Monday, June 21, 2021

Quickie: "It's the end of the world as we know it..."

 "....and I feel fine." (obligatory!)


I'm here to make a quick plug for The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Dr. Katie Mack, who is a theoretical astrophysicist currently working at North Carolina State. The book is about how the universe may end, and each chapter investigates the physics behind a new doomsday possibility with a level of buoyancy one might not expect on such a topic. The joy Mack takes in her work is contagious, and even if I occasionally felt like I had accidentally consumed edibles while reading it due to my non-scientist brain, the writing was very accessible. Also, any science book that starts off with Robert Frost has to be good, right?

Great fun, great pop science fiction references. Any review that calls this a romp is hitting the nail on the head. Because this was a romp.

Freya's knowing gaze

2 comments:

  1. I love that this book takes a science-y and dark topic and makes it accessible and fun! I don't read a lot of books about physics and the nature of reality and such, but I know my family has enjoyed some books by Carlo Rovelli who writes similarly accessible explorations of topics like these. Thanks so much for the great post!

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    1. Thank you so much for commenting! I loved Rovelli's Seven Brief Lessons on Physics! For some reason "elegant" is the adjective that I recall thinking after reading it. In high school I switched out of physics to take music theory, so I am grateful there are authors like Rovelli and Mack out there.

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