7/10/22

Broca's Brain by Carl Sagan is a series of essays that touch upon different aspects of science. Some topics range from the expansion of the universe, religion versus science, short biographies on scientific figures and the different dangers posed by pseudoscience.

There are a total of 25 chapters and I thought some of the essays were a bit dry and too long for my liking. One chapter was particularly long (about 50-something pages) and was a slog to read through. Carl picks apart the claims of another scientist who believes that events described in certain religious text (Great Flood or the splitting of Red Sea, etc) can be proven to be true by scientific means. While it was cool to see Sagan rip this hypotheses apart with this own wit and knowledge I ended up skimming through the rest of the pages.

Sagan usually does a fantastic job writing for the layman and making complicated topics easy to read and relate to but in Broca's Brain the writing can go from easy to difficult in a matter of paragraphs. This made some passages hard to keep up with.

However some other essays were an absolute joy to read! I particularly enjoyed the chapters about Albert Einstein and Robert H. Goddard. Those piqued my interest and persuaded me to learn more about them. Another chapter spoke on the process of how the nomenclature of the different planets and of their craters and mountains were chosen. The fact that Uranus was almost named George was hilarious! In the chapter "Science Fiction: A Personal View" he speaks on how the science-fiction stories of his youth helped start the spark for his love of science. It was nice to gain some insight into Carl's childhood.

Overall I enjoyed the book although it certainly wasn't my favorite. There are a handful of chapters I would go back to and reread but overall I found the book on some days a chore to read through. ( )

This year marks 20 years since I first watched and read Cosmos. In the intervening time, there is no voice that left a greater impression on the course of my intellectual life than Carl Sagan. Carl invites everyone to share in the joy of science. To mark this anniversary, I picked up this book because it preceded his work on Cosmos and because I never managed to read it. Like a book of short stories, it is easy to pick up and read in no particular order. ( )

Cheerful and exuberant but nothing substantial. One chapter is literally spent rebuffing claims by a crazy guy. I understand the principle at stake explained by the author but it's a waste of my time (which is why people don't bother doing that!). ( )

I recently reread this book after many years. It is fascinating to realise how far we have come since the book was first published.