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Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Popular science
The hilarious feminist account of the female body by the award-winning comedian **BUY SARA PASCOE'S LATEST BOOK SEX POWER MONEY NOW** 'HILARIOUS' Daily Telegraph 'Brilliant' Frankie Boyle Sometimes Sara Pascoe confuses herself. She gets wildly and pointlessly jealous. She spends too much time hating her bum. And you know what she hates more than her bum? Her preoccupation with her bum. She's had sexual experiences with boys she wasn't really into, but still got a post-coital crush on them. She's ruined brand-new relationships by immediately imagining them going into reverse. There was so much about her behaviour that Pascoe wanted to understand. So she started researching what makes us - women - tick. And what she read made her eyes fall out of her face. Reader, here is everything science has to tell us about love, sexuality, infidelity, boobs, periods, pubes, broodiness, and clever old fat. Merry Christmas and Hallelujah! Suddenly being a woman doesn't look like such a minefield after all. 'Fresh and honest.' GUARDIAN 'Timely and intelligent.' THE TIMES 'Funny, sad, angry, affronted, engaging and enlightening.' STYLIST
This book provides an introduction into the diversity of the environmental movement through great characters in the green sector. The book describes inspiring personal achievements, and at the same time it provides readers with information regarding the history, the main directions and the ethical principles of the environmental movement. Some of the most important characters of the movement from all around the world, are included in the book. As well as the title characters, Buddha and Leonardo DiCaprio, other famous environmentalists like Albert Schweitzer, David Attenborough and Jane Goodall are discussed. Some of the less well-known but equally important environmentalists such as Chico Mendes, Bruno Manser, Henry Spira, Tom Regan or Rossano Ercolini are highlighted in the various chapters. The selection of characters represents all major branches within the green sector, ranging from medieval saints to Hollywood celebrities, from university professors to field activists, from politicians to philosophers, from ecofeminists to radicals.
Cheese puffs. Coffee. Sunscreen. Vapes. Hand sanitiser. George Zaidan reveals the weird science behind everyday items that may or may not kill you, depending on whom you ask. If you want easy answers, this book is not for you. But if you're curious which health studies to trust, what dense scientific jargon really means, and how to make better choices when it comes to food and health - dive right in! Zaidan makes chemistry more fun than potions class as he reveals exactly what science can (and can't) tell us about the packaged ingredients we buy in the supermarket. He demystifies the ingredients of life and death - and explains how we know whether something is good or bad for you - in exquisite, hilarious detail at breakneck speed. PRAISE FOR INGREDIENTS 'If you ever thought that chemistry might be really interesting (it is), but your eyes glazed over in high school chem class, this is the book for you. George Zaidan will keep you laughing out loud as he shares the wonders of our most useful, practical science, with brilliant analogies that even an 11-year old can understand.' Daniel J. Levitin, author of Successful Aging and This is Your Brain on Music 'If you crossed Bill Nye with Stephen Colbert, you'd get George Zaidan. Ingredients is a masterful piece of science writing.' Daniel H. Pink, author of When and Drive 'Ingredients lifts the film from our eyes with humour and reassurance.' Hank Green, author of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing 'At last, a book on nutrition that tries to make you understand how little we know instead of offering blanket prognostications. If instead of a simple solution, you want a guide to how to think about health, this is it.' Zach and Kelly Weinersmith, New York Times best-selling authors of Soonish 'Ingredients, is everything that should lead you to expect: funny, edgy, fascinating, dismaying, reassuring, and overall just incredibly smart.' Deborah Blum, Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Poison Squad 'You should buy Ingredients because it teaches you how to think better - like a smart, informed, and wickedly funny scientist.' Sam Kean, author of The Disappearing Spoon 'Omfg this book is FABULOUS! It's hilarious, insightful, sassy, and reassuring. A delightful roller-coaster of science communication.' Kallie Moore, Co-host of PBS Eons
A fascinating exploration of how losing our sense of smell can shape our world, and how the global pandemic transformed our understanding of this mysterious sense.
At the beginning of the 21st century, physics is being driven to
very unfamiliar territory--the domain of the incredibly small and
the incredibly heavy. The new world is a world in which both
quantum mechanics and gravity are equally important. But mysteries
remain. One of the biggest involved black holes. Famed physicist
Stephen Hawking claimed that anything sucked in a black hole was
lost forever. For three decades, Leonard Susskind and Hawking
clashed over the answer to this problem. Finally, in 2004, Hawking
conceded.
