Reddit reviews Death from the Skies!: The Science Behind the End of the World
We found 9 Reddit comments about Death from the Skies!: The Science Behind the End of the World. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
I once got to spend an entire day with Phil Plait at a science conference and talk about stuff like this. He's pretty interesting to talk to. You should look up his book Death from the Skies. https://www.amazon.com/Death-Skies-Science-Behind-World/dp/0143116045
Phil Plait. This is the book, and it is great.
You answered your own question "do atheists not believe in ANY type of divine intervention?" "atheists don't believe in any type of God."
You wrote: Stephen Hawking died on Pi day, which is also the birthday of Albert Einstein, and he was also born on the 300th anniversary of Galileo's birth.
This is a classic example of sample bias. You've picked two physicists and a renaissance polymath. What is the connection of the three you selected other than shared birthdates/death dates and interests? What about Richard Feynman, Paul A.M. Dirac and Isaac Newton? When you look at all the physicists and renaissance figures your "too much to be a coincidence" appears to less so.
What is the perfect distance from the sun? For whom is it perfect. As evidenced by multiple meteor impacts (65 million years ago) we are certainly not "completely unharmed." An entire book about this was written titled "Death from the Skies" https://www.amazon.com/Death-Skies-Science-Behind-World/dp/0143116045 I point out this to demonstrate how many different ways the earth is in potential trouble and not in a special protected place.
"I saw a video that explains..." What is the link?
Is he teaching from a Phil Plait textbook?
Actually it is. If you know long enough ahead of time, the minute gravitational tugs from just having a spacecraft ride along next to it will alter the course sufficiently.
There's a whole chapter on this in Death from the Skies by Phil Plait.
You are thinking of a Gamma Ray Burst which we will never see coming and which will kill us all immediately.
Great book if you're interested.
As someone who has read both your books Bad Astronomy and Death from the Skies, I first wanted to thank you for writing a book and maintaining a blog that opened my mind to science and skepticism. I highly recommend the former book as a classic in teaching scientific method mixed with awesome humor.
And now for the question, can you tell me what is your prediction for the status of skepticism in the future? Do you think there ever will be a world where at least most are skeptics and don't readily believe in superstition?
If you're interested in this sort of thing, I recommend 'Death From The Skies' by Phil Plait. It discusses the many different ways the universe can wipe out all life on Earth and includes a chapter on coronal mass ejection. Each chapter starts off with a short story on how each catastrophe would play out, and then discusses the science behind it and the likelyhood of the event happening for real.
Its a thoroughly interesting read and I recommend it a lot. The chapter that describes the process of a star going supernova is especially interesting. You can read at least the first part of it here on Amazon to get a flavour of what you can expect. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Skies-Science-Behind-World/dp/0143116045
Also, I just want to add- its not depressing or all doom and gloom, its actually really reassuring and a positive read.
Resubmitting because the automod didn't like me skipping the question mark since the title ends with an exclamation point.
What do you think of Phil Plait and his book Death From The Skies! ?
Phil Plait: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy.html
Death From The Skies: http://www.amazon.com/Death-Skies-Science-Behind-World/dp/0143116045