Re: Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything

check out the other book reviews that are attached to the book review challenge ^^

and check out the following user:
http://www.youtube.com/user/gravitationalist

he has a great collection of high-quality science documentaries online, mainly about evolution, cosmology and particle physics, and one documentary about the fight between intelligent design and the scientific world.

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[rollincholan]

you're capable of telling us that the book contains no mistakes? interesting.

[kurtilein3]

@rollincholan

it has been reviewed by many experts prior to publication, which is unusual for a book. normally you just publish it when its finished, and then when the hardcover is published people point out all the mistakes they spot, and you can still sort things out before the softcover is published.

but here, the chapters dealing with biology were reviewed by biologists, the chapters about theoretical physics were reviewed by a theoretical physicist, and so on, all prior to publication.

[kurtilein3]

@rollincholan

but apparently by now a few mistakes were spotted in the book anyway.

back when i made this video i looked online for people pointing out mistakes in the book, and could only find references to a few typing errors as well as one minor non-typing error.

[tully40]

One of the best qualities of this books in my opinion is that it how it sheds new light on old theories. The best example that comes to mind at the moment is plate tectonics. I learned about this at an early age but never really put much thought into it. But that all changed when I read a passage from this book: (paraphrasing) If it weren't for plate techtonics there would still be life but there certainly wouldn't be baseball. I love that.

[kurtilein3]

yes, theories change when new facts get discovered, sometimes even the most important theories need to be changed. the way theories are being discussed in the book is completely natural for a scientist, its just that education often doesnt manage to get it across. too often they only teach the facts, but not the philosophy behind it. the book can help to close that gap and to get people interested in science.

[KingDutto]

If you are reading this comment right now then you are very very lucky. The fact that the earth that you live on has right temperature, the right amount of gravity, the right amount of oxogen to support life is unbelievable. Then consider the fact that non of your ancestors have been eaten, killed, become extinct, and have all managed to get laid. Then to top it off you got to the egg first against billion of others makes the chance of your exsistence so remote it's almost impossible to imagine.

[kurtilein3]

oh, im sorry for my last attempt to respond to your comment, i didnt pay enough attention to the context and have been responding to quite a lot of comments and expected you to maybe be one of the more intelligent creationists or something.

i think we will quite soon discover life on mars, we already discovered frozen water under the surface, and now theres the methane that requires an explanation, and bacteria in the ground seem to be a likely explanation at this point.

[selatik1]

GET TO THE CHOPPAH!!

[bonnie43uk]

Excellent book review. I enjoyed listening to the audibook, it is a wonderful listen at night in bed.

[TnSpli]

Smooth Operator!

[tully40]

I also took that away from this book and I really do. I just love how Bryson doesn't lament this fact but rather brushes it off. He tells his readers not to consider themselves lucky because the fact they are here to read his words is just coincidence.