astronomy

Giants (series)

Giants (series) is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Giants (series) rather than just read about it. In short: The Giants series (also known as the Minerva series) is a quintet of science fiction novels by James P. Hogan, published between 1977 and 2005.

Key takeaways

Giants (series) belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Giants (series) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Giants (series) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Giants series (also known as the Minerva series) is a quintet of science fiction novels by James P. Hogan, published between 1977 and 2005. The series began with Inherit the Stars, published by Del Rey Books in May 1977.

Overview In the introduction to the omnibus The Two Moons, Hogan revealed that Inherit the Stars, his first novel, was inspired by the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he had enjoyed until the ending. After Hogan complained to his work colleagues about the confusing and effects-heavy nature of the conclusion, they bet him five pounds that he could not write and publish a science-fiction novel. Hogan later met Arthur C. Clarke and took the opportunity to chide him about the ending of 2001, to which Clarke replied that while the ending of Hogan's Inherit the Stars made more sense, the ending of 2001 had made more money. Inherit the Stars is a scientific mystery with no antagonist or conflict as such. Instead, it followed a group of researchers who found themselves faced with a seemingly insuperable paradox: the discovery that an advanced human civilization had flourished in the Solar System fifty thousand years ago, despite having left no traces on Earth. Hogan's plots made heavy use of Velikovskian catastrophism and Dänikean ancient-astronaut theory, but attempted to base them on a rigorous natural-sciences foundation.

Series Hogan originally intended to write a closely-linked trilogy. He returned to the setting with two additional follow-ons.

Inherit the Stars, May 1977, ISBN 0-345-30107-2 The Gentle Giants of Ganymede, May 1978, ISBN 0-345-29048-8 Giants' Star, July 1981, ISBN 0-345-28771-1 Entoverse, October 1991, ISBN 1-85723-002-7 Mission to Minerva, January 2005, ISBN 0-7434-9902-6 These were assembled in several omnibus editions and collections:

The Minervan Experiment (ISBN 978-1-125-44892-2)—November 1982 (omnibus edition of the first three books) The Giants Novels: Inherit the Stars, The Gentle Giants of Ganymede, and Giants' Star (ISBN 978-0-345-38885-8)—March 1994 (republication of The Minervan Experiment) The Two Moons (ISBN 978-1-4165-0936-3)—April 2006 (omnibus of the first two books) The Two Worlds (ISBN 978-1-4165-3725-0)—September 2007 (omnibus of the third and fourth books) In his introduction to The Two Worlds, Hogan mentioned the possibility of a sixth book, but added that there was "nothing definite in the works"; there were no further additions to the series before his passing in 2010.

Story

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Giants (series)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Giants (series) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Giants (series) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Giants (series) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Giants (series)

In research: Giants (series) appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Giants (series) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Giants (series) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fiction about xenoarchaeology, Novels about ancient astronauts, Novels about parallel universes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Giants (series) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Giants (series) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Giants (series) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Giants (series) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Giants (series) in simple terms?

The Giants series (also known as the Minerva series) is a quintet of science fiction novels by James P. Hogan, published between 1977 and 2005.

Why does Giants (series) matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Giants (series)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Giants (series).