Big Bang Theory (the real one) - Non-fiction Books #1

Personally, I’m mostly a non-fiction reader and it is mainly because of books like Simon Singh’s about the Bing Bang Theory. He is a science historian and this is certainly one of his best books.

What it’s about (… apart from the Big Bang Theory)

He ventures through history asking how people perceived and explained the world around them. You will discover how to measure the circumference of the earth more than 2000 B.C. using nothing more than a stick and the sun in the desert. From there he goes through several myths of creation in past millennia until we reach modern science. In detail he takes us through the events eventually leading to the proof of the Big Bang Theory that we know today.

For me the most interesting part was how scientists long failed to explain the creation of Carbon atoms within the Big Bang Theory. They failed because Carbon atoms face the need for very rare conditions right after the initial Big Bang – in theory. It took some time until scientists created the condition in the laboratory and could thus prove the theory.

Key takeaway

I was never a religious person. Thus I always wondered when top scientists responded in interviews that they indeed are. What I learned in this book is that it is not necessary to believe in god in a biblical sense. But reading non-fiction author Simon Singh’s explanations kind of changed my mind. Especially about how carbon atoms were formed. It is striking to me that even if the conditions for creation of carbon after the big bang were very hard to come by, the laws of physics still leave no options other than the eventual creation of carbon. This, the highly unlikely condition paired with the inescapable laws of physics that force this condition nonetheless is stunning. Though I am not a believer in god now. Still it sends romantic (in the classical sense of the overwhelming nature) chills down my spine.

This is exactly why non-fiction books are way more than just information and so worthy to read.

This is one eye-opening and jaw-dropping book.