Episode · Modern Wisdom · 2026-02-28
Books mentioned on The Insane Biological Cost of Living on Mars - Scott Solomon - #1065
Scott Solomon is an evolutionary biologist, professor, and author. Since the earliest days of science fiction, we’ve wondered what it would mean to live on Mars.
Chris Williamson discussed Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. Scott Solomon discussed The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Seveneves
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson is an epic science fiction novel that begins with the cataclysmic destruction of the moon and follows humanity's desperate efforts to preserve civilization in space.
Discussed“Have you ever read seven eaves by Neil Stevenson? I have. Yes. This is this is exactly what this the founder effect is. Right. That's right. Yeah. I don't want to spoil it. It's in my It's in my first reading list that that lots of people have downloaded. So maybe loads of people that are listening also know the”
Where to get it
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The Right Stuff
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe is a classic account of the early days of the United States space program and the test pilots selected for the Mercury missions.
Discussed“So there's kind of this like famous uh book from I think in 1979 called The Right Stuff by Tom Wolf. I don't know if you ever read that. It's it's like one of the classic accounts of the early days of u of the US space program.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Plugged Becoming Martian
“So, I mean, the book is is available now. It's Becoming Martian. And uh MIT Press. Um so, yeah, you know, check it out.”