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Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution

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Our true origins are not just human, or even terrestrial, but in fact cosmic. Drawing on recent scientific breakthroughs and the current cross-pollination among geology, biology, astrophysics, and cosmology, Origins explains the soul-stirring leaps in our understanding of the cosmos. From the first image of a galaxy birth to Spirit Rover's exploration of Mars, to the discovery of water on one of Jupiter's moons, coauthors Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith conduct a galvanizing tour of the cosmos with clarity and exuberance.

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2004

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About the author

Neil deGrasse Tyson

84 books284k followers
Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.

In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a twelve-member commission that studied the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.

In 2004, Tyson was once again appointed by President Bush to serve on a nine-member commission on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy, dubbed the “Moon, Mars, and Beyond” commission. This group navigated a path by which the new space vision can become a successful part of the American agenda. And in 2006, the head of NASA appointed Tyson to serve on its prestigious Advisory Council, which guides NASA through its perennial need to fit ambitious visions into restricted budgets.

In addition to dozens of professional publications, Dr. Tyson has written, and continues to write for the public. From 1995 to 2005, Tyson was a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine under the title Universe. And among Tyson’s fifteen books is his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist; and Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith. Origins is the companion book to the PBS NOVA four-part mini-series Origins, in which Tyson served as on-camera host. The program premiered in September 2004.

Two of Tyson’s other books are the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto’s planetary status. The PBS NOVA documentary The Pluto Files, based on the book, premiered in March 2010.

In February 2012, Tyson released his tenth book, containing every thought he has ever had on the past, present, and future of space exploration: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier.

For five seasons, beginning in the fall of 2006, Tyson appeared as the on-camera host of PBS NOVA’s spinoff program NOVA ScienceNOW, which is an accessible look at the frontier of all the science that shapes the understanding of our place in the universe.

During the summer of 2009 Tyson identified a cadre of professional standup comedians to assist his effort in bringing science to commercial radio with the NSF-funded pilot program StarTalk. Now also a popular Podcast, for three years it enjoyed a limited-run Television Series on the National Geographic Channel. StarTalk combines celebrity guests with informative yet playful banter. The target audience is all those people who never thought they would, or could, like science. In its first year on television and in three successive seasons, it was nominated for a Best Informational Programming Emmy.

Tyson is the recipient of twenty-one honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award given by NASA to a non-government citizen. His contributions to the public appreciation of the cosmos have been recognized by the International Astronomical Union in their official naming of asteroid “13123 Tyson.” And by zoologists, with the naming of Indirani Tysoni, a native species of leaping frog in India. On the lighter side, Tyson was voted “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive” by People Magazine in 2000.

More recently, Tyson published Astrophysics for People In A Hurry in 2017, which was a domestic and international bestseller. This adorably readable book is an introduction to all that you’ve read and heard about that’s making news in the universe—consummated, in one plac

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 729 reviews
Profile Image for BookHunter M  ُH  َM  َD.
1,559 reviews4,008 followers
May 7, 2023

إنسان أيا إنسان ما أجهلك

ما أتفهك في الكون و ما أضألك

شمس وقمر و سدوم و ملايين نجوم

و فاكرها يا موهوم مخلوقه لك

عجبي !!

من لحظة الانفجار التى كان ينبغى ان تحمل دمار جاء الكون ليتجلى من ظلام العدم الى وضح النهار
و من القمر العاشق الى المشترى الملاك الحارس الى الشمس الأم الحنون الى الماء الذى تدفق حولنا و فينا و منا و بنا صارت الحياه
و من غلاف جوى يحيط بنا كحضن أم الى قشرة أرضية تسعى على رزقنا كما نسعى عليها كانت لنا كذراع أب
و من رسالة حملها الإنسان حيث كان ظلوما جهولا بدأ سعيه لأن يكون عادلا عالما
فكان هذا الكتاب
لمن كان له قلب أو ألقى السمع و هو شهيد

الوثائقى الرائع للكتاب ليس مترجما للأسف
https://youtu.be/qZpcq9laBj4
Profile Image for Ahmad  Ebaid.
285 reviews2,175 followers
March 8, 2018
إلى كل من ينظرون إلى أعلى
،وكل من لا يعرفون بعد
،لمَ عليهم أن يفعلوا ذلك

description
في عام 1997 أجرى ناثان زونر ، الطالب بمدرسة إيجل روك الإعدادية بإيداهو البالغ من العمر أربعة عشر عامًا ، تجربة شهيرة في الوقت الحالي ( بين مبسطي العلوم ) في معرض للعلوم لاختبار المشاعر المعادية للتكنولوجيا وما يرتبط بها من رهاب للكيمياء . دعا زونر الناس للتوقيع على عريضة تطالب إما بفرض شروط صارمة على مركب ثنائي الهيدروجين أحادي الأكسجين أو حظره تمامًا . وقد أورد بعض السمات الكريهة لهذه المادة عديمة اللون والرائحة :
. أنها مكون رئيسي للمطر الحمضي
. أنها تذيب أي شيء يتصل بها
. أنها قد تسبب الوفاة لو استنشقت عرضًا
. أنها قد تسبب حروقًا خطيرة في حالتها الغازية
. أنها موجودة في أورام مرضى السرطان الميئوس من شفائهم
ومن الخمسين شخصًا الذين طلب زونر منهم التوقيع على العريضة وقع بالفعل ثلاثة وأربعين شخصًا ، بينما لم يحسم ستة أمرهم ، وواحد فقط هو الذي أظهر تأييده للجزيء ورفض التوقيع . نعم ، ٨٦ بالمائة من المارة صوَّتوا لحظر ثنائي الهيدروجين أحادي الأكسجين ( الماء ) من البيئة .


