by Keith Cooper ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 21, 2020
“Are we alone in the universe?” has no answer yet, but Cooper delivers an enlightening exploration of the question.
An overview of the search for intelligence on distant planets.
In his first book, Cooper, science writer and editor of Astronomy Now, emphasizes that the universe teems with extrasolar planets, but evidence of life remains out of reach, to the frustration of almost everyone, including scientists working at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, which has been looking for more than 50 years. The sci-fi trope of the evil alien has largely fallen out of fashion. From the hit movie ET to Congress, which killed SETI funding in 1993, almost everyone today agrees that intelligence on distant planets is worth searching for. Traveling the world, Cooper chronicles his interviews with scientists and scholars who discuss how to do it and what we might find, if anything. Throughout, the author is free with his own opinions, and there is no shortage of surprises, the first of which is the chapter on altruism. Why should extraterrestrial visitors have benign intentions? “Our present beliefs about alien civilizations are built on the basis of taking the best parts of our humanity and extrapolating them into the future,” writes Cooper. “It’s an easy trap to fall into.” He reminds readers of the disastrous history of human explorers who encountered strange cultures. Do smart aliens even exist? Experts can’t decide if—like an elephant’s trunk or giraffe’s neck—intelligence is a chance byproduct of evolution or a regular feature such as eyes, limbs, or wings. Cooper recounts the debate between “rare Earth” experts who believe we may be unique with those who disagree, but it remains an area of pure (and frustrating) speculation. Discussions on technical aspects of searching contain more satisfying answers. Provided distant aliens possess transmitters an order of magnitude more powerful than ours, today’s receivers can detect the signal. Sending an actual message—as opposed to a mere signal—requires vastly more power.
“Are we alone in the universe?” has no answer yet, but Cooper delivers an enlightening exploration of the question.Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4729-6042-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury Sigma
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
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by Lulu Miller illustrated by Kate Samworth ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2020
A quirky wonder of a book.
A Peabody Award–winning NPR science reporter chronicles the life of a turn-of-the-century scientist and how her quest led to significant revelations about the meaning of order, chaos, and her own existence.
Miller began doing research on David Starr Jordan (1851-1931) to understand how he had managed to carry on after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed his work. A taxonomist who is credited with discovering “a full fifth of fish known to man in his day,” Jordan had amassed an unparalleled collection of ichthyological specimens. Gathering up all the fish he could save, Jordan sewed the nameplates that had been on the destroyed jars directly onto the fish. His perseverance intrigued the author, who also discusses the struggles she underwent after her affair with a woman ended a heterosexual relationship. Born into an upstate New York farm family, Jordan attended Cornell and then became an itinerant scholar and field researcher until he landed at Indiana University, where his first ichthyological collection was destroyed by lightning. In between this catastrophe and others involving family members’ deaths, he reconstructed his collection. Later, he was appointed as the founding president of Stanford, where he evolved into a Machiavellian figure who trampled on colleagues and sang the praises of eugenics. Miller concludes that Jordan displayed the characteristics of someone who relied on “positive illusions” to rebound from disaster and that his stand on eugenics came from a belief in “a divine hierarchy from bacteria to humans that point[ed]…toward better.” Considering recent research that negates biological hierarchies, the author then suggests that Jordan’s beloved taxonomic category—fish—does not exist. Part biography, part science report, and part meditation on how the chaos that caused Miller’s existential misery could also bring self-acceptance and a loving wife, this unique book is an ingenious celebration of diversity and the mysterious order that underlies all existence.
A quirky wonder of a book.Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5011-6027-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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by Carlo Rovelli ; translated by Simon Carnell & Erica Segre ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
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Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
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