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3SquirrelsinaCoat t1_j51cl01 wrote

I boo this writer. That line "no exaggeration" is from a 2008 book on the history of astronomy across civilizations, and the first line of the preface is "It is no exaggeration to say..."

That suggests to me the writer of this article did not read the book at all. It is also odd that he would use this quote when every example in the article is far less than 5,000 years. If you look at his other articles, this is his thing. He cherrypicks quotes from books and inserts them as if it is wise and insightful. The topic is fine but idk this writer really bugs me.

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ramriot t1_j51rm4z wrote

This is a difference between popular science & academic writing that it took me until my 3rd year in astrophysics to really bottom out.

Today I find reading popular science magazines far less enjoyable & wish they were better written, but then I also recognise I'm no longer the target audience for the magazines that got me interested in astronomy in the first place.

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3SquirrelsinaCoat t1_j51tq91 wrote

That's a good point. I can want to be the target audience, but alas I am probably not, for similar reasons.

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Longest_Inch t1_j5392cm wrote

Well popular science is for the laymen like me to grasp science. It’s like comparing YA literature for kids to like Dostoevsky for AP and college students😂. Which now that I said all that you did make that point.

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Ignorad t1_j52kj61 wrote

At the very least you should be impressed that a late scientist still writes.

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