Brian Clegg was always fascinated by Isaac Asimov's classic Foundation series of books, in which the future is predicted using sophisticated mathematical modelling of human psychology and behaviour. Only much later did he realise that Asimov's 'psychohistory' had a real-world equivalent: game theory. Originating in the study of probabilistic gambling games that depend on a random source - the throw of a dice or the toss of a coin - game theory soon came to be applied to human interactions: essentially, what was the best strategy to win, whatever you were doing? Its mathematical techniques have been applied, with varying degrees of wisdom, to fields such as economics, evolution, and questions such as how to win a nuclear war. Clegg delves into game theory's colourful history and significant findings, and shows what we can all learn from this oft-misunderstood field of study.

Creativity and Innovation for Managers will appeal to any manager responsible for getting more out of a business. Creative thinking, creative problem solving and creative idea generation have become essential business drivers. This book provides an excellent executive briefing for senior management to understand what business creativity is, how it can benefit the company, and how to get the most out of it. It looks at the pitfalls on the road to innovation and the ways to avoid them, pulling together the experiences of key practitioners in the field both in the UK and the US.
By concentrating on the essentials, Creativity and Innovation In Brief is a waffle-free approach to creativity, providing a quick action focused and accessible insight into a complex topic.
It provides;
- a practical approach to business creativity without the hype;
- an agenda for making innovation happen in your business
- a real world view.

What is business creativity and how can it benefit your company?
How to avoid the pitfalls of creativity and innovation
Practical and action-focused

Today's managers are faced with many conflicting demands and situations. This book provides practical ways of achieving the impossible: *How can you be a generalist and a specialist? *An individual expert and a 'connected' team player? *Manage more people with less time and fewer resources and be entrepreneurial at the same time? Complete with its own website, which gives further information and links to other sites. The New Skills Portfolio is a groundbreaking new series, published in association with the Industrial Society, which re-defines the core management skills managers and team leaders need to be competitive. Each title is action-focused blending 20th century management initiatives/trends with a new flexible skills portfolio. The Industrial Society is one of the largest public training providers in the UK. It has over 10,000 member organisations and promotes best practice through its publishing, consultancy, training and advisory services. For more information contact their website on www.indsoc.co.uk

Are you stuck in a rut? Short of inspiration? Looking for a study guide that's a break from the norm? This innovative book will give you the tools and techniques you need to work a bit of creative magic into every aspect of your studying. Clegg's easy-to-read, entertaining book will show you: what the whole creativity business is about why you need to bother with it; clever methods to stimulate your brain into action; and how to come up with a mass of ideas at a moment's notice. Mind stretches and mental workouts will enable you to take effective notes and to absorb and structure information in a way that can easily be recalled.Studying Creatively, the study guide with a difference, will show you how to change your environment to make creative study more effective, it will help you work on your presentation skills - there's no point having great ideas if you can't put them across. Good ideas are essential for any student who wants to do well. This invaluable guide, suitable for students from ages fifteen to twenty-one, empowers you with the tools you need to work creatively.

Anyone can type a few keywords into a search engine. But thata (TM)s only the beginning. With Studying Using the Web you can find the right material, check its authenticity, transform it into your own original work and keep up-to-date on essential topics. The book is about how to find the right information, and making the most of it. It shows you how to:

• know what to look for
• make the best use of search facilities
• gather pictures, sounds and more
• make use of the human side of the internet
• learn how to test information with a trust CSI kit
• collect and structure your information effectively
• make text your own
• keep up to date.

You could stay jogging round the information track. But think how much better you could do with the right technology and skills to harness a leading-edge study machine. Move into the study fast track now.

Anyone can type a few keywords into a search engine. But thata (TM)s only the beginning. With Studying Using the Web you can find the right material, check its authenticity, transform it into your own original work and keep up-to-date on essential topics. The book is about how to find the right information, and making the most of it. It shows you how to:

• know what to look for
• make the best use of search facilities
• gather pictures, sounds and more
• make use of the human side of the internet
• learn how to test information with a trust CSI kit
• collect and structure your information effectively
• make text your own
• keep up to date.

You could stay jogging round the information track. But think how much better you could do with the right technology and skills to harness a leading-edge study machine. Move into the study fast track now.

