Deep Beneath Earth's Surface, Clues to Life's Origins

Re:Deep Beneath Earth's Surface, Clues to Life's Origins by freedomben on Sunday January 07, 2024 @12:15PM (#38903010)

I bought "The Vital Question" last year, but haven't read it yet. I started "Oxygen" by the same author though and found it a real slog. It felt like it occupied a hard position, assuming a fair amount of relevant scientific background in the reader, and wasn't really a book meant for general consumption. It's definitely possible I just wasn't in the right mental state for it.

Did you find his books to be like that? Have you read Oxygen by chance and good compare/contrast them?

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Re:Deep Beneath Earth's Surface, Clues to Life's Origins by orangepinyata on Sunday January 07, 2024 @12:31PM (#38903141)

I'll admit I haven't read them that recently but from what I recall the Vital Question is slightly more readable than Oxygen. That said, all of his books are very 'thorough' in the sense that he's definitely posing them as trying to make an argument as opposed to just educational, which does definitely make them less readable than they could be. Less bedtime reading and more something to actually make time for I guess?

I have seen him give talks in person before and they've been a lot clearer - maybe there's some on youtube? He's been on a few of the 'In Our Time' podcast episodes, so they might be interesting too?

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