فكما قالها نيل تايسون -المؤلف- ذات مرة: "العلم هو الترياق الذي يَقِيك من مدّعي العلم", لذا فعليكم بالعلم كي لا يتم التلاعب بكم مثل أشخاص التجربة.
description
سأتجاهل الحديث قليلا عن دونالد جولدسميث الذي لا أعرف عنه الكثير أو القليل, ولنتكلم عن الكاتب الآخر للكتاب "نيل ديجرييس تايسون"
ابتدأت شهرة "نيل" في العالم العربي بعد حلقات المسلسل الوثائقي ذو الـ13 حلقة Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014), والتي كانت إعادة كتابة لحلقات المسلسل الذي قدمه "كارل ساجان" بنفس الاسم سنة 1980
وبأداء مبهر -رشحّة ليصبح أكثر الرجال كاريزما في 2014, دخل قلوب ساكني الشرق الأوسط الذين بدورهم قاموا بمجهودات كبيرة لترجمة ونشر هذه الحلقات-التي لا أنصح بمشاهدتها على ناشيونال جيوجرفيك بسبب تحريف وقص المسلسل بطريقة فظيعة-, ونتيجة لهذه الشهرة قامت مؤسسة هنداوي بتقديم ترجمة لهذا الكتاب لنا, يمكنك تحميلها بصور قانونية من هنا وبترجمة ممتازة أيضا: البدايات: 14 مليار عام من تطور الكون

لكن التفاعل مع كتب هذا الكاتب على الجود ريدز, وخصوصا هذا الكتاب أقل كثير بما لا يتناسب مع شهرة وشعبية الكاتب ذو الأربعة ملايين متابع على تويتر

ولأشرح لكم الأمر سأعود بالزمن قليلا

في يوم السبت 20 من ديسمبر 1975, يوم مثلج في (ايثكا) في المنطقة الشمالية من (نيو-يورك), على مفترق طريق وقف "كارل ساجان" عالم الفلك الأكثر شُهره بجانب طفل صغير ذو 17 عام ليودعه عند محطة انتظار الحافلة ليعود إلى بلدته برونكس, بعدما قضى هذا الطفل اليوم معه والذي بدأه بأن قابله كارل عند موقف الحافلة وأراه مختبره بجامعه (كورنل), وصل لخلف مكتبته وقام بالإمضاء علي ذلك الكتاب Cosmic Connection بـ "(نيل) ، عالم الفلك المستقبلي",
بنهاية اليوم، قام بإيصاله للمحطة
كان يتساقط الثلج بشدة أكثر
وكتب له رقم هاتفه
ورقم هاتف بيته
علي ورقه و قال له:
لو لم تصل الحافلة
اتّصل بي و أقض الليلة عندي بالبيت مع عائلتي

وكان تأثير هذا اللقاء على الفتى كالتالي:

كنت أعرف مسبقاً
أني كُنت أريد أن أصبح عالماً
لكن في ذلك اليوم
تعلمت من (كارل)
نوع الشخص
الذي أريد أن أصبحه

description
وتحت تأثير ح��ه لساجان وأنه يريد إكمال مسيرته أو ع الأقل محاكاتها, أخذ دور المدافع عن العلم ضد مناهضيه في كتبه المُبسّطة للعلوم للعامة, ودا دخل بالمحتوى لنواحي كتير شائكة من العلم, ومحتوى مش مستساغ عند معظم الجمهور,
دافع عن العلم بكل حماس ومرح, دافع عن العلم ضد كل من يراهم يشوهوه, حتى انه تطرق إلى الرد المطول على مؤيدين مؤامرة الأطباق الطائرة
ولهذا لم تحظى كتبه بنفس الرواج الذي يحظى به حلقاته المتلفزة وتويتاته, فـ"نيل" يريد نشر العلم في كتبه, والذي لا يشغف سوى مهووسي العلوم

وهذه القاعدة شائعة عند مبسطي العلوم للعامة, فمثلا قد أخبر الناشر الخاص بـ"ستيفن هوكينج" أن كل معادلة إضافية سيكتبها في الكتاب غير E = mc 2 ستنقص مبيعات كتابه عشرة ألاف نسخة!!

أما عن هذا الكتاب بالتحديد, فهو شائك أكتر من المعتاد, الكتاب يحكي عن البدايات وقسم البداية لأجزاء, بداية الكون, المجرات, النجوم ثم الكواكب ثم بداية الحياة على الأرض,
وهي مواضيع غير منتهية, ولا يبدو أننا سنصل لحلها قريبا, فمعظم ما لدينا فرضيات مبنية على مما لدينا من البيانات, فمثلا تفسير عملية تكون الشمس وكواكبها « فرضية السديم » مازالت كما هي منذ أن صاغها "عمانويل كانط" منذ ما يربو على القرنين

بجانب أن الفرضيات العلمية للبدايات ينافسها القوة الغيبية الخارقة للطبيعية
الجهل المستنير هو الحالة الطبيعية لعقول العلماء الباحثين عند حدود المعرفة دائمة التغير. إن مَن يؤمنون بأنهم لا يجهلون شيئًا لم يبحثوا بعدُ عن الحد الفاصل بين المعروف والمجهول في الكون أو لم يعثروا عليه، ومن هنا تنبع مفارقة مدهشة . فالجواب « الكون موجود على الدوام » لا يحظى بالاحترام الكافي كجواب منطقي للسؤال : « ماذا كان يوجد قبل البداية ؟ » لكن للكثيرين تكون الإجابة « القوة الغيبية البادئة للكون موجودة على الدوام » إجابة بديهية ومرضية للسؤال « ماذا كان يوجد قبل هذه القوة ؟ »

description
الكاتبين اعتمدوا على أسلوب سرد بسيط, نفس الأسلوب اللي بيكلموا بيه مشاهد التلفاز العادي, فينهون الفصول بعبارات أدبية رنانة وتشبيهات بنبرة صوت أكاد أميزها في أذني عندما أقرأ كلماتها!!


في الكتاب هتعرف أكتر عن حاجات كتير

هتعرف عن السبب العلمي لتخيل الكائنات الفضائية ككائنات هلامية لزجة أو في صورة وحوش شرسة صلبة الهيكل

هتعرف عن الإنفجار العظيم وقصة تسميته بهذا الاسم واللي تم من جانب "فريد هويل" كنوع من السخرية

هتعرف عن المستعرات العظمى والثقوب السوداء والمادة المظلمة, والبلوتونيوم المشع كوقود للمركبات الفضائية

هتعرف أكتر عن أشعة الخلفية الميكرونية الكونية, وليه "توحد الخصائص" للكون واللي ذكرها مثلا ستيفين واينبرج في كتاب "الدقائق الثلاثة الأولى من عمر الكون", لم يعد العلماء يأخذون بصحتها

هتعرف عن كيفية رصد الفيزيائيين الفلكيين للظواهر وإزاي بيقدروا يحللوها, وهتعيش معاهم الصعوبات اللي بتواجههم

