The Crowd and the Cosmos

The Crowd and the Cosmos

by Chris Lintott
Epub (Kobo), Epub (Adobe)
Publication Date: 24/10/2019

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'fascinating' Brian Cox This is the story of citizen science. Where once astronomers sat at the controls of giant telescopes in remote locations, praying for clear skies, now they have no need to budge from their desks, as data arrives in their inbox. And what they receive is overwhelming; projects now being built provide more data in a few nights than in the whole of humanity's history of observing the Universe. It's not just astronomy either—dealing with this deluge of data is the major challenge for scientists at CERN, and for biologists who use automated cameras to spy on animals in their natural habitats. Artificial intelligence is one part of the solution—but will it spell the end of human involvement in scientific discovery? No, argues Chris Lintott. We humans still have unique capabilities to bring to bear—our curiosity, our capacity for wonder, and, most importantly, our capacity for surprise. It seems that humans and computers working together do better than computers can on their own. But with so much scientific data, you need a lot of scientists—a crowd, in fact. Lintott found such a crowd in the Zooniverse, the web-based project that allows hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic volunteers to contribute to science. In this book, Lintott describes the exciting discoveries that people all over the world have made, from galaxies to pulsars, exoplanets to moons, and from penguin behaviour to old ship's logs. This approach builds on a long history of so-called 'citizen science', given new power by fast internet and distributed data. Discovery is no longer the remit only of scientists in specialist labs or academics in ivory towers. It's something we can all take part in. As Lintott shows, it's a wonderful way to engage with science, yielding new insights daily. You, too, can help explore the Universe in your lunch hour.

ISBN:
9780192579546
9780192579546
Category:
Popular science
Format:
Epub (Kobo), Epub (Adobe)
Publication Date:
24-10-2019
Language:
English
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
Chris Lintott

Christopher Lintott, PhD, FRAS is a British astrophysicist, author and broadcaster. He is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford and is the founder of both Galaxy Zoo and the Zooniverse that grew from it. Chris is interested in how galaxies form and evolve, and how citizen science can change the world. Chris has written two books with Brian May and Patrick Moore:Bang! (2006) andThe Cosmic Tourist (2012); his third, solo, bookThe Crowd and the Cosmos: Adventures in the Zooniverse was released in 2019. He is also the primary presenter of the BBC television seriesThe Sky at Night, having previously been co-presenter with Patrick Moore until his death in 2012. Patrick started the programme in 1957 and it is the longest running TV programme in the world.

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