I first came across Caden’s YouTube channel when I was first thinking about grad school – he had some videos that showed what it was like to be a geology grad student, a perspective and experience that was otherwise lacking online. I really appreciated seeing what the day-to-day was like and being able to follow his progression as a researcher.
I was thrilled when he announced he was putting out a book. Scientific, non-academic writing is another space that is somewhat lacking in representation from young researchers. In most science or philosophy books, we see the end product of a career in a certain field – we rarely see the process it took to get to that level. In his book, Life & Space, Caden takes an exploratory approach to scientific writing, focusing on asking questions about his main interests. By doing this, he’s showing the process of the early stages of a scientific career – that is, asking lots of questions and even more reading.
Life & Space aims to casually explore a variety of Caden’s interests and questions, through a series of short passages (about half a page to a couple of pages each). This serves as an excellent springboard for the reader to think about a ton of different topics and concepts. Topics range across science (geology, astronomy, planetary science, biology) and philosophy (consciousness, illusion of self, AI ethics). These are written in a style somewhere in between casual and academic – which I thought kept it lighthearted throughout. It was a little shocking to read some of the references or slang used here. It might be the first time Lil Baby comes up in the same paragraph as black hole geometry!
I enjoyed the book thoroughly, and I think it accomplished what it set out to do. I particularly liked the philosophy and planetary science passages. I did wish he talked about geology more with that being his background (although I figure writing about geology for fun is harder when you do it every day).
For me, passages shined when the topic lent itself to Caden sharing his thoughts on the matter, and follow-up questions he had to concepts or their possible implications. On the other hand, a few passages are a little lackluster when they read more like a summary of a concept with little other input (e.g., HR diagram, Planck length).
I enjoyed almost all the topics here, except a few (knot theory gives me anxiety), so I read Life & Space front to back. Even if you’re not crazy about all the topics, it’s still a good book to pick up from time to time and read a random passage. Sorta like Meditations, if it was written by a Gen Z geology grad student. I’d recommend this book to any student interested in learning more about literally any of the topics here, especially those that value a relatable perspective and a casual style of writing.
Find the book here.
.litho File 