وهتتابع معاه بنفسك تسميّة الفلكيين أقمار الكواكب على اسم الشخصيات الإغريقية التي وجدت في حياة إله الإغريق الذي يحمل الكوكب اسمه ، مع أنهم يستخدمون الاسم المناظر للإله لدى الرومان لتسمية الكوكب نفسه ( ولهذا سُمي كوكب المشتري مثلًا ﺑ Jupiter وليس Zeus )
description
ثم يختم المؤلفان المؤلًّف, والكثير من الفصول, بالكثير من اللوم :

"ولأسباب غير معروفة بعد ، لا يحب أغلب الناس المواد الكيميائية ، وهو ما يفسر الحملة المتواصلة لتخليص الطعام منها . ربما تبدو العناصر الكيميائية ذات الأسماء مفرطة الطول خطيرة . لكن في هذه الحالة ينبغي علينا لوم الكيميائيين أنفسهم ، لا المواد الكيميائية . بصفة شخصية نشعر نحن — مؤلفي الكتاب — براحة تامة نحو المواد الكيميائية ؛ فنجومنا المفضلة ، إضافة إلى أفضل أصدقائنا ، يتألَّفون منها ."

"لكنك نادرًا ما تقرأ عنها ، لماذا ؟ لأن وسائل الإعلام ، كالمعتاد ، حددت مسبقًا ما يستحقُّ التغطية وما لا يستحقها . ومن الواضح أن أخبار المنشأ الكوني لكل العناصر الموجودة في جسدك وفي كوكبك لا تستحق الاهتمام . ها هي فرصتك لإصلاح الضرر الذي أوقعه بك المجتمع المعاصر . ولنذهب معًا في رحلة عبر الجدول الدوري ، متوقِّفين من مكان لآخر للتركيز على أكثر الحقائق إثارة للاهتمام عن العناصر المختلفة ، وكي نظهر إعجابنا بالطريقة التي تكونت بها كل هذه العناصر من عنصري الهيدروجين والهيليوم اللذين نتجا عن الانفجار العظيم"



على حد خبرتي, المؤلَّف ممتاز, وأنا استمتعت جدا بكتابة ريفيو عنه, وسهّرني كتابته سهر زي سهر اللي بيحبوا جديد :D .

description
Profile Image for David Rubenstein.
828 reviews2,689 followers
December 5, 2014
Two excellent science writers collaborated on this book. The title describes the overall theme quite well; the origin of the universe, galaxies, stars, elements, solar systems, planets, and life. The last chapter discusses the search for extra-terrestrial life.

Some of the chapters are imbued with a fun sense of humor--while others are lacking in humor, though still well-written. I wonder if the reason is that and each author tackled entire chapters, so each chapter represents the style of its author. I suspect--based on other books of his that I've read--that Tyson is the humorous writer.

I enjoyed the end of Chapter 5, which describes what will happen to the universe in a hundred billion years from now:
By then, the Milky Way will have coalesced with its nearest neighbors, creating one giant galaxy in the literal middle of nowhere. Our night sky will contain orbiting stars, (dead and alive) and nothing else, leaving future astrophysicists a cruel universe....Enjoy cosmology while you can.
Another humorous digression starts out by mentioning that lithium has been useful as an antidepressant medication:
Lithium rides down a one-way street because every star has more effective nuclear fusion reactions to destroy lithium than to create it. As a result, the cosmic supply of lithium has steadily decreased and continues to do so. If you want some, now would be a good time to acquire it.
I also very much appreciated the mention of Alar and Juri Toomre, two brothers who simulated the effects of colliding galaxies. As a graduate student, I took a few excellent classes from Juri Toomre. And I remember a seminar that he gave on the subject of galaxies colliding! It's nice to encounter a professor who was influential in my life, mentioned in a popular book such as this one.

I read this book in the hard-cover edition--I would recommend reading a printed edition rather than an e-book, as it contains a number of beautiful high-resolution photographs. Most of the photographs are not mentioned in the text of the book, but extensive captions help guide the reader to understand their context.

I just loved the humor in the book's preface, which mentions a cartoon showing someone gazing up at the stars, and remarking,
"When I look at all those stars, I'm struck by how insignificant they are".
73 reviews53 followers
April 24, 2023
First of all, this book is great. There's nothing I can disagree with, since if there is, then I need a very solid proof, right?

A lot of things that make me wonder, like how this Earth that we live on even exists.

There's one paragraph in chapter one that reads like this:
“No matter who you may be, engaging yourself in the quest to discover where and how everything began can induce emotional fervor—as if knowing our beginnings would bestow upon you some form of fellowship with, or perhaps governance over, all that comes later. So what is true for life itself is true for the universe: knowing where you came from is no less important than knowing where you are going.

And the underlined sentence makes me felt like, "Yeah, that's true, but until this book, I don't bother wanting to know." 😬.  But you know what? the underlined sentence is indeed true. IS NOT LESS IMPORTANT.

Well.....I agree if you say it's not important because you know or don't know it doesn't impact your daily life, but guess what? It does impact how you think about things that surround you but that you cannot see, feel, or smell it. However, those things are what support your life and the reason how even the Earth began.

This book didn't just teach you about science, physics, the cosmos, or whatever they are. But this book teaches you about a bunch of things. I felt the evolution itself—how Earth grew from nothing up until today—and I felt these people's (astrophysics?) concern about the Earth's future. Oh yeah, there was some humor too that made me laugh while reading this.

Many of these terms in this book that maybe you're not used to, but no worries, the authors gave you a "Glossary of Selected Terms." Thank God I read the paperback version, so it wasn't a burden to flip flop the pages. Because you need to keep going back n fourth to the glossary for countless times (for someone like me who is not very scientific and not used to some of the terms).

Ah right, one thing that I found better if author put it like this, was the photos. I wish author had put the photos between the chapters or paragraphs and not at the end of the book, so I could get the full picture of the thing that you described right away. 

Overall:
For me, it was not easy to understand the whole point of this book. There were a few pages that I needed to re-read a couple of times. But I did enjoy the whole process. I need to remind myself to focus to grasp the story.

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time . . .


                               —T. S. Eliot, 1942”

TMI:
I bought this book in 2019, uhmmm about 4 years ago. And well.... i cannot finish it because i don't get it i don't have a time.
But i did it now. Somehow i feel proud ☺️.

撒花🎉

🐥
Profile Image for Kevin.
594 reviews181 followers
November 19, 2022
Astrophysics for people with way too much time on their hands.

