A Short History of Nearly Everything

A Short History of Nearly Everything is a book by Bill Bryson which describes most of the larger discoveries and theories of science starting with the Big Bang theory and ending with quantum theory and everything in between. The book frequently focuses on the scientists who made the discoveries and the background stories which resulted in the discovery, many of which are quite interesting and often happened by accident. The book was written because Bryson himself was frustrated with his lack of science knowledge and thus can easily be read by people with little science background.

I have an interest in our world and the universe in which we live. I think there are many events that go on everyday around us which are absolutely fascinating and beg the question "Why do these things occur the way they do?". Many of these events are considered "routine" and aren't given a second thought. Understanding our earth is difficult enough, but if you expand the question to space things become exponentially complicated.

The numbers used when describing the cosmos are so large it is nearly impossible to understand their meaning. The sun, obviously the closest star to earth, is 93,000,000 miles away from us. This distance is so large I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it. Yet we know of many other planets, stars, and galaxies much farther away using telescopes and other observational devices. Despite this knowledge we know of no other place where life prospers quite like our own planet, which is pretty amazing if you think about it. How lucky we are to live in such a wonderful place.

My science background is mostly in biology and physiology with some chemistry and physics here and there. One of my favorite parts of the book are the discussions on geology and climatology and how scientists think extreme shifts in climate, along with plate tectonics, helped make our planet a desirable place for life and much different than Venus and Mars, our two neighboring planets. These were science specialties that were relatively new to me and the book gave me a good introduction to them.

The book talks about many other science topics, including Einstein's Theory of Relativity, quantum mechanics, and paleontology. It is a well written book and a worthwhile read for anyone who is interested in science.