Cosmos: The Story of Cosmic Evolution, Science and Civilisation

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I was half expecting that 'I knew it already', after studying this kind of stuff at university, but it is more than just a popular science book.

The episode moves further into ideas about the structure of the Universe, such as different dimensions (in the imaginary Flatland and four-dimensional hypercubes), an infinite vs. Just a few of the ideas explored in Cosmos include the history and mutual development of science and civilization, the nature of the Universe, human and robotic space exploration, the inner workings of the cell and the DNA that controls it, and the dangers and future implications of nuclear war. Carl Sagan does a brilliant job of seamlessly interlacing the subject matter with other branches of sciences not directly related. He also discusses the underlying premises of science by providing biographical anecdotes about many prominent scientists, placing their contributions in the broader context of the development of modern science.

He does get a little heavy handed when it comes to nuclear war, but he wrote this during the Cold War, so good on him for trying to do something about it.

In ancient Greece, some philosophers ( Aristarchus of Samos, Thales of Miletus, Anaximander, Theodorus of Samos, Empedocles, Democritus) freely pursue scientific knowledge, while others ( Plato, Aristotle, and the Pythagoreans) advocate slavery and epistemic secrecy. Sagan discusses the story of the Heike crab and artificial selection of crabs resembling samurai warriors, as an opening into a larger discussion of evolution through natural selection (and the pitfalls of intelligent design). Centuries later, re-discovery of the writings of the free-thinking Greek philosophers helps inspire participants in the Scientific Revolution, which led to the development of the Copernican principle – the philosophical implications of which Sagan explores. Their discoveries are compared to the Voyager probes' discoveries among the Jovian and Saturn systems.It is a worthwhile purchase, but I recommend you watch both video productions of "Cosmos" as a precursor to purchasing this one.