'This seminal book...will transform your understanding ...of the environmental and health effects of electricity and radio frequencies' Paradigm Explorer 'Firstenberg is a pioneer in the sense that Rachel Carson was a pioneer.' Chellis Glendinning, PhD, author of When Technology Wounds 75,000 copies sold! Cell towers, Wi-fi, 5G: Electricity has shaped the modern world. But how has it affected our health and environment? Over the last 220 years, society has evolved a universal belief that electricity is 'safe' for humanity and the planet. Scientist and journalist Arthur Firstenberg disrupts this conviction by telling the story of electricity in a way it has never been told before - from an environmental point of view - by detailing the effects that this fundamental societal building block has had on our health and our planet. In The Invisible Rainbow, Firstenberg traces the history of electricity from the early eighteenth century to the present, making a compelling case that many environmental problems, as well as the major diseases of industrialised civilisation-heart disease, diabetes, and cancer-are related to electrical pollution.
Figuring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries - beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, who catalysed the environmental movement. Stretching between these figures is a cast of artists, writers, and scientists - mostly women, mostly queer - whose public contribution has risen out of their unclassifiable and often heartbreaking private relationships to change the way we understand, experience and appreciate the universe. Among them are the astronomer Maria Mitchell, who paved the way for women in science; the sculptor Harriet Hosmer, who did the same in art; the journalist and literary critic Margaret Fuller, who sparked the feminist movement; and the poet Emily Dickinson. Emanating from these lives are larger questions about the measure of a good life and what it means to leave a lasting mark of betterment on an imperfect world: Are achievement and acclaim enough for happiness? Is genius? Is love? Weaving through the narrative is a set of peripheral figures - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Darwin, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Herman Melville, Frederick Douglass, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Walt Whitman - and a tapestry of themes spanning music, feminism, the history of science, the rise and decline of religion, and how the intersection of astronomy, poetry and Transcendentalist philosophy fomented the environmental movement.
Natural phenomena and ordinary, everyday things often contain surprises and puzzles when we attempt to understand them in terms of basic physical principles. Trying to explain what we see around us can even help us to understand physical principles more fully. Written by two well-known popularizers of science, Riddles in Your Teacup, Second Edition focuses on many puzzles, both simple and advanced, that relate to these phenomena. Revised and enlarged, this fascinating second edition contains challenging questions about everyday scientific mysteries. It presents an amusing and entertaining collection of puzzles and solutions, including some riddles that have continued to defy explanation.
The journey to the centre of the earth is a voyage like no other we can imagine. Over 3000 km below the earth's surface an extraordinary inner world the size of Mars awaits us. Dive through the molten iron of the outer core and eventually you will reach a solid sphere - an iron-clad world held within a metal sea and unattached to anything above. At the earth's core is the history of our planet written in temperature and pressure, crystals and minerals ... Our planet appears tranquil from outer space. And yet the arcs of volcanoes, the earthquake zones and the auroral glow rippling above our heads are testimony to something remarkable happening inside ... For thousands of years these phenomena were explained in legend and myth. Only in recent times has the brave new science of seismology emerged. One hundred and fifty years after the extraordinary, imaginative feat of Jules Verne's JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, David Whitehouse embarks on a voyage of scientific discovery into the heart of our world. Seismologists today reveal a planet astonishingly buried within a planet. We watch as supercomputers convert signals from the ground into three-dimensional scans of subterranean continents, visit laboratories where scientists attempt to reproduce the intense conditions at the centre of the Earth, travel down the throat of a volcano, look into the deepest hole ever drilled, and imagine a voyage through enormous crystals of iron. Whitehouse's enthralling journey vividly charts all we are able to understand about the mysteries of the deep Earth. His book encompasses the history of our planet and the latest findings about its inner core, allowing us to embark on an adventure that brings us closer to the enigma of our existence.
Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Coral reefs are among the most beautiful, and most diverse, of ecosystems. Early seafarers were wary of them, naturalists were confused by them, yet many coastal people benefited greatly from these mysterious rocky structures that grew up to the surface of the sea. They have been rich in their supply of food, and they provided a breakwater from storms and high waves to countless coastal communities that developed from their protection. Their scale is enormous and their value high. Found in countless locations around the world, from the Indo-Pacific coral reef province to the Caribbean and Australia, they support both marine and human life. But today coral reefs are in trouble, with many dying or suffering from over-exploitation, pollution, and the warming and acidification of the oceans. Understanding reefs, their conservation and management, is vital, and so is conveying this to authority if we are to preserve these remarkable ecosystems. In this Very Short Introduction Charles Sheppard describes the complex structure and interdependencies of a reef, how reefs have evolved, the diversity of marine life that they support, and their importance to the human population who live beside them. This new edition describes the latest research on the complex symbioses of coral animals with microorganisms. It also highlights the scale of the challenge facing our reefs today, following recent ocean heatwaves - part of wider climate disruption - that killed half the world's reefs, and considers what can be done to preserve these essential and vibrant ecosystems. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Rust has been called "the great destroyer," the "pervasive menace," and "the evil." "This look at corrosion-its causes, its consequences, and especially the people devoted to combating it-is wide-ranging and consistently engrossing" (The New York Times). It is the hidden enemy, the one that challenges the very basis of civilization. This entropic menace destroys cars, fells bridges, sinks ships, sparks house fires, and nearly brought down the Statue of Liberty's torch. It is rust-and this book, full of wit and insight, disasters and triumphs-is its story. In Rust, Waldman travels from Key West to Prudhoe Bay, meeting people concerned with corrosion. He sneaks into an abandoned steelworks and nearly gets kicked out of Can School. He follows a high-tech robot through an arctic winter, hunting for rust in the Alaska pipeline. In Texas, he finds a corrosion engineer named Rusty, and in Colorado, he learns of the animosity between the galvanizing industry and the paint army. Along the way, Waldman recounts stories of flying pigs, Trekkies, rust boogers, and unlikely superheroes. The result is a man-versus-nature tale that's as fascinating as it is grand, illuminating a hidden phenomenon that shapes the modern world. Rust affects everything from the design of our currency to the composition of our tap water, and it will determine the legacy we leave on this planet. This exploration of corrosion, and the incredible lengths we go to fight it, is "engrossing...brilliant...Watching things rust: who would have thought it could be so exciting" (Natural History).
'Hugely readable and entertaining' JIM AL-KHALILI 'An accessible and crystal-clear portrait of this discipline's breadth, largely told through its history' PHIL BALL, PHYSICS WORLD Einstein's Fridge tells the story of how scientists uncovered the least known and yet most consequential of all the sciences, and learned to harness the power of heat and ice. The laws of thermodynamics govern everything from the behaviour of atoms to that of living cells, from the engines that power our world to the black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Not only that, but thermodynamics explains why we must eat and breathe, how the lights come on, and ultimately how the universe will end. The people who decoded its laws came from every branch of the sciences - they were engineers, physicists, chemists, biologists, cosmologists and mathematicians. Their discoveries, set over two hundred years, kick-started the industrial revolution, changed the course of world wars and informed modern understanding of black holes. This book captures the thrill of discovery and the power of revolutionary science to change the world forever.
Who has the answer to the world's fuel problems? How can we bring ruined land back to life? Where do roboticists turn when they try to engineer a hive mind? Termites. Strange though it seems, scientists look to tiny termites for answers to some big ideas. Lisa Margonelli tracks them, deep into their mounds to find out how termites can change the world. Underbug: An Obsessive Tale of Termites and Technology touches on everything from meditation, innovation and the psychology of obsession to good old-fashioned biology.
The sparks from the spirit of science include not only new knowledge but also innovations, the major ingredients of development and sustainability. This book creates an understanding of science and its role in innovation and sustainable development and points out unfilled gaps in human development. It highlights opportunities for societies to overcome obstacles in development. The book is written in an easy-to-understand manner, avoiding technical jargon, and contains case studies, practical examples, and historical perspectives. It is intended for a general, especially young readership and will appeal to those curious about the nature of science and its benefits, together with its possible pitfalls.
You've got questions: about space, time, gravity, and the odds of meeting your older self inside a wormhole. All the answers you need are right here. As a species, we may not agree on much, but one thing brings us all together: a need to know. We all wonder, and deep down we all have the same big questions. Why can't I travel back in time? Where did the universe come from? What's inside a black hole? Can I rearrange the particles in my cat and turn it into a dog? Physics professor Daniel Whiteson and researcher-turned-cartoonist Jorge Cham are experts at explaining science in ways we can all understand, in their books and on their popular podcast, Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe. With their signature blend of humour and oh-now-I-get-it clarity, Jorge and Daniel offer short, accessible, and lighthearted answers to some of the most common, most outrageous, and most profound questions about the universe they've been asked. This witty, entertaining, and fully illustrated book is an essential troubleshooting guide for the perplexing aspects of reality, big and small, from the invisible particles that make up your body to the identical version of you currently reading this exact sentence in the corner of some other galaxy. If the universe came with an FAQ, this would be it.
