mean, look at the title). If you don't have time for all 300 pages of the book, just read the epilogue. Plait sums it up nicely, and even includes a handy-dandy apocalypse chart for your convenience. Fun, smart and entertaining.

Which is more peculiar - a lighthearted book about astronomy, or a lighthearted book that is simultaneously serious? This book manages to be all of the above. Plait takes his astronomy, and his critical thinking, seriously, but he doesn't hesitate to sprinkle heavy doses of humor into the mix - and a couple of times gets perhaps a bit too heavy handed with the humor. A good introduction to many pseudoscientific ideas and conspiracy theories, as well as many bits of honest disinformation. It is readable, something that a high school student could not only understand but enjoy, but not dumbed down to insult audiences who have a bit more background. There are a great many good critical thinking tips provided, as well.

Philip Plait is a writer for Discover Magazine where he has his own column, BAD Astronomy. Here he explains and teaches Astronomy and also debunks common myths about it. In his book BAD Astronomy you learn about every day mistakes dealing with Astrology and then learn the real science and explanations behind them. Myths like water spinning the opposite way down drains in opposite hemispheres, (the chapter us aptly called “Flushed with Embarrassment: The Coriolis Effect and your Bathroom”) and why the sky is blue (this is one of my favorite sections as you can then later lecture your friends, family, whomever, and sound delightfully smart talking about the Spectrum of colors and photons bouncing off nitrogen and oxygen molecules and for a minute you feel like Sheldon talking to Penny.) It’s a definite read if you are interested in knowing and understanding the world around you. Also check out his website www.badastronomy.com and pick up his latest work, Death from the Skies, about all the wonderful ways the Earth is going to end.

A collection of what if scenarios about the ways the universe is trying to kill us. Plait uses these to inform the reader of the vast and amazing universe we live in. Funny and thought-provoking, and you'll learn a lot of kick-ass science stuff.

A very entertaining book about astronomy and the misconceptions about the topic. Not too complicated and not just entertainment, the perfect book for beginners.

Ein durchaus interessantes Buch, das seinem reißerischen Titel jedoch nicht ganz gerecht wird: Die meiste Zeit geht es doch um recht nüchterne Beschreibungen von astronomischen Begebenheiten und nur an wenigen Stellen wird das Spektakel des Weltuntergangs wirklich ausgekostet. Hinzu kommt ein Übersetzer, der anscheinend über so wenig Fachwissen verfügt, dass er Silikon und Silizium nicht auseinanderhalten kann. "Bad Astronomy" vom selben Autor fand ich insgesamt unterhaltsamer. Und das nächste Buch von Plait kaufe ich wohl lieber wieder auf Englisch.½

A Very Brief History of the Universe

In the beginning, there was nothing.
Then there was everything.

Subtitled "The Science Behind the End of the World...", Death from the Skies! is a book describing (in sometimes terrifying detail) all the ways that the universe is trying to kill us. Gamma-ray bursts, black holes, solar flares, asteroids, the myriad ways that things outside of Earth can destroy us.

Also, just how phenomenally unlikely it is for any of those to happen any time soon. They're all going to happen. Just not in a time scale that we need to worry about. Mostly. Anyway, there's even a chart in the back!

It's entertaining to read (for all it's also incredibly creepy) and written in a conversation style that I find accessible and enjoyable.½

You know, considering this is all about the various cataclysmic ways the world can end, I really expected to be more engrossed. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood or something, but I could never read more than a handful of pages before my mind started wandering or I fell asleep. I suspect this is largely my fault, as Plait is clearly in love with this topic and with astronomy in general. He describes each ghastly scenario with glee, from asteroid collisions to the death of the universe, and demonstrates in no uncertain terms that should any of these events take place within our lifetime, we are royally screwed. Granted, the odds of us actually witnessing most of the calamities described are infinitesimal, if not actually zero, a point which is also made clear enough to avoid any unnecessary fear-mongering. I learned a lot from reading this, and I recommend it to those with an interest in astronomy, or doomsday scenarios, or both.