Tyson’s passion for science is contagious, but after reading Origins I feel as though I just audited Astronomy 101 at Princeton. This might be deeper academic water than anyone with a mere passing interest in planetary science would like to tread. Still, the chapters on Dark Matter and Dark Energy are the most clear, most concise explanations of cosmic theory that I have ever read. This is my sixth NdGT book, he hasn’t disappointed me yet.
Profile Image for Lena.
252 reviews112 followers
December 25, 2021
Excellent just as I expected. Simple writing and fascinating - briefly about all the main issues concerning space, possibility of an extraterrestrial life and our place in the universe + the cherry on top - funny ironical comments.
Profile Image for Bradley.
Author 5 books4,522 followers
April 5, 2017
Almost all of my stars on this one is for the ease for which Tyson explains the cosmos, the clarity, and the breadth of astrophysics itself.

The one star that's missing is just because it's all stuff I've read before. :) In other words, it's great if you're looking for an introductory and nearly math-less course on everything from the Big Bang to the formation of the planets to the building blocks and observed results of our search for extra-terrestrial life.

That's it. It's a great refresher, too, if that's your thing, and as for the tidbits like how we're figuring out and classifying the planets turning around other stars, there's even a great explanation for that, too. Hint: doppler shift. :)

All in all, it's very well-written and enjoyable if not crammed with surprises. It's meant to put our feet firmly in the science of we know well and of the others, the ones we understand more or less well, we qualify that we're always on the search for new and better questions in a game of controlled ignorance. :)

I totally recommend this for laymen and the curious.
Profile Image for Becky.
1,489 reviews1,859 followers
December 13, 2015
I wish that I could rate this book higher. I really like Neil deGrasse Tyson, and I really like this subject, but this book was... not great for me.

Maybe it was the fact that I did the audio rather than reading it with my own eyeballs, but it just didn't work for me. I found the technicality off-putting. It was hard for me to focus on this book when there are just random facts and figures being thrown at my ears. I've read quite a few science books this year, and they were all interesting and entertaining and accessible, and I learned something from all of them. But this one just didn't work for me. I really WANTED to love it, but I don't think that this book is really aimed at a casual reader who has an interest in science and cosmology, because the level of technical info is pretty high. I think that there's a middle-ground possible, but this one didn't quite get there. There seems to be a lack of cohesion. Facts and data points are just thrown out there and the reader is supposed to know what to do with them.

Or maybe it just really was the format... or just the wrong time for me to try to read it. It is a busy time of year and I'm way behind on my reading goals and maybe I just wasn't as focused as I should have been and missed some key things that would tie everything together. Regardless, I ended up returning the audiobook to Audible... Maybe I'll try to get this in a ebook or print form at some point down the road and see if that makes a difference in my enjoyment.
Profile Image for aPriL does feral sometimes .
2,029 reviews472 followers
December 27, 2020
'Origins' is the best explanatory introduction to the formation and evolution of the Cosmos I have read! Co-author Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist and co-author Donald Goldsmith is an astronomy writer, and in my opinion, they make a good team. The book is the most coherently arranged science book on this subject I have ever tried.

It has five parts:

Part I: The Origin of the Universe
Part II: The Origin of Galaxies and Cosmic Structure
Part III: The Origin of Stars
Part IV: The Origin of Planets
Part V: The Origin of Life (space aliens! - maybe)

There are 17 chapters.

I learned a great deal that I had never understood or had known about recent mainstream discoveries and theories gleaned from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Galileo spacecraft that explored Jupiter in 1995, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft that explored Saturn in 2004, and WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) that was launched in 2001 to study the cosmic background radiation.

Oh my, but I wish that fricking James Webb Space Telescope is completed before I die...

The two authors filled in many gaps in my knowledge, such as why most scientists think there was a Big Bang. A fascinating narrative in Chapter 1 'In the Beginning' mixes speculations as well as what has been gleaned from actual measurements and observations about the expansion of the Universe. I never knew about how particles and photons were so energized it took a while before the production of atoms was possible - about ten minutes into the cool down of the Big Bang.

I have heard endlessly (another Universe pun, sorry) about the cosmic background radiation (CBR) which had been accidentally detected in 1965 (pigeon poop was involved) after years of predictions by respectable Big Brain scientists since the 1940's. I did not have a clue why everyone thought it was proof of the Big Bang, only that the CBR was it somehow.

Microwaves are coming from everywhere today, with maybe some matter/gravity gaps. Scientists can actually detect, measure and have mapped visually the CBR back to the beginning of the Universe. Atoms began to form shortly after the Big Bang and gravity began to effect what had been only a particle soup, maybe causing the gaps of matter. The CBR was a proof of concept for astrophysicists because these now evenly distributed microwave spectrum waves can be traced back to almost the beginning of time, maybe just when the Universe was 380,000 years old. These current measurable microwaves were once ferocious gamma-ray and X-ray photons in the era of the Big Bang. Eventually the CBR will be measured as being in the radio wave spectrum in another one hundred billion years, no longer microwaves photons anymore, as the photons lose more and more of their original energy from the Big Bang.

The temperature of the Universe, which scientists can measure, dropped as the size of the Universe expanded. How do they know the Universe is expanding, btw? The Doppler Effect of light! The explanation about how many ways scientists are using the Dopplar effect, such as to find exosolar planets, was astonishing!

Briefly, but with the most coherent explanations I have ever read, the authors explain the creation of atoms, space dust, types of suns and galaxies, dark energy, dark matter, elements (as in the element table), and what has been learned about some of the planets and their moons.

Included in the back of the book are a glossary of terms, a section for further reading, and an Index. Two sections of photos are included that add depth (sort of a pun, you know, it's all about Space) to the explanations.

Heisenberg and Schrodinger are driving along the Autobahn when they are stopped by a police officer. The cop says to Heisenberg, who is driving, "Do you know how fast you were going?!" Heisenberg says, "No, but I knew where I was." "OK, smart guy," says the cop, "I'm going to search your car." So he does, and then comes back to the window. "Did you know you have a dead cat in a box in the truck?" Schrodinger says, "No, but I do now."
Profile Image for Liz.
600 reviews628 followers
July 22, 2015

“However, every advance in our knowledge of the cosmos has revealed that we live on a cosmic speck of dust, orbiting a mediocre star in the far suburbs of a common sort of galaxy, among a hundred billion galaxies in the universe. The news of our cosmic unimportance triggers impressive defense mechanisms in the human psyche.”

