First off, let me introduce you to Neil deGrasse Tyson.

His tirade on Intelligent Design, called ‘Stupid Design‘ on YouTube is also quite well known.

All in all, he’s probably one of the better scientific speakers I’ve seen in a while. Enthusiastic, humorous and great at presenting.

Anyways, I just finished up reading his book, Death By Black Hole. And I wholly recommend it as a great introductory to the sciences beyond our own planet.

The book is a collection of  Tyson’s work from his days writing for Natural History, along side other greats like Steven Jay Gould. The book is essentially a well written idiot’s guide to the universe. Covering everything from the early forays of Ptolemy, Copernicus, Newton, Huygens and all the people who dared to look up to the newest (well, as of last year) in astrophysics. Tyson masterfully blends stories of the origin of physics, the universe and his perspectives on the art of science.

As a horribly amateur former scientist prospect (I ran away from Chemistry 6 years ago), but still an all-round enthusiast of the natural sciences, the book occasionally dragged because of its detailed explanations on scientific principals. But the impact of the book isn’t really the brief history and stories of the exploration of the cosmos. What stood out was Tyson’s explanations and ideas regarding the delicacy of the human nature and the importance of the Final Frontier in all aspects of life.

In one episode, Tyson refers to a debate he once had with a biologist on the possibilities of Martian life and the space rock ALH84001, the meteorite that contained possible evidence of Martian life. The account details how the biologist entirely ruled out Martian life based on Earth centric observations, while Tyson argues the fact that there could be life, but not as we know it. Despite the both being experts in the sciences, the differences in operating assumptions and observations easily changed how each reacted. In contrast to Tyson, the biologist never considered the implications of the greater universe on life. He concentrated on the dogma of his trade: life on Earth.

Black Hole really comes to its own when Tyson details the importance and intricacies of the omnipresent intersection between science, culture and faith. These sections truly express the importance of each portion and how they interact within human nature. Tyson refers to Newton, Galileo and Huygens to convincingly illustrate that science and faith have always been separated by the greatest scientists in history. Not that I need convincing, but it is both comforting and fascinating to see clearly that to the vast majority of scientists, science is the domain of the observable, while faith remains the domain of morals, beliefs and human nature. If only others would see it this way as well.

Many of the topics Tyson covers in the videos I’ve linked are also further elaborated in the book, and Tyson’s personality and charisma show through in the text. Much like his lectures, the writing is crisp, clear and fun. If you’re in the mood for some real star trekkin’, this book is worth a look.