True, I wanted to blow my XS-sized brains out after reading this book. I was terribly upset that I had not been truly curious about anything that mattered in 23 years.
Even as I was listing down the insects I can compare my intellect with, I could not help but be amazed by this book. This was science I studied in school which I understood partially then and forgot completely now. These are scientists whom almost everybody in the world knows and to whom half the population probably owe their existence. But I was looking at them and their work in a whole new light.
The biggest achievement of Mario Livio in this book is that he erased the image of a typical scientist people have in mind. Scientists are fiercely competitive, egotistic, very opinionated and gutsy people. No, they are not shabby suit wearing introverts surrounded by conical flasks. Textbooks need to be written this way to get students to like science. The problem now is we are given all the answers before we ask the questions. And it takes a long time to realize that we can question the answers.
As a non-fiction book, it’s dramatic enough but sometimes I need a more motivating push. Enough to think of sleep as secondary, enough to make me carry the hardcover book around to read while traveling. If the main intent is bringing science to the masses.. a little humour would help. If Livio can be funny too, I (and everybody who likes the same books as me) will be his fans for life.