Acclaimed popular-science writer Brian Clegg and popular TV and radio astronomer Rhodri Evans give us a Top Ten list of physicists as the central theme to build an exploration of the most exciting breakthroughs in physics, looking not just at the science, but also the fascinating lives of the scientists themselves. The Top Ten are: 1.Isaac Newton (1642-1727) 2.Niels Bohr (1885-1962) 3.Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) 4.Albert Einstein (1879-1955) 5.James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) 6.Michael Faraday (1791-1867) 7.Marie Curie (1867-1934) 8.Richard Feynman (1918-1988) 9.Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) 10.Paul Dirac (1902-1984) Each of these figures has made a huge contribution to physics. Some are household names, others more of a mystery, but in each case there is an opportunity to combine a better understanding of the way that each of them has advanced our knowledge of the universe with an exploration of their often unusual, always interesting lives. Whether we are with Curie, patiently sorting through tons of pitchblende to isolate radium or feeling Bohr's frustration as once again Einstein attempts to undermine quantum theory, the combination of science and biography humanizes these great figures of history and makes the Physics itself more accessible. In exploring the way the list has been built the authors also put physics in its place amongst the sciences and show how it combines an exploration of the deepest and most profound questions about life and the universe with practical applications that have transformed our lives. The book is structured chronologically, allowing readers to follow the development of scientific knowledge over more than 400 years, showing clearly how this key group of individuals has fundamentally altered our understanding of the world around us.

In Ten Short Lessons in Time Travel, Brian Clegg takes us on a fascinating and up-to-date tour of the workings of the universe that suggest the possibility of journeying back and forth through time.

Einstein's special theory of relativity told us that time travel to the future was possible, and later his general theory of relativity showed us that loops in spacetime could exist, meaning that we might be able to bend time backwards, too. But what are the practicalities of making time travel possible? What do we still need to know? How do we deal with paradoxical twists in time - and could quantum physics hold the answer? From the imagination of novelists to current research, 10 Short Lessons in Time Travel is a grand tour of the essential lessons in this game-changing area of physics.

About the series: The Pocket Einstein series is a collection of essential pocket-sized guides for anyone looking to understand a little more about some of the most important and fascinating areas of science in the twenty-first century. Broken down into ten simple lessons and written by leading experts in their field, discover the ten most important takeaways from those areas of science you've always wanted to know more about.

Today's managers are faced with many conflicting demands and situations. This book provides practical ways of achieving the impossible:How can you be a generalist and a specialist?An individual expert and a 'connected' team player?Manage more people with less time and fewer resources and be entrepreneurial at the same time? Complete with its own website, which gives further information and links to other sites. The New Skills Portfolio is a groundbreaking new series, published in association with the Industrial Society, which re-defines the core management skills managers and team leaders need to be competitive. Each title is action-focused blending 20th century management initiatives/trends with a new flexible skills portfolio.The Industrial Society is one of the largest public training providers in the UK. It has over 10,000 member organisations and promotes best practice through its publishing, consultancy, training and advisory services. For more information contact their website on www.indsoc.co.uk

Creativity and Innovation for Managers will appeal to any manager responsible for getting more out of a business. Creative thinking, creative problem solving and creative idea generation have become essential business drivers. This book provides an excellent executive briefing for senior management to understand what business creativity is, how it can benefit the company, and how to get the most out of it. It looks at the pitfalls on the road to innovation and the ways to avoid them, pulling together the experiences of key practitioners in the field both in the UK and the US. By concentrating on the essentials, Creativity and Innovation In Brief is a waffle-free approach to creativity, providing a quick action focused and accessible insight into a complex topic.It provides; - a practical approach to business creativity without the hype;- an agenda for making innovation happen in your business- a real world view.

'Strap in and enjoy the ride!' JOHN GRIBBIN 'A window seat on a flight to our galaxy's sites of outstanding beauty' MARCUS CHOWN, AUTHOR OF THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW 'His best yet!' HENRY GEE, WINNER OF THE 2022 ROYAL SOCIETY TRIVEDI SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 'Buckle up for the ride of a lifetime' PHILIP BALL, AUTHOR OF THE BOOK OF MINDS AND BEYOND WEIRD Take a voyage into space to explore the wonders of the galaxy and beyond. With award-winning science writer Brian Clegg as your deep space guide, step on board the starship Endurance and marvel at the fascinating sights of deepest, darkest space. Although our vessel is fictional, the phenomena you will visit, from the vast nebulae that are birthplaces of stars to stellar explosions in vast supernovas, creating the elements necessary for life - or from the planets of other solar systems to the unbelievably supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way - all reflect the best picture current science has to offer. Accompanying Interstellar Tours is an online gallery with over fifty images and videos in full colour, each directly accessible from the page using QR codes. It may never be possible to undertake a voyage through the stars for real. But with Interstellar Tours, you can enjoy the ultimate cruise across the Milky Way.

