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The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time Ebook 13 THINGS THAT DONT MAKE SENSE: THE MOST BAFFLING SCIENTIFIC MYSTERIES OF OUR TIME PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Michael Brooks | 240 pages | 08 Nov 2009 | Random House USA Inc | 9780307278814 | English | New York, United States 13 Things That Don't Make Sense - Wikipedia The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging where packaging is applicable. Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag. See details for additional description. I purchased this book on the recommendation of my daughter, as a Christmas present for my son-in-law. I am what I call a "free-thinker" - yes - there might be aliens. What constitutes "LIFE"? And he is always coming back at me with ,"Well, Science says Thanks to Michael Brook, I can evaluate scientific allegations with a "grain of salt" viewpoint. I guess that what I most appreciate is that this book has given me and hopefully my son-inlaw, also an open-ended viewpoint within which we can converse more Thank you, Michael Brooks! Read full review. Skip to main content. About this product. New other. Stock photo. Brand new: Lowest price The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging where packaging is applicable. Buy It Now. Add to cart. About this product Product Information Science starts to get interesting when things don't make sense. Science's best- kept secret is this: Even today, there are experimental results and reliable data that the most brilliant scientists can neither explain nor dismiss. In the past, similar "anomalies" have revolutionized our world, like in the sixteenth century, when a set of celestial anomalies led Copernicus to realize that the Earth goes around the sun and not the reverse, and in the s, when two chemists discovered oxygen because of experimental results that defied all the theories of the day. And so, if history is any precedent, we should look to today's inexplicable results to forecast the future of science. In 13 Things That Don't Make Sense , Michael Brooks heads to the scientific frontier to meet thirteen modern-day anomalies and discover tomorrow's breakthroughs. From Solvay and the mysteries of the universe, Brooks travels to a basement in Turin to subject himself to repeated shocks in a test of the placebo response. Moreover, is 96 percent of the universe missing? I checked out some reviews here at GR and found that it goes from the cosmos to the human, so I started reading it backwards, going t'other way about, and virtually giving up when I got past sex and death. I'm sure that Mr Brooks is very competent at explaining physics stuff to science-challenged people like me, but I just couldn't summon the concentration when there is so much that I should be reading for school, for work, to justify my subscription to Die Zeit. It's all quite fascinating, but worryingly inconclusive. That is the message: there's still lots we don't know, but I for one certainly don't want to hear that there might actually be something in the quackery that is called homeopathy. I mean that friend of mine whose son had a stiff neck, and dashed off to the homeopath for 'globuli'. And here I read that there is a chance that the structure of water might be in some way significant. Ammunition for the quacks. Tsk tsk. View all 15 comments. Jul 17, David rated it really liked it Shelves: science , audiobook. I realized, before starting this book, that some of the topics might be "old hat". But I wasn't ready for the other fascinating mysteries, that truly surprised me. For example, I thought that the placebo effect was well understood. But evidently not. For example, the common drug Valium dizaepam has a strong effect; but only if the person taking it understands what the effect should be. Tests have shown that the drug is n I realized, before starting this book, that some of the topics might be "old hat". Tests have shown that the drug is no more effective than a placebo, when subjects are not told that it should reduce their anxiety levels. The FDA and the entire pharmaceutical industry relies on double-blind tests against placebos, but the author wonders if this may be a relatively meaningless test for some types of medicines. Other questions also surprised me. Why do organisms die? Still unknown. Is there life on Mars? Why has sexual reproduction evolved through natural selection? Also not understood. Is there such a thing as free will? Recent experiments have shown that our actions are not as self-induced as one might think. I thought that cold fusion was dead; but apparently not--research has been stymied by the career-breaking consequences that it has had on reputable scientists. Behold the Socratic paradox. Socrates said I know that I know nothing. Well, allegedly he said that, at least according to Plato's account of Socrates life. But it does sum up how one can walk away feeling after reading this book. It's a feeling that I've long contended with the more I read and learn about sciences, particularly astronomy. Several classes and many books on the subject later and there is still so much supposition and guesswork and uncertainty. Virtually 96 percent of cosmos is co Behold the Socratic paradox. Virtually 96 percent of cosmos is comprised of dark matter and dark energy of which everyone's pretty much in the dark about , what we know is infinitesimal, what we don't is daunting. And that's only one of the subjects. At least as of yet, until the paradigm shift enters into it. So it's a humbling kind of a reading experience, but it's interesting enough in a reader's digest sort of way, it provides some good basic information for those who are not familiar with the subjects and a nice refresher for those who are. It's fairly educational, concise and written in an easy to process manner. While personally I prefer nonfiction written with more personality and a humorous approach if possible, Brooks' MO is a more serious, personality free until the epilogue approach, but it still made for a pretty good read about our ineffable mysterious world. Sense shall be made. Jan 18, Bob rated it really liked it Shelves: owned. The further into the book I read the more I got into it as it progressed from the cosmological to the physical to the biological. Most intriguing to me were the looks at cold fusion, free will, the placebo effect, and homeopathy. With thirteen areas examined, including life, sex and death, there is probably something here for everyone. Everyone, except those who are unwilling to challenge their assumptions. Dec 11, Allison rated it really liked it Shelves: non-fiction , audio. Such a cool read. All of the chapters on astronomy caught my full attention -- from space probes to physics to dark matter to aliens -- it's all extremely COOL! The chapter on Free Will was also pretty neat. Do we really have free will? Looks like we may not. The other chapters are interesting too -- Life, Death, Sex, Placebo Effect, Microbiology, others -- and I really can recommend this book to anyone who gets a massive kick out of science reading, like I do. Loved it. I wonder if a Such a cool read. I wonder if an updated version of this book would change much Jan 22, Jigar Brahmbhatt rated it it was ok. The purpose of this book is to show, by 13 different examples, how science has a long way to go before it can assure us that "all is under control". Somehow, we are aware of this limitation. I am still unsure of the writer's stance. Is he in favor of science? He explains one set of difficulties scientists faced in a certain area of research, before moving on to another. There are interesting bits of information peppered in, which is all this book has to offer in my opinion, so that you can sound The purpose of this book is to show, by 13 different examples, how science has a long way to go before it can assure us that "all is under control". There are interesting bits of information peppered in, which is all this book has to offer in my opinion, so that you can sound a little smarter if a related conversation sparks up among your friends. This is not a science book with a vision to theorize or bring under an umbrella varied separated notions of reality. It has no such scientific goal as such. Neither it aims to illuminate with great clarity the complex theories of science for the laymen the way books by Feynman or say Brain Greene are written. What I mean is, if you have read a great deal of pop-science, then you already know most of what is discussed here. Because this book is what its title suggests, and if that's what you look for, it will work for you. I particularly enjoyed the sections on Dark Matter and Free Will. Firstly, because it teaches humility : never again shall you say to yourselves, I know all of it; there is nothing left to discover. Secondly, because it prods us to keep asking questions: What are we taking for granted? Is this bit of knowledge reached by consensus or established by conformity or worse yet, complacence? What other approaches are there to it? What 15 Oct Just finished editing the Bulgarian translation.
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