Science and Inquiry discussion

Well, while I was avoiding reading the February selection, I found myself drawn into The Pluto Files The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet. I scolded myself and shoved The Invention of Air in front of my nose with very firm intentions but to no avail. The combination of the fact that I didn't much like The Invention of Air and that Neil deGrasse Tyson wrote a wonderfully funny book about the controversy over Pluto's demotion from planethood meant that I'd gulped down the entire book before I'd realized what I'd done.

So I sit here with the equivalent of Oreo cookie crumbs on my lips and unable to hide my guilty pleasure. It has now occurred to me that if the rest of you join me in plunging into the Oreos, that I am not actually guilty, but merely part of a group of aficionados.

Seriously, though. I recommend the book. It is wonderfully funny. I consider it science light, but Neil deGrasse Tyson makes up for the lack of extensive passages on science in my estimation with his clever prose and description of the controversy. And, of course, he is Neil deGrasse Tyson, so the science that is there is good as well.

Oh pass me the cookie jar! You posted just in time. I was just about to make my Amazon order and Pluto Files was going to sit on the wish list a few more weeks, but now that someone else is reading it, well. . .

Tracy wrote: "Oh pass me the cookie jar! You posted just in time. I was just about to make my Amazon order and Pluto Files was going to sit on the wish list a few more weeks, but now that someone else is reading..."

It seems only fair that you should read it as well since it was your post that caused me to look into it.

I'm currently reading it. It's my lunchtime book. So far it's been very good. I didn't have an opinion on the whole Pluto debate before reading the book, but with Tyson's (somewhat unjustified, at times) snark, I'm starting to be a Pluto sympathizer. Probably not his goal, so I'll have to wait and see where the book takes me. I'm a huge fan of Tyson (I've read Death by Black Hole and Origins), so I'm a bit surprised at my reaction.

Carolyn wrote: "It seems only fair that you should read it as well since it was your post that caused me to look into it. "

I had to put the brakes on my Amazon shopping for a while. Our bookshelves are sinking our floor, and I thought it might look bad if the UPS man pulled up with a giant box of books while my husband was crawling under the house with a jack. Just a few this month though. I'll tell him they're cookbooks.

Jill wrote: "I'm currently reading it. It's my lunchtime book. So far it's been very good. I didn't have an opinion on the whole Pluto debate before reading the book, but with Tyson's (somewhat unjustified, at ..."

I don't know that he has a "goal" for the book. My impression was that he felt wrongly villainized by fourth graders and wanted everyone to know how unfair it was. A topic that I find so excruciatingly silly (on both sides) that I can't help laughing when I read about it. Though in truth, I don't think Tyson is taking himself too seriously. I think he sees the humor of the situation and is detailing it for us so that we can laugh with him.

Like you, I don't really care whether Pluto is called a planet or not. I didn't care before I read the book and I don't care now. But what I do find intriguing is how science is politicized in our country. When state legislatures want to declare that Pluto must be a planet within their state or that the meaning of Pi must be "3", or when astrologers think that they should be consulted before scientific groups make a statement, that just seems funny to me and the absurdity warms me inside just a bit. There is something quixotic about it.

When you get to the end of the book, he's put the lyrics to songs written about Pluto and the controversy at the end, which is also a lot of fun. Like I said, I found the book to be a tour de force of silly fun with a kissing relationship to science. It has put me in a very good mood to read the March selection, which is so far also quite astronomical, though I am only in the beginning.

Tracy wrote: Our bookshelves are sinking our floor, and I thought it might look bad if the UPS man pulled up with a giant box of books while my husband was crawling under the house with a jack.

We have a lot of books as well. My husband is a history professor so there are books everywhere. He has filled his bedroom with books. We have a separate room that is nothing but books (we call it the library) and the family room is also filled with books.

This fact is part of why I like my Kindle. I can have lots of books which are never far from my fingers and I never have to make room. For a long while there was a rule that before buying a new book, we had to put an old book up for sale on Amazon (because otherwise there wouldn't be room anywhere). With the Kindle, I can ignore the rule because they all fit without mass in the memory.

Carolyn, this is exactly the reason that I have been considering a Kindle. And, when you travel, you can take tons of books with you without anyone complaining about the weight of your baggage.

JuliAnna wrote: "Carolyn, this is exactly the reason that I have been considering a Kindle. And, when you travel, you can take tons of books with you without anyone complaining about the weight of your baggage."

I really like mine. There are a lot of un-noted advantages. For example, Amazon maintains a list of the books you've bought and the Kindle sends bookmark information to Amazon when Whispernet is on. This came in very handy when my Kindle was stolen and I had to buy a new one. The new one was filled with all my books in a few minutes (without me having to pay anything for the books) and my bookmarks were just where I had left them. I was so pleased. Now if only the Memphis police department could have been as efficient as Amazon and found my first Kindle!

On the whole Pluto thing - I was just amused that kids these days will be learning the same planets as my grandparents did - Mercury through Neptune.

Susanna wrote: "On the whole Pluto thing - I was just amused that kids these days will be learning the same planets as my grandparents did - Mercury through Neptune."

My kids were angry. I keep telling them that Pluto is still there, it's just not called a planet anymore. It's not like the scientists blew it out of the sky, LOL. For those with kids, I found a book explaining Pluto to children. It included a nice history of astronomy also.

When is a Planet Not a Planet : The Story of Pluto