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hbrxnnxmxn's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
3.75
This isn’t normally my kind of thing, but I wanted to learn more and this book is a good bite sized way to do so. The chapters are more like overviews of scientific concepts, so that worked well, but I still found them to be a bit complex and full of jargon. I did learn a lot though and it was a fun way to explore these concepts.
redpineapple's review against another edition
5.0
Quite an interesting book.
I loved the way author wrote the book - in a style which is easy for a layman like me to understand, which is a difficult feat. I especially loved the chapter where author talked about how gravitational force doesn't exist (I had no clue about this one) and the one on dodoppelgänger.
The book will not turn boring at any point. I am looking forward to see if any other books by the author are for laymen and read them too.
I received a free copy for the book from Netgalley.
I loved the way author wrote the book - in a style which is easy for a layman like me to understand, which is a difficult feat. I especially loved the chapter where author talked about how gravitational force doesn't exist (I had no clue about this one) and the one on dodoppelgänger.
The book will not turn boring at any point. I am looking forward to see if any other books by the author are for laymen and read them too.
I received a free copy for the book from Netgalley.
jmtaylor1981's review against another edition
4.0
"Every breath you take contains an atom breathed out by Marilyn Monroe."
What an interesting little books.
What an interesting little books.
badoit90's review against another edition
3.0
3 Stars // And we’re staying up in space, as a few days before recording this video, NASA published the first photos of the recently inaugurated James Webb Space Telescope. These are images from the Carina nebula, about 7600 light years away from earth - a turbulent cloud of gas, birthplace and graveyard for some of the Milky Ways hottest and most massive stars. If you are fascinated by these images, chances are you will like ‘Infinity in the Palm of your Hands’. The books author, Marcus Chown, is a British science writer and journalist, he studied under renowned Physicist Richard Feynman and is now a cosmology consultant for New Scientist magazine. What a cool job title that is.
In this book, he presents 50 short essays about some of the wonders of our universe. It’s a fairly short book, with each essay not being longer than a double page spread, usually. He goes from the most microscopic aspects of life up to the weird and bizarre world of quantum theory, trying to make the latter as understandable as possible for us mortal human readers. It lends itself perfectly for that quick read at night before snoozing off, or the 5 tube stations you have to take in the morning to get to work.
I will rate this book 3 stars. Chown is using a trick that, whilst charming in the beginning, can get a bit annoying over time. He begins each essay with a catchy one-line description or question that he twisted out of the topic he wants to explore. For example, he begins one chapter by saying that ‘Babies are powered by rocket fuel’. And then he elaborates that we as humans need oxygen to power ourselves, as do we need it to power rockets, hence babies are powered by the same fuel as rockets, oxygen. It therefore all feels a bit clickbaity, you take the science behind it less serious because it’s wrapped in this pop-art approach to it. I reckon its his way of trying to make physics and space as interesting and easy to understand as possible, but I do wonder if this was really necessary. Still, for the science geeks of you, this could be a nice little bedside read.
In this book, he presents 50 short essays about some of the wonders of our universe. It’s a fairly short book, with each essay not being longer than a double page spread, usually. He goes from the most microscopic aspects of life up to the weird and bizarre world of quantum theory, trying to make the latter as understandable as possible for us mortal human readers. It lends itself perfectly for that quick read at night before snoozing off, or the 5 tube stations you have to take in the morning to get to work.
I will rate this book 3 stars. Chown is using a trick that, whilst charming in the beginning, can get a bit annoying over time. He begins each essay with a catchy one-line description or question that he twisted out of the topic he wants to explore. For example, he begins one chapter by saying that ‘Babies are powered by rocket fuel’. And then he elaborates that we as humans need oxygen to power ourselves, as do we need it to power rockets, hence babies are powered by the same fuel as rockets, oxygen. It therefore all feels a bit clickbaity, you take the science behind it less serious because it’s wrapped in this pop-art approach to it. I reckon its his way of trying to make physics and space as interesting and easy to understand as possible, but I do wonder if this was really necessary. Still, for the science geeks of you, this could be a nice little bedside read.
carmenere's review against another edition
4.0
I quite enjoyed this fun, enlightening and thought provoking gem from science writer, Marcus Chown.
Within these pages are fifty incredibly amazing features of our universe, both near and far, very far away.
The book is written in laymen's terms so whether Chown is talking about the ingredients required to make a time machine, the moons of Jupiter or dark matter, it all seems plausible and easy to understand.
Interesting nuggets run the gamut and offer conversation starters at your next cocktail party or trivia night.
I highly recommend this to anyone curious about our universe. It's a great stepping stone to the next level.
Thank you NetGalley, Diversion Books and the author for the opportunity to read and advanced copy of Infinity in the Palm of your Hand. Available in April, 2019.
Within these pages are fifty incredibly amazing features of our universe, both near and far, very far away.
The book is written in laymen's terms so whether Chown is talking about the ingredients required to make a time machine, the moons of Jupiter or dark matter, it all seems plausible and easy to understand.
Interesting nuggets run the gamut and offer conversation starters at your next cocktail party or trivia night.
I highly recommend this to anyone curious about our universe. It's a great stepping stone to the next level.
Thank you NetGalley, Diversion Books and the author for the opportunity to read and advanced copy of Infinity in the Palm of your Hand. Available in April, 2019.
benjamin_manning's review against another edition
4.0
A great little vacation read where every chapter was actually just a different scientific fact.
3 of my favorites:
1. Our long ago ancestors likely first transition from sea to land because of the tides! It probably stranded shallow-dwelling critters above the water for parts of the day and those that survived longer had competitive advantage - I always wondered this!
2. It's unclear why humans outlived neanderthals (sans the inbreeding), but one thing that is often found at human sites but NEVER found at Neanderthal sites in the same time period is evidence of sewing.
3. Only 3 species in the world have menopause - and we are one of them! It's hard to know exactly why this is, but maybe the "grandmother" advantage of a grandmother supporting her daughter and granddaughter was more fruitful than have more kids as a septuagenerian.
3 of my favorites:
1. Our long ago ancestors likely first transition from sea to land because of the tides! It probably stranded shallow-dwelling critters above the water for parts of the day and those that survived longer had competitive advantage - I always wondered this!
2. It's unclear why humans outlived neanderthals (sans the inbreeding), but one thing that is often found at human sites but NEVER found at Neanderthal sites in the same time period is evidence of sewing.
3. Only 3 species in the world have menopause - and we are one of them! It's hard to know exactly why this is, but maybe the "grandmother" advantage of a grandmother supporting her daughter and granddaughter was more fruitful than have more kids as a septuagenerian.
adarossiwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25