A Short History of Nearly Everything

I recently finished reading the book A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. A simply fantastic book. Best book that I read in 2005. It is a very broad, but surprisingly informative look at the history of science: origins of the universe, chemistry, physics, geology, quantum physics, archeology, biology, paleontogoly, you name it, it's probably in there. Bill Bryson is a very engaging writer, and some of the best parts of the book are his little insights into the quirky and fanatical personalities behind the great minds of science. Plus, you'll learn how there are numerous ways we could die tomorrow and never even know it.

Bryson closes the book with some very poignant thoughts about the brevity and delicacy of life. He sees that humans (however we came to attain this level of consciousness) have an incredible responsibility to the rest of life and this planet, and we have done a pretty poor job of it so far. Here are two quotes that I really enjoyed:

If you were designing an organism to look after life in our lonely cosmos, to monitor where it is going and keep a record of where it has been, you wouldn't choose human beings for the job. But here's an extremely salient point: we have been chosen, by fate or Providence or whatever you wish to call it. As far as we can tell, we are the best there is. We may be all there is. It's an unnerving thought that we may be the living universe's supreme achievement and its worst nightmare simultaneously.

If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here - and by "we" I mean every living thing. To attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. As humans we are doubly lucky, of course: We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp.

J