Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization

Science can shed light on “some of the most discussed and debated topics of our time,” writes astrophysicist Tyson (Cosmic Queries) in this cursory outing. While “people no longer know who or what to trust” and “sow hatred of others... without regard to what is true,” a nice dose of scientific perspective and “rational thinking” can help that, Tyson posits. He covers several contemporary critical subjects, including gender (“One day, we may discover or otherwise affirm no discrete categories at all, as the multidimensional gender universe unfolds along a continuum”), racism (were an alien to witness “our divided ways,” they’d report “no sign of intelligent life”), and vegetarianism (all food “come[s] from killing and eating other forms of life in our ecosystem”). Tyson’s at his best when he explains what he sees as the unique power of science, touting the “self-regulating” nature of the scientific method and asserting that “conformity in science is anathema to progress.” Unfortunately, his examples are mostly trite, and a few proclamations come across as somewhat naive—a discussion of how to unite Republicans and Democrats draws on the low-judgment, “common love of imagination” found at ComicCon, for example. This quick and somewhat glib recap of the social value of science will likely leave readers wanting. (Sept.)