Author: Sylvia Engdahl
Publisher: Sylvia Engdahl
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Get Book Here
Book Description
Interest in exoplanets--the worlds of other stars--is not new. From the late 17th century until the end of the 19th, almost all educated people believed that the stars are suns surrounded by inhabited planets--a belief that was expressed not in science fiction, but in serious speculation, both scientific and religious, as well as in poetry. Only during the first half of the 20th century was it thought that life-bearing exoplanets are rare. This is not a science book--rather, it belongs to the category known as History of Ideas. First published by Atheneum in 1974, it tells the story of the rise, fall, and eventual renewal of widespread conviction that we are not alone in the universe. In this 2012 updated edition the chapters dealing with modern speculation have been revised to reflect the progress science has made during the past 40 years, including the actual detection of planets orbiting other stars. However, it is not intended to be more than a brief introduction to today's views; its focus is on little-known facts about those of the past. Why should we care what our forebears believed? Now, the question of ET life is a matter for investigation by science. Yet it's significant that most educated people of past centuries were convinced that other inhabited worlds exist, without any scientific evidence whatsoever. This historical fact reveals that human beings have an instinctive sense of kinship with the wider universe and a desire to see the realms that lie beyond this one small planet--and perhaps, eventually, to go there. Our ancestors conceived of such voyages only in a spiritual sense, as occurring after death. But we who have taken our first small steps into space are aware that our descendants may set foot on the worlds of other suns. Just as in the 17th century people were initially upset by the new knowledge that the stars are suns scattered in space rather than lights fixed to a nearby sphere, the growing awareness that Earth is not safely isolated from whatever lies beyond makes many of our contemporaries uneasy. Thus today's predominant feelings about spaceships are ambivalent. Nevertheless, if an impulse toward belief that we are not alone in the universe is indeed an innate characteristic of human beings, as the past spread of belief in inhabited exoplanets suggests, we can be sure that those who follow us will not turn back from becoming spacefarers.
Author: Sylvia Engdahl
Publisher: Sylvia Engdahl
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 101
Get Book Here
Book Description
Sylvia Engdahl became fascinated by the idea of space travel in 1946, and has believed since the early 1950s that expansion of our species to other worlds is vital to the preservation of Earth and the future survival of humankind. Many of the essays in this book express her conviction that we should not be discouraged by the public's reluctance to support space activity, since all past human progress has been brought about by visionaries who did not have the backing of their contemporaries. The shock of realizing during the moon landings that contact with the vast and perhaps peril-fraught universe is no longer mere fiction dampened the enthusiasm of the majority, but this was a natural reaction comparable seventeenth century people's resistance to the idea that Earth is not, as formerly thought, safely enclosed within crystal spheres that hold up the celestial bodies. It will pass, and we need have no doubt that generations who come after us will venture forth from this green Earth and find their way to the stars. The following essays are included. The Once and Future Dream (new) Thoughts on the 50th Anniversary of the First Moon Landing Breaking Out from Earth's Shell Why Does the History of Outlook Toward Space Matter? Confronting the Universe in the Twenty-First Century Space and Human Survival The Only Sensible Way to Deal with Climate Change Update on the Critical Stage: The Far Side of Evil’s Relevance Today Space Colonization, Faith, and Pascal’s Wager Why There Will Never Be an Interplanetary War Humankind's Future in the Cosmos
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Great Britain
Languages : en
Pages : 696
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Sylvia Engdahl
Publisher: Sylvia Engdahl
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 109
Get Book Here
Book Description
The lead essay in this cellection by the author of Newbery honor book Enchantress from the Stars deals with issues that she wants readers of the novel to be aware of. Too often misinterpretations arise when the story is thought to be an allegory about relations between different cultures of our own world, when it is literally about possible relations between different "human" species of other worlds that have evolved for vastly different lengths of time. The two situations are not comparable, and assuming that they are leads some readers to think the book endorses a view of cultural relations that was rejected by anthropologists long ago. Though much in the story does apply to relationships between individual people of our world, as far as culture is concerned its aim is to counter the all-too-common science fiction view of extraterrestrial aliens either as hostile or as benevolent beings who will step in to solve Earth's problems. Whether or not there really are any aliens, how young people think of them affects how rhey feel about the future of humankind. The rest of the essays in this book are about the author's other Young Adult novels and about subjects relevant to them such as the importance of space exploration and the reality of psi powers. They have been selected from her collections Reflections on Enchantress from the Stars and Other Essays, the Future of Being Human and Other Essays, and From This Green Earth: Essays on Looking Outward, two of which are available only as ebooks. Because of their length these collections cannot be issued as paperbacks at reasonable prices, so this short sampler has been produced for the benefit of readers who have a strong preference for print books and/or audioboox. The following essays are included. Reflections on Enchantress from the Stars Perspective on the Future: The Quest of Space Age Young People Faith as the Focus of Children of the Star Update on the Critical Stage: The Far Side of Evil's Relevance Today A Response to Some Reactions to Journey Between Worlds Breaking Out from Earth's Shell The Role of Psi in Human Affairs The Roots of Disbelief in Human Mind Powers Transhumanism Is a Dead End The Worship of Medical Authority Why I Don‟t Read Much Science Fiction
Author: Carl C. Gaither
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387495770
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1895
Get Book Here
Book Description
Scientists and other keen observers of the natural world sometimes make or write a statement pertaining to scientific activity that is destined to live on beyond the brief period of time for which it was intended. This book serves as a collection of these statements from great philosophers and thought–influencers of science, past and present. It allows the reader quickly to find relevant quotations or citations. Organized thematically and indexed alphabetically by author, this work makes readily available an unprecedented collection of approximately 18,000 quotations related to a broad range of scientific topics.
Author: Anita Silvey
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780395653807
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 862
Get Book Here
Book Description
Unique in its coverage of contemporary American children's literature, this timely, single-volume reference covers the books our children are--or should be--reading now, from board books to young adult novels. Enriched with dozens of color illustrations and the voices of authors and illustrators themselves, it is a cornucopia of delight. 23 color, 153 b&w illustrations.
Author: Midge Goldberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009203630
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 200
Get Book Here
Book Description
Poets and astronomers often ask the same questions. Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Throughout human history, poetry has provided stories about what people observe in the sky. Stars, planets, comets, the moon, and space travel are used as metaphors for our feelings of love, loneliness, adventurousness, and awe. This anthology includes poets, astronomers, and scientists from the 12th century BCE to today, from all around the world. Sappho, Du Fu, Hafez, and Shakespeare are joined by Gwyneth Lewis's space requiem, Tracy K. Smith on the Hubble telescope, and Charles Simic, whose poem accompanied a NASA mission. Astronomers Tycho Brahe and Edmund Halley accompany modern scientists including Rebecca Elson, Alice Gorman on the first woman in space, and Yun Wang's space journal on travel to Andromeda. This collection reaches across time and cultures to illuminate how we think about outer space, and ourselves.
Author: John Holmes Agnew
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : American periodicals
Languages : en
Pages : 804
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Astronautics
Languages : en
Pages : 452
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Nicholas Faulkner
Publisher: Britannica Educational Publishing
ISBN: 1508106002
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 115
Get Book Here
Book Description
The outer planets, which are Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus are truly fascinating not only because of their size, but also because they offer some of the most unusual worlds we have ever seen. Readers will be intrigued with the scientific details of each planet, which follow the Next Generation Science Standards focusing on the solar system, including their size, temperature, and pressure of their atmospheres, their weather, and their interiors. Readers will also learn about each planet's moons, which are unique worlds unto themselves and which may offer our best chance for finding extraterrestrial life.