A short personal note: Forget hot actors and actresses, singers, models. If I had the chance to meet a famous person I'd totally go for Neil deGrasse Tyson. Or Michio Kaku, but preferably Tyson.
Astrophysics has always been a passion of mine, even before my love for literature so this book felt like a trip to my 8-year-old self who walked around with books on astronomy and suffered from severe sleep deprivation because she prefered to watch the stars and the moon rather than sleep. I was a strange child, I realise that, antisocial except when given the chance to talk about the nightsky, that's when I came alive.




This book covers an enormous period of time, fourteen billion years, and even provides some interesting thoughts concerning the future of our planet and galaxy. The theme of the book is clear, it deals with the origin of the universe, the various types of galaxies, the formation of the clusters, all the types of stars, the origin of the planets and life in general. It concerns itself with vague topics like dark matter and dark energy and black holes, all the mysteries of the universe, all that is still theory and will maybe remain a theory forever.
It provides answers or at least suggests possible answer to hundreds of questions one might ask him/herself about how everything turned out the way it did.
Despite the difficulty of the entire topic, it is an understandable, even fun read due to Tyson's unique sense of humour. The chapters that are less humorous are still highly enjoyable for the reason that both authors are talented when it comes to writing. Every single chapter is very well-written, elaborate and provides just enough explanations to intrigue but not confuse.

I repeat, the book is not as intricate as the majority of the books that concern themselves with astrophysics, which is a great think because it is more likely that people who are generally curious pick such a book up rather than a highly scientific monster with formulas and one technical term after another. Let's be honest, people who aren't deeply "into" that topic will never understand a highly scientific beast, but they will easy get this one.
And I think it is a good thing for it encourages people to think outside the box, to question and doubt and look for more.
“... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of nothing have neither looked for, nor stumbled upon, the boundary between what is known and unknown in the cosmos.”



What I also appreciated was the fact that in every chapter scientists who are usually overlooked were mentioned, their theories who led other scientists to question and doubt and in the end find answers where they had never expected them to. I loved how the development of the various theories, experiments, simulations was dealt with and how one scientist's thought was based on another one's and so on and so forth back to Newton.
Thus, this book provides not only an insight into the past of the universe but into the human discoveries and mentions all the important personas in this field of studies.

Loved it.
I hope I will find enough free-time to read Tyson's book Death by Black Hole soon though it seems unlikely with all the required reading for university...
“In the beginning, there was physics.”

Profile Image for Mohammed.
487 reviews671 followers
October 29, 2020
لطالما خلبت لبّي هذه المواضيع، الحديث عن الكون والمجرات والسدم. ثقوب سوداء تجذب الأجرام ونجوم انطفأت منذ ملايين السنين، غبار نجمي وأقمار تدور حول كواكب بألوان غامضة. هذه مجالات تمدد آفاق خيالي بلا حدود.

ولكن عندما يتحول مجرى الحديث إلى البروتونات والفوتونات، إلى ميكانيكا الكم والفيزياء الذرية ، عندها يعود خيالي إلى قوقعته ويغلقها في وجه هذه التفاصيل العلمية الدقيقة.

سبق أن قرأت (الكون) لكارل ساجان وكان هو أكثر الكتب سلاسة من حيث المعلومات الفلكية دون الخوض في الشرح العلمي المفصّل. جربت بعد ذلك (موجز لتاريخ الزمن) لستيفن هوكنج وكان أصعبها وأكثرها ثراء من حيث المعادلات والأرقام. وهذه هي تجربتي الثالثة وأستطيع القول أن موقع هذا الكتاب هو في الوسط بين سابقيّه، وهو أمر جيد.

يبدو أن المؤلف معروف بتوجهه الذي ينبذ التبسيط الزائد للعلم، لكنه مع ذلك ماهر في طرح هذه المواضيع العلمية بطريقة شيقة. يعمد الكتاب إلى تفسير بداية الكون منذ لحظة الانفجار الكبير ويستعرض مراحل تكون النجوم والكواكب والعديد من النقاط الأخرى. لا يمكن القارئ أن يفوّت شغف نيل تايسون وحسه الفكاهي في هذا النص العلمي الرصين والملهم في الوقت ذاته.
Profile Image for Ahmed Oraby.
1,012 reviews3,081 followers
August 11, 2015
إلى كل من ينظرون إلى أعلى،
ولا يعرفون بعد،
لم عليهم أن يفعلوا ذلك.!
Profile Image for Omar Kassem.
548 reviews136 followers
April 8, 2023
البدايات، تلك الكلمة التي تحفز الفضول عند أي بشري، كيف كانت البداية؟، وما الأسباب التي اجتمعت لنكون موجودين؟

في هذا الكتاب قصة البداية، تلك القصة الخالية من اي أساطير أو خرافات، ليس فيها سوى الحقائق العلمية، مقسمة الى خمسة أجزاء كل جزء يطرح السؤال نفسه عن الأصول والبدايات

الجزء الاول، أصل الكون:
بعبقرية يشرح الكاتب كيف ان علم الفيزياء قادر على وصف سلوك المادة والطاقة وكيف تندمج وتتحد مع بعضها البعض، وما ينتج عن هذه التفاعلات من ظواهر كيميائية وبيولوجية
القسم الاجمل في هذه الجزء هو عندما تناول الكاتب موضوع المادة المضادة وكيف انه تفنى عندما تتحد مع اي مادة أخرى، وعندما يجتمع الجسم مع مادته المضادة فإنهما يولدان الطاقة الصافية تمامًا.
نخرج من هذا الجزء باستنتاج ان الكون هدفه الرئيسي التمدد والتمدد فقط لا غير..

الجزء الثاني، اصل المجرات والبنية الكونية:
لم يعجبني هذا القسم كثيرًا وفيه جنح المؤلف نحو التعقيد والمبالغة، بعيدًا عن التبسيط في طرح المواضيع العلمية لكي يفهمها حتى غير المتخصصين.

الجزء الثالث، أصل النجوم:
الغبار الكوني، وهي المناطق المظلمة التي لا يوجد فيها شيء، اي منطقة في الفضاء لا يوجد فيها كوكب او نجم او كويكب او اي شيء اخر هي عبارة عن غبار كوني، بعدها يذهب المؤلف الى عناصر الجدول الدوري، هذا الجدول الذي يمثل المبادئ التنظيمية التي تفسر السلوك الكيميائي لجميع العناصر التي نعرفها في الكون.

