November 25, 2009
Science by the book
From MSNBC:
Science books used to show dinosaurs exclusively in shades of scaly green and brown. Books about the solar system used to list just nine planets, and books about the subatomic world didn't go much farther than protons, neutrons and electrons. As times have changed, so has the science - and so should science books. Just in time for holiday giving, here's a selection of books for kids (and grownups) that incorporate recent developments on the scientific frontiers.
Astronomy:
The solar system is usually a crowd-pleaser among the kids, and our perspective on our own cosmic neighborhood has changed quite a bit in the past few years. "The New Solar System" by Patricia Daniels, which came out in August, reflects all those changes - including the shifting views on what it means to be a planet. That shift is also reflected in two children's books that take a wide stance on the planethood question: "11 Planets" by David Aguilar and "Ten Worlds" by Ken Croswell. What's a parent to do? I address that in my own newly published book about the solar system shift, "The Case for Pluto."
More here.
Posted by Azra Raza at 06:04 AM | Permalink
Comments
I don't see how children can handle the truth if the adults can't.
The solar system is an automated death trap for the human species and all other life on this planet.
If we could handle the truth, rather than denying it, we would be light years further along doing what must be done for the species to avoid certain extinction.
Posted by: Dredd | Nov 25, 2009 7:37:43 AM
"To do that the people of the earth are going to have to allow the earth to last perhaps one to two million years"
Actually, astronomers estimate the sun will not expand to destroy the earth for about a billion years, not "perhaps one to two million years". Nothing to get too worried about. By then, humans will either have spread to other planets and evolved into an intelligent species, or they will have gone extinct (much more probable).
Posted by: J. H. | Nov 25, 2009 9:57:08 AM
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