Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization

This book was recommended to me and it could not have been better. Super enjoyable and very well written. Informative and super entertaining, easy read. I highly recommend this book for yourself or as a gift

Highly recommended! - In his new book, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson provides a cosmic perspective to life on the planet. It is an excellent presentation of the adoption of a global perspective of nature, which is at the core of the yoga teachings and Indian philosophy. A global perspective helps us to recognize that we are all interconnected and therefore, interdependent. The right perspective facilitates us to properly view the details of reality, at the same time as we see the totality … it is the ability to see simultaneously the leaves of a tree and the entire tree. The better the view of the tree, helps to see better the leaves. Modern science tells us about the benefits of using a microscope and a “macroscope” to properly perceive our concerns.The author (born in 1958) has been the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History in New York City since 1996. He attended Bronx High School of Science in NYC (source of eight Nobel Prizes), studied at Harvard, University of Texas, Columbia, and Princeton. He began his interest in astronomy at age nine when he visited the Planetarium. He has received 21 honorary doctorates, the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences, and Asteroid 13123 Tyson was named in his honor.Tyson examines a large number of topics, including astrology, gender identification, safety and violence, race and ethnicity, religion, political orientation, eating habits, disabilities, our views on life and death, and many other controversial subjects. His views on all the them challenge our traditional stands and are easily digested by a special mixture of humor and sarcasm. The book has a comprehensive source of information, mainly available on the Internet.For many of his selected topics, he visualizes how aliens visiting the planet would see us. Those aliens, he says, have none of our biases, our preferences, or our preconceived notions. Probably, those aliens have noticed that the very concept of truth on Earth is fraught with conflicting ideologies and habits. In one of the most sarcastic passages, Tyson deals with vegans and meat eaters and says that aliens would be incensed by vegetarians for slaughtering their plant brethren and by their special interest in reproductive organs (flowers, seeds, nuts, berries); by eating then, humans disrupt the life cycle of the planet. And he concludes that the barbaric behavior includes eating the younger versions of plants and infanticidal practices like eating baby carrots, baby spinach, baby arugula, baby artichokes, baby squash, bean sprouts.Brilliantly, Tyson summarizes the enormous impact of space exploration on our view of the planet. In a short period of five years, just after Apollo 11 (the first walk on the Moon), in spite of the virulent Cold War, the Vietnam fighting, and numerous Campus unrests, the US took a significant number of unprecedented actions: “Comprehensive Clean Air Act” 1970), “First National Earth Day” (1970), “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration” (NOOA- 1970), “Environmental Protection Agency” (1970), DDT banned (1972), “Clean Water Act” (1972), first unleaded gasoline emission standards (1973), and the “Endangered Species Act” (1973). During those five years, “Physicians Without Borders” was founded (1971), the first catalytic converted for cars was invented and adopted, and the “Whole Earth Catalog” became a hit publication (1968-1972). We began to see our planet with different eyes!

If you are a rational, open-minded person, you will love Tyson's Starry Messenger. Tyson looks at the many ways we allow thoughts, feelings, opinions and biases to influence how we interpret the world around us. If you are rational and open-minded you likely see many of these things as they happen, but when put together in a single book, the result can be stunning. It can also likely be a bitter pill to swallow (or spit out entirely) if it invalidates your beliefs. The book reinforces both the importance of well-collected and representative data and the ability to operate in an ambiguous zone where there is no clearly defined correct or incorrect conclusion. I particularly love when as a thought experiment, Tyson looks at racism from the perspective of Blacks being superior and whites being inferior. For some readers, they may be greatly offended. To me, it was amusing in an almost not-funny way because it is such a beautifully simplistic thought experiment that shows the implicit bias in perspective, and how those with power can ingrain opinions to the point where whole groups of humans accept them as fact. And while using data as a basis for making decisions is great, it isn't totally infallible either, unless all humans have access to the data in a form they can interpret it. More than once I've watched data be presented as solid proof that something is being done right, when the data being used is selective to the message the presenter wants to craft, but is accepted without question or debate because it involves "hard numbers". Tyson's thought-provoking book reminds me that two things are universal for me as an individual - treat others as you would want to be treated, and that the wise individual always has more questions than answers. Read this book if you want to be challenged on the way you think, or to be reminded that it's worth the effort to look at things from perspectives other than your own. Way to go, Neil!

Best book I've read in many years. I've since bought several paperback versions for friends. Its so insightful and thoughtfully written. Really makes you think. It was hard to put this book down. Very well written so as to make even the most complex ideas of our universe easy and enjoyable to understand by the average person. Everyone should read this book!!!

Excellent Read!

Very informative book. The language is also very easy to understand. No difficult maths, so the ideas presented are quite graspable for common people like me.

L’ho preso per mio figlio. Gli è piaciuto molto

I really liked reading this book. I found it enlightening and very informative. The last few paragraphs of the book ,centred on life and death, I found really moving. It has compelled me to thank the Lord for my birth and existence and to cherish every day I’m on this earth. Brilliant book. I highly recommend it.