'Bite-sized, cutting edge science delivered with enormous enthusiasm - all you need to travel the cosmos' CHRIS LINTOTT 'A lot of astrophysics is packed into this neat little book . . . I guarantee you will come away knowing your dark matter from your supermassive black holes' JIM AL-KHALILI This book is for anyone who wants to easily understand the mind-blowing fundamentals of our extraordinary, expanding universe. Written by Oxford astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst and composed of ten captivating, simple essays, it guides you swiftly through the galaxies, explaining the mysteries of black holes, dark matter and what existed before the Big Bang, presenting the evidence as to whether we really are alone, illuminating what we still don't know, and much more besides. If you have big questions about Space, this book will provide you with the answers in an engaging and succinct way.
"I loved the book! This book is not just interesting, it is exciting. I have probably read every significant book in the field, and this is the strongest and most convincing one yet. It is also one of the most comprehensive in its explanations. I shall most certainly recommend the book to colleagues." -Richard G. Petty, MD "a very good introduction to the basic theory of quantum systems.... Dr. Georgiev's book aptly prepares the reader to confront whatever might be in store later." -from the Foreword by Prof. James F. Glazebrook, Eastern Illinois University This book addresses the fascinating cross-disciplinary field of quantum information theory applied to the study of brain function. It offers a self-study guide to probe the problems of consciousness, including a concise but rigorous introduction to classical and quantum information theory, theoretical neuroscience, and philosophy of the mind. It aims to address long-standing problems related to consciousness within the framework of modern theoretical physics in a comprehensible manner that elucidates the nature of the mind-body relationship. The reader also gains an overview of methods for constructing and testing quantum informational theories of consciousness.
How can matter behave both like a particle and a wave? Does a particle exist before we look at it or does the very act of looking bring it into reality? Is there a place where the quantum world ends and our perceivable world begins? Many of science's greatest minds including Thomas Young, Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman have grappled with the questions embodied in the simple yet elusive 'double-slit' experiment in order to understand the fabric of our universe. With his extraordinary gift for making the complicated comprehensible, Anil Ananthaswamy travels around the world and through history, down to the smallest scales of physical reality we have yet fathomed, to reveal the answers.
Humans spend more time in or on the water than ever before; we love the beach. But for many people, getting in the water provokes a moment's hesitation. Shark attacks are big news events and although the risk of shark attack on humans is incredibly low, the fact remains that human lives are lost to sharks every year. Shark Attacks explores the tension between risk and human fear and the need to conserve sharks and protect the important ecological roles they play in our marine environments. Marine biologist Blake Chapman presents scientific information about shark biology, movement patterns and feeding behaviour. She discusses the role of fear in the way we think about sharks and the influence of the media on public perceptions. Moving first-hand accounts describe the deep and polarising psychological impacts of shark attacks from a range of perspectives. This book is an education in thinking through these emotive events and will help readers to navigate the controversial issues around mitigating shark attacks while conserving the sharks themselves. FeaturesClarifies what is fact and what is fiction with regards to shark attack statistics and explains why the fear of sharks and shark attacks is so prevalent in modern society Discusses personal and regional mitigation devices and measures as well as the pros and cons of each of these Provides suggestions on how we can better manage the risk (real and perceived) of shark attack into the future Provides a range of personal accounts and public opinions on shark attack to round out our understanding of these events and to provide support for gaps in current policy
'Bursts with gloriously geeky detail.' The Telegraph Have you ever made someone you love a mix-tape? Forty years ago, a group of scientists, artists and writers gathered in a house in Ithaca, New York to work on the most important compilation ever conceived. It wasn't from one person to another, it was from Earth to the Cosmos. In 1977 NASA sent Voyager 1 and 2 on a Grand Tour of the outer planets. During the design phase of the Voyager mission, it was realised that this pair of plucky probes would eventually leave our solar system to drift forever in the unimaginable void of interstellar space. With this gloomy-sounding outcome in mind, NASA decided to do something optimistic. They commissioned astronomer Carl Sagan to create a message to be fixed to the side of Voyager 1 and 2 - a plaque, a calling card, a handshake to any passing alien that might one day chance upon them. The result was the Voyager Golden Record, a genre-hopping multi-media metal LP. A 90-minute playlist of music from across the globe, a sound essay of life on Earth, spoken greetings in multiple languages and more than 100 photographs and diagrams, all painstakingly chosen by Sagan and his team to create an aliens' guide to Earthlings. The record included music by J.S. Bach and Chuck Berry, a message of peace from US president Jimmy Carter, facts, figures and dimensions, all encased in a golden box. The Vinyl Frontier tells the story of NASA's interstellar mix-tape, from first phone call to final launch, when Voyager 1 and 2 left our planet bearing their hopeful message from the Summer of '77 to a distant future.
