And, if you're british, you'll probably be very interested to know why it's so hard to forecast whether it's going to rain or not. I studied in a similar field for close to 10 years and there was still a lot in this book that was both new and interesting to me. I think this book will have a lot of appeal for people, from the uninitiated but curious to those with even quite hefty science backgrounds. Much of the ground work for identifying the link was there by the early 20th century, probably a lot earlier than most people would think. The book also does a great job of conveying the frustrating gap between science identifying the greenhouse effect, our own contribution it, and the work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So in that way it's rather breathtaking to see how various people over the years have broken down this hugely complex beast into comparatively simple equations. As I said above, atmospheric physics is complicated enough that I see it as witchcraft and just thinking about the maths involved brings me out in a cold sweat. The loss is mine.įirmament mostly focuses on key discoveries in atmospheric physics that shape our modern understanding of the atmosphere and how it affects us. ![]() His primary job as a science communicator on youtube and twitch (among other things) probably plays a big part of that.Īs a tangent, apparently we move in similar circles and have a few mutual acquaintances, although I've never met him myself. Fortunately Simon Clark breaks it all down in an enjoyable, engaging, and accessible format. Atmospheric physics however to me feels like witchcraft and the sheer amount of equations still spooks me, even if I find it super interesting. In a previous life, I studied climate science but from its effects on the ground (and the ground's effect on climate, it's complicated). History of the science itself, and how various aspects were discovered and further worked upon, how many people had to add their own research in order to get to the point we have today, how colonialism impacted its advance.įor the technical part, even though I did not completely understand everything, and I had to read some paragraphs more than once, I feel like it was the perfect amount for someone who's not studying atmospheric physics, thus making the read friendly for more people.įurthermore, as I am already a fan of Simon, and I've been watching his Youtube series for a few years, I was expecting for the ending chapter to be dedicated to climate change, and indeed it was.Īgain, it's baffling that we're dealing with so much evidence on one of the greatest challenges that we are facing, and yet people are still skeptical.īut there's also hope, with books like this trying to educate in an accessible way. The writing is mostly non technical, and we have multiple layers (atmospheric pun intended) in which the information is shared with us. ![]() I also occasionally found some of the metaphors a little unnatural. I found the tone occasionally a little informal for my liking in this medium - which is interesting, because over the last year or so I've noticed the opposite in the author's youtube videos - I suspect that the style of writing a book and writing youtube scripts interfere with one another. ![]() The content is well conceived and structured. There are some equations given, but most of them are illustrative more than explanatory. The author makes sure to note that the societal circumstances of both science and scientist have a large impact on the history and development of science, but on a similar note I would have liked a little more discussion of the changing philosophy of science over its history to accompany this. ![]() Many important characters in the canon of scientific thought appear, and many who, as so often happens, were forgotten despite their important work. This book is not so much an explanation of finer points of the causes of weather and such like, (not that it really advertised as such) but a history of the development of atmospheric sciences. A couple of notes before my thoughts on the book:ġ) I received my pre-order copy a week before release for no obvious reason,Ģ) I have been watching the author's youtube videos and occasionally twitch streams for almost 4 years now.
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