الجزء الرابع، أصل الكواكب :
فقط عندما نتجه الى دراسة اصل الكواكب نقف عاجزين امام العدد الكبير من الألغاز، فنحن نفتقد المشاهدات الخاصة فينا يتعلق ببداية الكواكب، بالإضافة الى اية نظريات تتعلق ببدايتها، الغاز في ألغاز.

الجزء الخامس، أصل الحياة :
كل شيء اكتشفناه في النهاية قد عرفه الشعراء منذ الازل!

"لن نكف قط عن الاستكشاف
ونهاية كل استكشافاتنا
هي الوصول إلى حيث بدأنا
ومعرفة مكاننا للمرة الأولى"
(تي سي إليوت)
Profile Image for Ahmed M. Gamil.
158 reviews196 followers
January 10, 2014
كتاب متميز لم يخيب ظني فيه وهو مليء بالمعلومات الشيقة والمثيرة والمفاجئة حتى لمن لهم اطلاع دائم على جديد الفلك والفيزياء من أمثالي..

أول مرة أسمع عن عنصر التكنيشيوم الذي يتكون على أسطح العمالقة الحمراء والذي قد تصل فترة عمر النصف الخاصة به إلى قرابة المليون عاماً.

كنت أظن أن الألغاز الكونية تنحصر في لغزي بداية الكون وكيفية نشأة الحياة إلا أن هذا الكتاب يلقي الضوء على كثير من الألغاز الكونية الأخرى المحيرة والتي لا تنال حظها من التغطية الإعلامية

الكتاب متميز جداً على مستوى كلاً من تنظيم المحتوى وقيمة المحتوى نفسه.. ينصح بقراءته لعشاق الكون والساعين لمعرفة المزيد من الألغاز المحيطة بكوننا الواسع.

العلم جميل ما فيش كلام.
Profile Image for Raoufa Ibrahim.
392 reviews327 followers
February 26, 2016
Me when I finished the book
description
---
Part 1: Origin of the universe
If you ever saw our earth -the complete photo- or the the Milky Way
description description
and wonderd how it became like this? why it look like this? HOW we reached this point? THEN this book will answer you, it may not answer you fully since there are questions until now scientist couldn't answer.
description
"knowing where you came from is no less important than knowing where you are going"
---
Part 2,3,4: The origin of the Galaxies
description
description
Stars
description
Planets
description
---
The final parts: Life on other planets
what are the essential elements for life? which of the planets have potential to contain life?
the most important is to apply "Copernican theory‏" .. We are NOT the center of the universe so we must stop searching for life in other planets assuming it must look like us or they must have our air and water to sustain life!
And If by a miracle- which actually happened- we found planets like Earth
"leaving us face to face (as F.Scott Fitzgerald wrote in The Great Gatsby )with something commensurate with man's capacity to wonder."
description
At the end of the book and as Carl Sagan liked to say "you had to be made from wood not to stand in awe of what the cosmos has done."
---
We shall not cease for exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time

-T.S.Eliot
45 reviews
February 4, 2023
Prima jumătate a acestei cărți mi-a dus la epuizare neuronul. Doar un exemplu: „Era inflaționistă a durat de la 10^(-37) secunde la 10^(-33) secunde după big bang. În acel interval de timp relativ scurt, țesătura spațiului și a timpului s-a extins mai rapid decât lumina, crescând într-o miliardime de bilionime de bilionime de secundă (sic!) de la o dimensiune de o sută de miliarde de miliarde de ori mai mică decât cea a unui proton (sic!) la circa 10 centimetri. Da, universul observabil ar fi încăput cândva într-un grepfrut (sic!).” (p. 145)

Încercând să procesez textul de mai sus, sistemul de operare mi-a dat Fatal Error!!! :)

via GIPHY

Profile Image for Max.
351 reviews429 followers
June 7, 2017
DeGrasse Tyson and Goldsmith give us a wide ranging look at the beginning of everything: The universe, galaxies, stars, planets, even life itself. They discuss a myriad of topics such as: The Big Bang and cosmic inflation; how the elements are made; the structure and composition of the universe; the likelihood of alien life. With this extensive scope in a relatively short book nothing is covered in depth. For the science enthusiast who has read similar books there isn’t much new. Still I enjoyed this one. It was very well written and nicely tied together diverse concepts.

I read a 2014 reissue but it was written in 2004 and had not been updated. So for descriptions of the planets and moons in our solar system or the discovery of exoplanets, the results of a decade of additional exploration are not included. Neither, of course are recent discoveries in particle physics such as the Higgs boson. Still, I think the book is a good choice for someone who just wants to read one book to survey astrophysics. Readers who have some knowledge of physics will, of course, get more out of it. While not highly technical the text is beyond introductory.

The writing is pretty straight forward but there is some tongue in cheek. Science buffs may already be familiar with the story of the student science project about a risky chemical: dihydrogen monoxide. At the fair the student set out a sign that listed its dangers: A component of acid rain; can kill you if inhaled; dissolves most things it contacts; causes severe burns as a gas; found in cancerous tumors. 86% of the people who visited the booth signed a petition to ban this peril. You may know it better by its chemical notation H2O. The authors wonder if this is the real reason we can’t find water on Mars.
November 30, 2017
كتاب جيد لكن بالنسبة لي قرأت نظريات استيفن هونكز باللغة الانحليزية ورأيت انه اكثر وضوحا من هذا الكتاب غير ان معظم محتويات هذا الكتاب مأخوذة من نظريات العالم استيفن هوكنز، لذلك انصح بمن تهمه هكذا نوع من القظايا
ان يقرأ لهذا العالم

اعلاه هو الريڤيو عند قرائتي له اول مرة واعطيته ثلاث نجوم فقط، كان ذلك بتاريخ يناير ٥ ٢٠١٥

،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،،

بعد تعلمي الكثير عن الفيزياء والبيولوجيا بدا لي تقييمي الاول سطحيا جدا ومخجل الى حد ما،

هذا الكتاب عميق ووافر بالمعلومات وسلس اذا ما قورن بالكتب العلمية الاخرى ويحتوي على ارقام وتواريخ ومعادلات وعمليات حسابية مهمة للهواة واصحاب الاختصاص.

الفصول الاولى والاخيرة ببساطة مذهلة ورائعة، يستحق الكثير من النجووووم !
Profile Image for Kurt.
609 reviews71 followers
May 2, 2015
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time . . .

