Synopsis
Everyone from the fantasy universe of Discworld knows that the world is flat, and that a million-in-one chance crops up 90per cent of the time. In our world, science tells us that our more "logical" universe does not obey common sense at all. This book uses Discworld science to illuminate our science.
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Review
Terry Pratchett needs no introduction. Ian Stewart has written fine nonfiction books on mathematics, and he and Jack Cohen collaborated on the quirkily inventive pop-science titles The Collapse of Chaos and Figments of Reality. What on earth, or on Discworld, are they all doing in the same book? Pratchett provides a very funny 30,000-word novella about Discworld science, beginning in the High Energy Magic faculty of Unseen University and leading his eccentric wizards to investigate an alien cosmos where there's no magic to keep things going. This is the Roundworld universe--ours. The key point: much that's true only on Discworld (eg: that suns orbit planets and not vice-versa) was once believed on Earth and the wizards' comic misunderstandings echo the history of real science ... Unusually, Pratchett's story is split into chapters and in between his chapters Stewart and Cohen wittily discuss the concepts underlying the fiction, from the Big Bang through stellar formation to life and evolution. Much of the science we know, they cheerfully insist, is "lies-to-children": good stories that are mostly untrue, like thinking of atoms as tiny solar systems. Discworld operates by narrative plausibility and so does human thought even when our Roundworld universe disagrees. Between the laughs, The Science of Discworld is a provocative, informative book that'll make you think about what you think you know. --David Langford
Review
‘The hard science is as gripping as the fiction’ -- The Times
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The Science of Discworld
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Ebury Publishing, United Kingdom, London, 1999
ISBN 10: 0091865158
ISBN 13: 9780091865153
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Everyone from the fantasy universe of Discworld knows that the world is flat, and that a million-in-one chance crops up 90per cent of the time. In our world, science tells us that our more "logical" universe does not obey common sense at all. This book uses Discworld science to illuminate our science. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR001223385
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Condition: Aceptable. : En este fascinante libro, Terry Pratchett, junto con Ian Stewart y Jack Cohen, exploran la intersección entre el mundo de fantasía de Discworld y la ciencia de nuestro propio universo. A través de una narrativa ingeniosa y accesible, los autores desentrañan conceptos científicos complejos, utilizando el peculiar mundo de Discworld como un espejo para reflejar y comprender mejor las leyes que rigen nuestra realidad. Una lectura imprescindible para los amantes de la ciencia y la fantasía por igual. EAN: 9780091865153 Tipo: Libros Categoría: Ciencia Ficción|Ciencias Título: The Science of Discworld Autor: Terry Pratchett| Ian Stewart| Jack Cohen Editorial: Ebury Press Idioma: en Páginas: 336 Formato: tapa dura. Seller Inventory # Happ-2025-12-18-8bb0a74f