... sprightly, if occasionally heavy-going ... Boxer is a data scientist with a PhD in physics, as well as degrees in the history of science and classics. When it comes to astrology, he is surprisingly open-minded, a rare stance for a scientist ... Boxer’s tone is lighthearted throughout, his writing lean and smart. Yet he doesn’t shy away from complexity. As a matter of fact, he serves up plenty of it. As the book moves along, the content grows increasingly matted with data analysis and algorithmic musings that could leave many readers behind ... But the intellectual heavy lifting shouldn’t be a deterrent. There’s enough in A Scheme of Heaven to satisfy the curious layperson and the data geek alike. The chart of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions vis-a-vis presidential peril alone is worth the price of this book. And with his lovely prose, Boxer makes it relatively easy to navigate — if not celestially then literarily — around the difficult bits. A journey through Boxer’s own scheme of heaven is one well worth taking.
Boxer is at his most dynamic when arguing for the relevance of astrology in an era of Big Data and machine learning ... With Boxer’s thought-provoking offering of playful experiments and vibrant historical anecdotes, A Scheme of Heaven will entice even the most ardent sceptic.
... wide-ranging and full of peculiar nuggets of information ... Boxer has fun examining the claims of astrology ... While the maths isn’t written with the lay person in mind and the astrology at times goes in at the deep end, the anecdotes carry this otherwise quite readable work. Happily, there isn’t any indulgence of occult nonsense. This is a book about a very human aspect of astrology — our desire to understand our fate — and its history, as well as the fallibility of data analysis, which is often far more subjective than it might seem at first glance.
How, [Hirshfeld] wonders, did long-ago astrologers 'parse and package quantitative information' to uncover 'hidden rhythms of the cosmos'? His answer winds through 4,000 years of human endeavor and provides potent testimony to the cognitive prowess of the ancients ... Twice in the introduction the author mentions astrology’s 'charms,' when in fact its modern incarnation is a vector toward mass deception. His comparison of astrology to economics is inapt, as economic models, flawed as they may be, rest on some basis in reality. In the end, Mr. Boxer delivers a vivid narrative about the 'wretched' subject that draws on our innate discomfort with indeterminacy.
Boxer clearly explains the close relationship among astronomy, astrology, and mathematics throughout history—and what it means for the future ... While Boxer’s enthusiasm for the subject shows in his engaging narrative style, some of the more technical material will leave casual readers behind. Strongly recommended for historians with some awareness of mathematical concepts or seasoned popular science readers.
Throughout the book, the author brings an open-minded perspective, balancing his genuine interest and curiosity with rigorous analysis of historical and scientific data ... While Boxer’s diligent research may serve to advance the subject’s relevancy, his expansive data analysis makes for fairly arduous reading, and the data-averse will find it somewhat grueling ... A solid book on the history and science of astrology that will appeal more to academics in the field than general readers.