-- T. S. Eliot, 1942

Hardly any scientific discoveries of the past century have flowed from the direct application of our senses. They came instead from the direct application of the sense-transcendent mathematics and hardware. This simple fact explains why, to the average person, relativity, particle physics, and eleven-dimensional string theory make no sense. Add to this list black holes, wormholes, and the big bang.
-- Neil deGrasse Tyson, from Origins

The universe is fascinating and complex. Despite the diligent efforts of the brightest minds of the past few centuries, no unifying "theory of everything" has emerged or seems likely to emerge. Instead, it seems, the more we learn about the universe, the more we find new unexplained (and seemingly unexplainable) complexities.

This was really a great book for explaining our current level of understanding of the universe. I am sure that I will never be able to comprehend even a sizable percentage of what the great scientists understand about it. But likewise, I am also sure (especially after reading this book) that the great scientists are equally unable to comprehend even a sizable percentage of all that there is to know and understand. I really appreciate Neil deGrasse Tyson for his efforts to make this truly important and fascinating information more accessible and understandable to ordinary people like me.
Author 2 books450 followers
Read
January 19, 2022
Bugüne kadar okuduğum en iyi popüler bilim kitabı olduğunu söyleyemem. Nedenini bilmediğim bir şekilde bu kitapta Kozmos'ta, Üçüncü Şempanze kitabında aldığım tadı alamadım. Kitabın hemen her konuda başlangıç düzeyinde bilgi verme gayreti var. Fakat kitap eksik.

Görsellik yok mesela. Ne bir diyagram, ne bir grafik, ne de bir tane fotoğraf. Kitapta herhangi bir dipnot da yok. İleri okuma yapmak isteyen bir insana söyleyebilecek hiçbir kitap tavsiyesi yok. Kitabın sonunda güzel bir terimler sözlüğü olsa da içerdiği konular çok başlangıç düzeyi olduğundan buna ihtiyaç duyacağınızı sanmam.

Bu kitap yerine şu kitapları temin edip okumanızı tavsiye ederim:
1- Kozmos
2- Üçüncü Şempanze
3- Kitaptaki elementler ile ilgili bölüm hakkında Periyodik Tablo - Hayatta Kalma Öyküleri
Profile Image for Bookish Dervish.
819 reviews251 followers
January 2, 2021
كتاب رائع و ماتع. معلومات علمية قابلة للهضم و فصول تجيب عن أسئلة و تدفعك لطرح أسئلة أخرى. نيل ديغرايس تايسون بارع بطرح مواضيع علمية لعموم القراء. غير أنه لا غنى عن خلفية علمية ليستأنس المرء بتسلسل المعلومات.
Profile Image for Tariq Alferis.
892 reviews708 followers
September 11, 2014
.‎دواؤك فيك وما تشعرُ ..
‎وداؤكَ منك وما تُبصِرُ ..

‎وتحسبُ أنكَ جُرْمٌ صغير ..
‎وفيكَ انطوى العالَمُ الأكبرُ ..

‎الإمام علي بن ابي طالب ، أو ابن سينا ‫.‬


‎نحن عبارة عن ذرات نجوم‫…‬من مادة أصيلة خلقت المجرات كلها ‫…‬نحن أبناء الكون ‫، نحن أشقاء القمر .

‎كتاب ممتع ، سرد بطريقة بسيطة ، دراسة أصل الحياة وكل شئ عن الكون ‫.‬

‎موقع لصور المجرات والنجوم والكواكب وبعض مقاطع الفيديو للكون ‫.‬
http://hubblesite.org/

.
Profile Image for Yesenia Cash.
245 reviews17 followers
May 23, 2020
I’m buying this on audible!!!! I love science, if I was reborn I’d definitely be some form of scientist. Not that I know all the terminology, far from it! However, I feel like the repetitiveness of listening to these types of books will one day make it stick to my brain!
Profile Image for محمد حمدان.
Author 2 books865 followers
September 24, 2015
البدايات – نيل تايسون

نيل تايسون هو عالم فيزيائي فلكي أمريكي. التقى وهو طفل بالفلكي الشهير كارل ساغان وقد عرف تايسون منذ لقائه ذلك ماذا بالضبط عليه أن يكون حينما يكبر.

هذا الكتاب هو جزء من سلسلة كتب تبسيط العلوم.. ويختص كما يوحي تخصص كاتبه أنه مختص بتفسير نشوء الكون بخلفية محض فزيائية. ويتناول بالتفصيل الشديد بما أمكن له من تبسيط نظرية الإنفجار الكبير.. والأدلة التي تثبت هذه النظرية.

لا زلت أذكر جيداً حينما سمعتُ بنظرية الإنفجار الكبير لأول مرة في طفولتي.. وكان أني ومن فرط حماستي لهذه النظرية كتبتُ منها نسختي الطفولية والتي تسجل تصوري "الجموح" لها في اربع صفحات ! وقد أثار بي هذا الكتاب بعض الحنين لتلك الفترة من حياتي رغم سذاجة ما كتبت حينها.

لم يكن من الممكن أن يتوصل الإنسان لهذا المستوى من الفهم لنشوء الكون لولا ولادة الفيزياء الحديثة المتمثلة في نسبية أينشتاين وقوانينه الجديدة في الجاذبية وفيزياء كم هايزنبرغ وشرودنغر. ومن المعروف أن هاتين النظريتين تعمل إحداهما على مستوى الأجرام الكونية شديدة الضخمة "النسبية" والأخرى تعمل على مستوى الجسيمات شديدة الصغر "فيزياء الكم". وهاتان مسؤولتان عن إمكانية تفسير العديد من الظواهر الكونية التي لم نكن نعرف عنها شيئاً من قبل.

لقد أسهب هذا الكتاب في شرح الإنفجار الكبير.. شارحاً المادة المضادة معيداً بالأذهان الاستخدام الذكي بدان براون لهذه المادة في ملائكة وشياطين حتى أنه التزم حرفياً بالحل ال��قترح من قبل تايسون كما ورد في هذا الكتاب لتخزين تلك المادة حين يتم إنتاجها. ثم انتقل إلى شرح المادة المظلمة الموجودة في هذا الكون دون أن يكون لها تأثير آخر يذكر عدا تأثيرها على الجاذبية وهو ما أوحى أن لها كتلة ووجوداً ما مؤثر في هذا الكون.. وهي مادة كثيفة الوجود في هذا الكون لدرجة أنها تشكل 0.73 من هذا الكون.. وتبقي فقط 0.27 من المادة العادية المألوفة لدينا ! ثم انتقل إلى شكل الكون المسطح وكيف أثبت أنه كذلك.. وإلى النهاية المتوقعة للكون "أنه سيتمدد إلى ما لا نهاية" وإلى ذلك الشذوذ الذي يدل على أننا لم نفهم الكون بشكل كامل بعد مما يتيح المجال لتصور صحة نظرية الأوتار الفائقة والمعروفة باسمها الآخر "نظرية كل شيء" القائلة بوجود 11 بعداً في هذا الكون.. أو أن كوننا هذا ليس إلا مجرد كون آخر في نظام كونية متعدد الأكوان لا يمكن لهذه الأكوان أن تتعامل أو أن تتفاعل مع بعضها البعض.

