Would really appreciate some suggestions on what else to read that is of similar nature. I read through death from the skies in a couple days and wish it was double the length.

thanks

I'm in the middle of Confessions of an Alien Hunter right now, and am finding it similarly enjoyable.

Cool thanks, just added it to my list for the library. Any suggestions related to science, space, astronomy, physics(any type), are welcome

If I have read the site extensively is Bad Astronomy the book worth reading still? or is it the information on the site in book form?

Well there's always the classic- Cosmos by Carl Sagan. But you've probably read it. And if you like Natural History, anything by Attenborough.

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I haven't actually read it, but i have seen all the television episodes of cosmos, similar content I assume?

There's some overlap, but not as much as you might think. It's definitely worth checking out.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

alright bad astronomy is on the list then

Yes, similar. Goes into more detail though, as books do.

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Anyone have any opinions on these? after some googling these seem to come up a lot.

A Short History of Nearly Everything -Bill Bryson
Singularity is Near -Ray Kurzweil
13 Things That Don't Make Sense -Michael Brooks
The Black Hole War -Leonard Susskind
The Drunkard's Walk -Leonard Mlodinow
How to Survive a Robot Uprising -Daniel H Wilson

I've read A Short History of Nearly Everything. It was very good. It isn't doesn't really go very deep into the science. Instead there's a lot of focus on the actual people involved and the 'human interest' stories behind a lot of great discoveries. It made for very amusing reading - Bryson had a lot of fun with the tendency for many of the world's great scientists to have quirky personalities.

It seemed like much of the content was lifted straight out of James Burke's Connections series. Not in a plagiarism sort of way, mind, more that I suspect that Bryson's book was heavily inspired by Burke's work - if you like one, then you'll probably get a kick out of the other as well.

My favorite is Carl Sagan's "The Cosmic Connection". He waxes poetic at the prime of his career..kind of like someone else we know...Phil

I've found that Phil's writing is somewhat similiar to the late Isaac Asimov's science essay books as he was particularly interested in astronomy.

Although some of the essays have become a little "dated", they still make for good reading.

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"The facts gentlemen, and nothing but the facts, for careful eyes are narrowly watching." Isaac Asimov

After Phil Plait's "Death from the Skies" I'd recommend "Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries" by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Like Phil Plait, Neil deGrasse Tyson is an excellent, imaginative writer and it is interesting when they both approach somewhat similar themes.

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"Insignificant molehill sometimes more important than conspicuous mountain." - Charlie Chan

Definitely adding to my list, I see him a lot on tv doing interviews and he seems like the kind of person who's writing will be enjoyable to read.


Just finished 13 things that don't make sense.

Was pretty good, some of them were a little expected but others were a nice surprise and the amount of detail devoted to each was good.

Read the drunkard's walk which was really interesting and makes me look at a lot of things differently.

then I started reading the Black Hole War and a day and a half later I finished it... I can't remember a book I have been more engrossed in.

I am getting The Cosmic Landscape next but am wondering where I go from here.

I want to start learning about theoretical physics more in depth.

Can I just say how cool it is to learn firsthand that Phil has inspired someone with a fascination in the field and a desire to learn more?

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

Most of my life I have always been interested in this kind of stuff but lately especially after how much I enjoyed Phil's book and the way it was able to explain things I have been way more excited about it then ever before.

Gonna make a new thread about this in off-topic since this has strayed quite a bit from the original book

If your not read up on physics then The Black Hole War -Leonard Susskind might not be your cup of tea. It relates his war with Hawking over some very deep thinking on physics and the split between the "stringers" and the "quantums". I found it interesting but not for the average joe.

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Save a Horse ride a Cowboy

Ooh a book :O

Is it full of 'science' from this site?

Oh, don't worry then.

i was reading the book this morning and i off-handedly asked my 12yo son if he knew the diff betw a meteorite, meteoroid -- he did and told me. i asked if he knew what "terminal velocity" meant and he did and told me.

then i read him a couple of the incidents in the beginning of the book where someone was actually hit with a meteorite. he took the book away from me on his way out of the door to catch the bus, "i want to start reading that."

(well, i actually ordered it for him)

this afternoon he came home from school today excitedly rattling off facts left and right. he said, "that book is super coolio"

so i just wanted to say thank you and let phil know that he has a couple of new fans.

i did notice one little thing which is a bit of a quibble -- phil starts lots of sentences with "and" and "but". that's a big grammatical no-no.

i actually do the same thing all the time myself online and in emails, but i wouldn't do it in a novel

Welcome aboard! Read the rules and stay awhile.

First, Phil's book is very much not a novel.

Second, using "and" and "but" to start a sentence is not something you should do all the time, which is why teachers tell you that you shouldn't do it, but it is acceptable sometimes.

Third . . . I will refrain from commenting about the irony of grammatical correction in your post.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

I'll second this statement, as I have a tendency to use that construction a lot. Not 'a lot' as in every third sentence or anything. That's a 'no-no'. But I can use it occasionally, as I just did.

And yes, many teachers will tell you you can not do it. In a way, they're right. In a more accurate way, they're wrong.

I was actually placed in a lower-tier English class going into college because the essay on my placement exam used "And" or "But" to start three sentences out of four pages of writing. When I explained to the head of the English department that I know that rule, but also know that you can break that rule in certain situations, she agreed to place me in the higher classes. (Don't fret Gillian, not *much* higher, just not remedial ). It did sort of annoy me that the head of the English department would base their placement on three leading conjunctions, then without any protest reverse that decision because she knew they were used correctly. Oh well.

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"In order to increase awareness of the homeless, security have been given binoculars."

beginning sentences with conjunctive words is indeed a major grammatical
No No unless it's for artistic effect. (ie - quoting a character)

my non-use of capitalization is obviously intentional - it's not a simple grammatical error -- AND (shrug) i wouldn't do it if i were writing a book (novel or otherwise)

i also wouldn't use " -- " as much as i do.

i'm not writing a book - i'm writing an online comment.

all that said -- my son didn't actually finish this book likely due to overload of other school work. maybe he'll come back to it someday.

fwiw - i did point out to him that it's grammatically improper to start sentences with and / but.

No. It isn't.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

I think it's an excellent way of making your thoughts flow on paper, though I probably rely on it to excess.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.