“Turns out that my hurry isn’t so much what’s prevented me from learning astrophyiscs up to now. But hurry does make for a good excuse for screw-ups.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so drunk at the wedding. I was just in a hurry.
Whoops, I guess that’s the end of intimate relations for the evening. I was just in a hurry, I guess.
Didn’t mean to show up to work nude. But you know how it is when you’re hurrying.
Far as astrophysics is concerned, it’s not so much about hurry as it’s about I’m stupid. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not fishing for compliments right now. I’m just a little too stupid for astrophysics, which seems like an acceptable amount of stupid. I can drive a car and follow rudimentary origami directions. I can mostly understand a Cormac McCarthy novel. But when talking about the significance of the background microwave energy of the universe or whatever, I’m pretty lost.
This book reminds me of my high school science teacher. Seemed like a nice dude, and he was REAL smart when it came to chemistry. But when it came time to relate concepts to me, a high school student who did all of his homework in the back of a mid-90’s Nissan Pathfinder while Metallica was blaring and $4 dollars of Wendy’s rolled around in his stomach, me and this teacher never quite clicked. It’s not totally his fault. But there is that feeling you get, that feeling when someone knows something so well that it’s hard for them to rewind and remember what it’s like to explain the basics to someone who doesn’t get it.
Neil, Dr. Tyson, Dr. deGrasse Tyson, however you’d like to be addressed, I really appreciate the work, and you seem like a nice guy. I thought the last chapter was pretty redemptive, and sorta wished some of that came at the beginning to make the book more relatable. In fact, I would suggest other readers approach the book that way. Read the last chapter first. Don’t worry, you can’t spoil anything. It’s science for chrissakes.
I just didn’t feel like I understood much about astrophysics after reading. Which is kind of a bummer.
Maybe not a book for former shaky B- high school chemistry students. “