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The Greatest Story Ever Told ... So Far
Jun. 20th, 2018 08:22 pmBook Review: The Greatest Story Ever Told ... So Far, by Lawrence M Krauss
I find myself drawn to popular physics and astronomy books in the work book sale, so this was a natural choice. It's true that they mostly follow the same path, so there may not always be much of note to distinguish them from others. In its journey, this one explores the notion of science, of experimentation and falsability, and chooses to contrast it with faith-based philosophies, but (despite the commendation from Richard Dawkins on the front cover) it tries not to be too antagonistic while nonetheless strongly conveying its points. Beginning with (and frequently returning to) Plato's cave and moving quickly through the history of science, to focus mostly on twentieth and twenty-first century physics, in particular the search for a unification of the four fundamental forces. The discussion about W, Z and Higgs bosons is interesting, but although it is free from mathematics I'm unsure whether it is digestible to a lay audience unfamiliar with the concepts behind some of the reasoning. Concluding with discussion on the observation of gravity waves, the book provides a good non-technical assessment of the current state of our knowledge, while acknowledging its incompleteness.
I find myself drawn to popular physics and astronomy books in the work book sale, so this was a natural choice. It's true that they mostly follow the same path, so there may not always be much of note to distinguish them from others. In its journey, this one explores the notion of science, of experimentation and falsability, and chooses to contrast it with faith-based philosophies, but (despite the commendation from Richard Dawkins on the front cover) it tries not to be too antagonistic while nonetheless strongly conveying its points. Beginning with (and frequently returning to) Plato's cave and moving quickly through the history of science, to focus mostly on twentieth and twenty-first century physics, in particular the search for a unification of the four fundamental forces. The discussion about W, Z and Higgs bosons is interesting, but although it is free from mathematics I'm unsure whether it is digestible to a lay audience unfamiliar with the concepts behind some of the reasoning. Concluding with discussion on the observation of gravity waves, the book provides a good non-technical assessment of the current state of our knowledge, while acknowledging its incompleteness.