Jaime Green

{audiobook narrated by the author}

Analysis and musings on aliens. Not whether they actually exist, but why we humans do or do not want them to, and why we imagine that they look particular ways. What do our thoughts on aliens say about us as a species?

I really enjoyed this gentle little book, a mix of pop culture about aliens and philosophy about aliens. I have read similar books about a cultural analysis of other phenomena like zombies, but this is just so much kinder and more human than show more anything else. You almost don’t notice the massive amounts of research and interviews with expert scientists and writers that clearly went into it.

The author is not a professional narrator, but she’s very good (and I was already familiar with her voice from a few podcast episodes). show less

Jaime Green’s first book is a work of popular science, aimed to help interested amateurs like me learn about how leading scientists conduct the search for extraterrestrial life. I liked how she reframed the topic at the outset: The question is not “whether or not” but “what if?” One key insight I took from the book was that the effort already has a payoff on Earth. To search, we have to know what to look for. This involves thinking about what we mean by life and show more consciousness.

Despite my interest, I struggled to stay focused while reading the first two chapters. It took me a while to get used to the large number of researchers and authors she interviewed or read. By contrast, chapters Four (People) and Five (Technology) fully engaged me.

Among the gems I enjoyed reading about was K2-138, with six planets whose orbits resonate: For every three orbits a planet makes, the next one makes two. This ratio, translated to musical pitch, corresponds to a perfect fifth. Pythagoras would not have been surprised.

At several points, I had to stop, put the book down, and soak in what I’d just read. For instance, when Green explained how life’s presence helps make the Earth habitable, the oxygen given off by early life enabled the rise of more complex, energy-hungry beings.

Throughout the book, Green refers to many works of science fiction. She is unapologetic: “Science fiction is more than entertainment, it’s a generative act that creates new possibilities of life beyond Earth, as valid and as potent as anything we might conjure up in a lab.” I’ve read almost no science fiction, and I noted several titles. My TBR list grows longer. show less

I was expecting this to be all about the current state of the scientific search for life on other planets, but it is so much more than that! Green does talk about science, but she spends more time focusing on literature and media, analyzing science fiction and what it has to say about life on other planets. This is a delightful synthesis of literary analysis and science. Ultimately, the search for life on other planets is really a quest to understand our own existence.

Green discusses the show more various means scientists have used to detect life on other planets, and what that other life might look like. She describes what we know and don't know about the origin of life on our own planet, and speculation about whether life is likely to be abundant, or is a freak occurrence on Earth. She also looks at books, movies, and TV shows about first contact, and what those have to say not only about the potential reality, but about our own hopes and fears.

There is a lot of delightful food for thought in this book! show less

Reading this book is like taking a terrifying rollercoaster ride through the world of science and nature in 2020 -- which was, of course, dominated by COVID, COVID, and yep, more COVID.

Inside you'll find a compilation of 26 articles, mostly penned by journalists or staff writers at magazines. Yong has neatly divided them into three sections: Contagion, Connection, and Consequences. Most of the articles are gems - well-written, engaging, and most importantly, eye-opening.

Among my favourites show more were "I'm an ER Doctor in New York. None of Us Will Ever Be The Same" by Helen Ouyang? (Heart-wrenching.) "What Happened In Room 10?" by Katie Engelhart? (A real page-turner.) "The Friendship and Love Hospital" by Jiayang Fan and "The Last Children of Down Syndrome" by Sarah Zhang. (Both simply brilliant.) These pieces resonated with me on a personal level, and I found myself thinking about them long after I'd finished reading.

But, like any rollercoaster, there were a few dips. "What the Coronavirus Means for Climate Change" by Meehan Crist, "River of Time," by Namwali Serpell and "The Unsung Heroine of Lichenology" by Sabrina Imbler didn't quite hit the mark for me. They were well-written, sure, but they just didn't grab me in the same way.

What I love about this book is how it doesn't shy away from the tough stuff. These articles confront us with the harsh realities of our world, the result of our own carelessness. It's like a wake-up call, a reminder that we need to do better. show less