Nield stepped onto the stage to talk about ‘Incoming!’ at the same moment that Tattoo fireworks exploded over our heads. Just as one big bang came at coincidentally the right time for Nield’s lecture (for that is what the hour resembled), so did a series of factors, including meteorites, converge coincidentally to cause one era to end and another to begin. He spoke in a personable manner, describing how meteorites went from being barely acknowledged to the most talked about. That progress, geologically speaking, took milliseconds. Despite being occasionally complicated, Nield’s talk effectively demystified meteorites. At the very least, the audience left with the knowledge that they’d been within a few feet of the oldest thing they could ever touch.
Peppers Theatre, 24 Aug, 8.30pm (9.30pm), £8.00 – £10.00, eibfpp41.
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Sections: by Camille Burns - ED2011 Book Reviews | Tags: Edinburgh International Book Festival
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