Big Bang
The most important scientific discovery of all time and why you need to know about it
by Simon Singh · first published 2004
89% recommend11% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Engaging, readable history of how the Big Bang theory and cosmology developed. It offers depth without hand-waving and serves as a strong introduction for readers new to the subject.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"This book tells the story of the many brilliant, often eccentric scientists who fought against the establishment idea of an eternal and unchanging cosmos. From such early Greek cosmologists as Anaximander to recent satellite measurements taken deep in space, Big Bang is a narrative full of anecdotes and personal histories. Simon Singh tells the centuries-long story of mankind's attempt to understand how the universe came to be, a story which itself begins some 14 billion years ago (give or take a billion years)."--BOOK JACKET.
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If you want to get excited by this kind of thing, I can really recommend Big Bang by Simon Singh. It's a great intro and made me go from "meh" to "wow" about cosmological things.
on “Astronomers Witness a Dying Star Reach Its Explosive End” ↗"Big Bang" by Simon Singh
on “Ask HN: Best general-audience science books” ↗…laypeople, such as The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (which interweaves the history with first-person narrative of the author's interactions with Lacks's living relatives) or The Big Bang by Simon Singh. There's also lots of blogs written by laypeople or former researchers who carefully distill and contextualize individual scientific papers, such as many of the folks at Discover Magazine…
on “Proust Wasn’t a Neuroscientist. Neither was Jonah Lehrer” ↗…mathematics, but he also has one about cryptography [1] and another on the space and the universe [2]. [1] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptograp... [2] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-Bang-Important-Scientific-Discov...
on “Fermat's Last Theorem Earns Andrew Wiles the Abel Prize” ↗Two books by Simon Singh: The Code Book Big Bang He has an amazing ability to go really deep into what he's explaining. No hand waving over the details. And yet, it's so very readable. Unfortunately that wasn't true with his other book - Fermat's…
on “Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?” ↗Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe, by Simon Singh
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗I can recommend Simon Singh's book on this topic, his writing is rather captivating (The Big Bang is one of the best books I've read, so is the Code Book). He also made a BBC documentary on the topic. https://simonsingh.net/books/fermats-last-theorem/
on “How Math’s Most Famous Proof Nearly Broke (2015)” ↗Big Bang, Simon Singh The Trial, Franz Kafka Probably the best non fiction and fiction books I've ever read.
on “Ask HN: What are the most thought-provoking books that you have read?” ↗Basically anything by Simon Singh, I mostly enjoyed the Code Book and the Big Bang, Fermat's Last Theorem was also solid. Detailed yet extremely readable for a very wide audience.
on “Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?” ↗Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe by Simon Singh.
on “Webb and Hubble confirm Universe's expansion rate” ↗