من الجميل في تايسون موضوعيته وحس دعابته اللطيف.. مما يجعل تجربة قراءة هذا الكتاب تجربة ممتعة لمن تشدهم هكذا مواضيع.
ولا يزال الكون مصدر دهشة الإنسان كما كان منذ الأزل.. ولهذا، قد يكون هذا الكتاب ممتعاً ومهماً للغاية لمن يهمهم الأمر.

ولمن يهتم بمثل هذه الكتب أعتقد أن كتب هوكنج وساغان قد تثير إهتمامهم أيضاً..
Profile Image for Becca.
207 reviews9 followers
January 5, 2010
I'm not actually finishing this book. I refuse. The way it's written is so off-putting. It's redundant and smarmy. The authors explained the "photon fog" condition of the early universe fully three times on one page and then again in the next chapter. They also managed to take shots at religion, sci-fi, and non-scientists all within the first 50 pages. And the info that they're writing about isn't even that ground-breaking; they appear to be covering theories that have been around for at least the last 20-25 years, and generally longer. Like, get over yourselves, gentlemen. Seriously. If you're looking for quality popular science writing that doesn't address you like you're a total idiot and does cover ideas that actually are new and weird and fun, check out The Elegant Universe and leave this thing on the shelf.
Profile Image for Ripu Jain.
36 reviews18 followers
June 1, 2015
When a book with the title Origins: 14 Billion Yeas of Cosmic Evolution, starts with an opening line “In the beginning, there was physics”, and is written by NDT the man himself, you cant go wrong with it. An extraordinary story needs an extraordinary story-teller, and NDT is no ordinary human - does an exceptional job translating the modern understanding of astrophysics to normal language.

Its the ultimate origins story told - from origin of the universe at the moment of creation (10^-43 second after the big bang), to the exponential inflation of universe in 1st 3 minutes, to plasmaoidal era of the universe for next 300,000 years, to era of 1st particle formation and photon releases (which get stretched into CMBR waves), to formation of vast cosmic structure (thanks to gravity and dark matter and energy of empty space aka dark energy), to formation of first galaxies and supermassive black holes, to the formation of first starts and solar systems, to formation of planets and moons, and finally to origins of life itself.

This is one of the few books I managed to finish within 2 weeks of starting. If a casual science enthusiast wants to read a cosmology book this year, make it this one. You will feel your brain get blown and smarter at the same time
Profile Image for Ric.
1,237 reviews130 followers
June 28, 2019
It takes a lot for me to read nonfiction, I just don’t find it as enjoyable unless it’s a subject that I’m really interested in. I’ve always liked science, and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Astrophysics For People in a Hurry was pretty good so I decided to pick this one up. It was also good, though still a very dry read. It was interesting to read about the the makeup of the universe, as well as it’s creation. And if you’re interested in this subject, you’ll probably really enjoy this book. But it’s usually tough for me to get through nonfiction, so personally I liked this book, but I wouldn’t say that I loved it.
Profile Image for Farhana.
312 reviews197 followers
March 25, 2019
Ah, this reminds me of this Gemini Syndrome song ~
"Look at the wake
From the stardust pouring from your eyes
It's no mistake
You are perfect
You are perfect in my mind
And you won't fade away"


However, the fact is you might be just as insignificant as anything else out there. And you might wonder why there had to be all these bigbang, formation of stars, planetary systems, galaxies, why the simplest of atoms had to come into being and fuse themselves into others, and why after all there is this Earth where the materials of life clumped together, evolved, and now there YOU are - living your goddam life which is next to nothing both in terms of eternity and existence! And everything is just going about their business in their taken-for-granted existence till the end comes.

This has been a clean, organized piece, clear-cut and very well written indeed. Neil has been as eloquent as ever. And as a wordsmith, I feel he has really mastered some traits of Sagan. Will be looking forward to two of his upcoming shows (Startalk and Cosmos) this year.



Profile Image for Alan Fuller.
Author 6 books32 followers
February 14, 2018
In a book that is supposed to be about origins, Tyson gets on the bus at the first stop rather than at the beginning. He says that in the beginning there was physics. Okay. Where did the laws and constants found in physics come from? What a cop out!
10 reviews
November 24, 2013
الحقيقة أن الكتاب شيق ..لكن صعب التخيل خاصة إذا قرأ إنسان غير متخصص في الفيزياء وكنت أتمني أن اُشاهد فيلماً تسجيليا يشرح بالصور وبالفيديوهات التخيليةكيفية تمدد الكون في أجزاء من أجزاء من الثانية بعد الإنفجار وشكل الكتلةالمضادةوالمادة السوداء التي تملأالكون والسؤال الذي دفعني لقراءة الكتاب من الصغر هو كيفية تَكوُن الثقوب السوادء في الفراغ _كيف للفراغ أن يُثقب !!!_إذاً لابد أن الفراغ مُتكون من مادة لاندري كنهها !!وبعد قراءة الكتاب لم أصل لشئ فحتي العلماء أدركوا أن هناك مادة سوداء مظلمة تملأ الكون والسُدم ولكنهم لا يعلمون شكلهاوتكوينها وإنحرافات فوتونات الضؤ هي الدليل علي شكل بدايات الكون والكتاب يشرح كيف أن حسابات العلماء ونظرياتهم تتغير كل فترة إذا ربما كان ما وصلنا إليه الآن هو نظريات غير واقعية ؟! و13.7 مليار سنة ظلت المادة السوداء تتمددوستمدد للأبد.. إذا يبقي السؤال تتمدد في ماذا ؟! وما الذي يوجد خارج نطاق التمدد ؟! ..الحقيقة أن الكتاب رائع لكن عسير جداً علي غير الفيزيائيين .
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