We are constantly bombarded with breaking scientific news in the media, but we are almost never provided with enough information to assess the truth of these claims. Does drinking coffee really cause cancer? Does bisphenol-A in our tin can linings really cause reproductive damage? Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience, and Just Plain Bunk teaches readers how to think like a scientist to question claims like these more critically. Peter A. Daempfle introduces readers to the basics of scientific inquiry, defining what science is and how it can be misused. Through provocative real-world examples, the book helps readers acquire the tools needed to distinguish scientific truth from myth. The book celebrates science and its role in society while building scientific literacy.
The ancient Greeks called it Gaia; the Romans Terra. We know it simply as Earth, the planet we call home. And what a planet it is. Formed around 4.6 billion years ago from the debris of the big bang and long-dead stars, at first it was nothing special, but somehow it evolved to become the most amazing place in the known Universe. The only living planet we know of, it also has a very unusual moon, a remarkably dynamic surface, a complex atmosphere and a deeply mysterious interior. This is Planet Earth is dedicated to the wonders of Planet Earth. Its past is long and dramatic and its future shrouded in mystery. Yet despite centuries of research, only now are we starting to understand Earth's complexity. ABOUT THE SERIES New Scientist Instant Expert books are definitive and accessible entry points to the most important subjects in science; subjects that challenge, attract debate, invite controversy and engage the most enquiring minds. Designed for curious readers who want to know how things work and why, the Instant Expert series explores the topics that really matter and their impact on individuals, society, and the planet, translating the scientific complexities around us into language that's open to everyone, and putting new ideas and discoveries into perspective and context.
Ever since Darwin, science has enshrined competition as biology's brutal architect. But this revelatory new book argues that our narrow view of evolution has caused us to ignore the generosity and cooperation that exist around us, from the soil to the sky. In Sweet in Tooth and Claw, Kristin Ohlson explores the subtle ways in which nature is in constant collaboration to the betterment of all species. From the bear that discards the remainders of his salmon dinner on the forest ground, to the bright coral reefs of Cuba, she shows readers not only the connectivity lying beneath the surface in natural ecosystems, but why it's vital for humans to incorporate that understanding into our interactions with nature, and also with each other. Much of the damage that humans have done to our natural environment stems from our ignorance of these dense webs of connection. As we struggle to cope with the environmental hazards that our behaviour has unleashed, it's more important than ever to understand nature's billions of cooperative interactions. This way, we can stop disrupting them and instead rely on them to renew ecosystems. In reporting from the frontlines of scientific research, regenerative agriculture, and urban conservation, Ohlson shows that a shift from focusing on competition to collaboration can heal not only our relationships with the natural world, but also with each other.
A Sunday Times Book of the Year
'Refreshingly clear and engaging' Tim Harford 'Delightful . . . full of unique insights' Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter There's no getting away from statistics. We encounter them every day. We are all users of statistics whether we like it or not. Do missed appointments really cost the NHS GBP1bn per year? What's the difference between the mean gender pay gap and the median gender pay gap? How can we work out if a claim that we use 42 billion single-use plastic straws per year in the UK is accurate? What did the Vote Leave campaign's GBP350m bus really mean? How can we tell if the headline 'Public pensions cost you GBP4,000 a year' is correct? Does snow really cost the UK economy GBP1bn per day? But how do we distinguish statistical fact from fiction? What can we do to decide whether a number, claim or news story is accurate? Without an understanding of data, we cannot truly understand what is going on in the world around us. Written by Anthony Reuben, the BBC's first head of statistics, Statistical is an accessible and empowering guide to challenging the numbers all around us. |
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