Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (Tyson) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, please use these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for Astrophysics for People in a Hurry...then take off on your own:

1. What is your level of scientific education: have you ever had a physics class, for instance? How much do you know, as a non-scientist, of the cosmos — it's history, its present state, and it's possible future, as well as how it works? What have you learned from reading Neil deGrasse Tyson's book?

2. How accessible is Tyson's book to a non-scientist? How much of the information are you able to grasp? Consider the slenderness of the book — and the fact that there are only about 200 words on each page. Does the physical slightness of book detract from or enhance your reading experience? Is the book dumbed down?

3. Do you find Astrophysics for People in a Hurry interesting? Has it inspired you to want to learn more about the subject? Or does this book satisfy your level of curiosity?

4. Is there a particular chapter or topic that you find more interesting than others? Or perhaps find easier — or maybe more difficult — to grasp than others? Consider dark matter or Einstein's General Theory of Relativity? What about the chapter on exoplanets?

5. What does Tyson mean by "cosmic perspective"? Does his view resonate with you or not? Do you have a different sense of the universe than Tyson?

6. Tyson has a gift for picturesque facts and analogies like the fact that two cubic feet of iridium has the same weight as a Buick … or the fact that a pulsar has about as much density as 100 elephants crammed into a Chap Stick case. Are there others that struck you as particularly helpful or clever?

7. Talk about some of the areas of astrophysics for which we've amassed a fair amount of knowledge …as well as the many mysteries that we still don't have answers for.

8. How familiar were you with Neil deGrasse Tyson before reading this latest book of his. Have you read any of his other books or articles? Have you watched any of his television shows, his 2014 sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos, for instance. Or perhaps you've seen his Great Courses lectures or listened to StarTalk, his podcast?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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