13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Intriguing Scientific Mysteries of Our Time - Softcover

Brooks, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1861978170 ISBN 13: 9781861978172

Publisher: Profile Books, 2009

Synopsis

In 2008, science can only really account for four percent of our universe, and the rest, well, just seems to be missing. The effects of homeopathy don't go away under rigorous scientific conditions. Thirty years on, no one has an explanation for a seemingly intelligent signal received from outer space. The speed of light seems to have changed over the lifetime of the universe. The US Department of Energy is re-examining cold fusion (a nuclear reaction in which atoms release more energy than they consume) because the evidence is too solid to ignore. The placebo effect is put to work in medicine while doctors can't agree on whether it even exists...

In an age when science is supposed to be king, scientists are beset by experimental results they simply cannot explain. But, if the past is anything to go by, these anomalies contain the seeds of future scientific revolutions.

This mind-boggling but entirely accessible survey of the outer-limits of human knowledge is based on a short article Michael Brooks wrote for the New Scientist in 2005. It became the most circulated New Scientist feature ever. He has now dug deeply into these mysteries, and the results of his investigations point to an exciting future for scientific discovery.

About this title

Review:

This entertaining and often provocative book examines such mysteries as dark matter and dark energy, the prospect of life on Mars, sex and death, free will and the placebo effect, among other head-scratchers...The book is at its best when Brooks throws himself into the action. He undergoes transcranial magnetic stimulation to test the assumption that he has free will, and subjects himself to electric shocks for a placebo-response test...This elegantly written, meticulously researched and thought-provoking book provides a window into how science actually works, and is sure to spur intense debate. (New Scientist 2008-10-22)

Entertaining... engagingly written... a worthwhile read for budding explorers of new worlds (Jon Turney Independent 2009-02-11)

Odd data clusters are crime scenes, over which Brooks combs with the reassuring casualness of an expert... to provide riveting cliffhangers of scientific detection... admirable (Steven Poole Guardian 2009-02-14)

Fascinating, bang-up-to-date... Like all the best science popularisers, Brooks reawakens us to the astonishing fact of our mere existence, the strangeness of the world around us, and the astonishing amount that science has yet to discover (Christopher Hart Sunday Times 2009-02-15)

Buy yourself a copy, and prepare yourself to be entertained and challenged in equal measure (Robert Matthews BBC Focus 2009-02-02)

Brooks expertly works his way through... hotly debated quandaries in a smooth, engaging writing style reminiscent of Carl Sagan or Stephen Jay Gould. At times, as I was deeply engrossed in parts of this book, I found myself as captivated and wide-eyed as I was decades ago when I picked up my first science books and found my calling. Mr Brooks has the ability to make his readers forget their surroundings - in my case a hectic newsroom - and train their minds' eyes on images as foreign as a vast Martian landscape or as distant as a roiling, infant universe. Every mystery is brought to life in vivid detail, and wit and humor are sprinkled throughout (Anahad O'Connor, author of NEVER SHOWER IN A THUNDERSTORM New York Times Science Times)

WOW! is one of the things that Michael Brooks includes here - it is the signal from space that may have come from an alien civilization - but it's also the way I feel about this book's magical mystery tour. You will be amazed and astonished you when you learn that science has been unable to come up with a working definition of life, why death should happen at all, why sex is necessary, or whether cold fusion is a hoax or one of the greatest breakthroughs of all time. Strap yourself in and prepare for a WOW! of an experience (Richard Ellis, author of THE EMPTY OCEAN and TUNA: A Love Story Story)

Excellent... Brooks is breezy and fun - always readable and never dull... each chapter is a little vessel of delights... Deserves to be up there as one of the best popular science books of 2008/9. Recommended (popularscience.co.uk 2009-02-18)

Sensational... pitch-perfect... The ideas in his book are dizzying (Simon Ings Sunday Telegraph 2009-02-22)

Brooks is an exemplary science writer. His explanations have the sort of clarity you often yearn for when you about science, but rarely find. I'm relatively ignorant when it comes to science. But now I feel I can discuss complex things... This is the sort of science book one always hopes for. Learned, but easy to read. Packed with detail, but clear. Reading it will make you feel clever (William Leith Daily Telegraph 2009-03-28)

Book Description:

Will we ever find the ninety-six percent of the universe that is missing? Will tomorrow bring an answer to the scientific mysteries of today? While taking readers on an entertaining tour d'horizon of today's strangest scientific findings, Michael Brooks argues that the things we don't understand are the key to what we are about to discover.

About this edition

• Publisher: Profile Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1861978170
• ISBN 13: 9781861978172
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 265