The ultimate non-technical guide to the fast-developing world of quantum computing Computer technology has improved exponentially over the last 50 years. But the headroom for bigger and better electronic solutions is running out. Our best hope is to engage the power of quantum physics. 'Quantum algorithms' had already been written long before hardware was built. These would enable, for example, a quantum computer to exponentially speed up an information search, or to crack the mathematical trick behind internet security. However, making a quantum computer is incredibly difficult. Despite hundreds of laboratories around the world working on them, we are only just seeing them come close to 'supremacy' where they can outperform a traditional computer. In this approachable introduction, Brian Clegg explains algorithms and their quantum counterparts, explores the physical building blocks and quantum weirdness necessary to make a quantum computer, and uncovers the capabilities of the current generation of machines.

A revealing and entertaining guide through some of the biggest misconceptions in science that many of us still believe. You may well be familiar with the fact that lightning, contrary to the popular saying, often strikes the same place twice. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what many of us wrongly believe about the way the world works. Whether it's word of mouth, myths you've read about online, or misremembered facts from school, we're bombarded by misconceptions about the science we come into contact with every day - this book will uncover the most popular myths to help you avoid contributing to the perpetuation of these misunderstandings. Breaking it down into fifty of the most popular misconceptions in science, each chapter of this book will be headed up with a 'fact', followed by the real story, providing the science and theory that debunks the myth. From fears about the exponential growth of the human population to the embarrassment of always pointing out the north star as the brightest in the sky, this is the book to read if you want to separate the science fact from fiction.

An exploration of the transformative ways in which nature has inspired the technological advancement of humankind. Biomimetics literally means emulating biology - and in a broader sense the term covers technological advances where the original inspiration came from nature. The Earth is a vast laboratory where the mechanisms of natural selection have enabled evolutionary solutions to be developed to a wide range of problems. In this new title in the Hot Science series, science writer Brian Clegg looks at how humans have piggybacked on natural experimentation, redeploying a solution to create things that make our lives easier. He looks at how the hooks on burdock seeds inspired the creation of Velcro, how the stickiness of the feet of geckos and frogs has been used to create gripping surfaces, such as tyre treads, and how even the most basic optical enhancement in the form of spectacles is itself a form of biomimetics.

This is the story of the greatest puzzle in our universe: what is light? "Light Years" is an engaging survey of everything we know of the universe's most enigmatic phenomenon and the remarkable people who have been captivated by it. "Light Years" looks over the shoulders of the great revolutionaries of light theory--Bacon, Galileo, Newton, Faraday, Maxwell and Feynman--and traces the evolution of light-driven devices from the camera to the laser. In this revised edition, leading popular science author Brian Clegg reveals how twenty-first century scientists have achieved the seemingly impossible in bringing light to a halt, and used the quantum properties of entangled light to produce unbreakable encryption and unbelievable computers. He explains the mind-bending advances that put light at the heart of all matter and which could finally make time travel possible.

Science is rightly a fundamental part of primary school education, but that doesn't make it easy to teach - especially for teachers without a science background. This straight talking book from an experienced science writer and communicator looks at how to make the most of it and give primary school children a good grounding in the topic.

Getting Science sets out to engage the sense of wonder. The science in this book is not for the children, but for the adults who have to explain it. Starting with a whirlwind tour of the great milestones of modern science, Getting Science goes on to take each of the main curriculum topics and give it a new twist. It provides the information needed to understand the key topics better and be able to put them across with enthusiasm and energy.

This book will help teachers to get children excited by science, to understand science rather than just answer questions. Getting Science makes science fun, approachable and comprehensible to those who just don't get it.

All the matter and light we can see in the universe makes up a trivial 5 per cent of everything. The rest is hidden. This could be the biggest puzzle that science has ever faced.

Since the 1970s, astronomers have been aware that galaxies have far too little matter in them to account for the way they spin around: they should fly apart, but something concealed holds them together. That ’something' is dark matter – invisible material in five times the quantity of the familiar stuff of stars and planets.

By the 1990s we also knew that the expansion of the universe was accelerating. Something, named dark energy, is pushing it to expand faster and faster. Across the universe, this requires enough energy that the equivalent mass would be nearly fourteen times greater than all the visible material in existence.

Brian Clegg explains this major conundrum in modern science and looks at how scientists are beginning to find solutions to it.

PRAISE FOR LIGHT YEARS AND TIME TRAVEL
""This immensely likeable work of pop science traces 'man's enduring fascination with light, ' from Aristotle's plans for a death ray (burning enemy ships with a giant array of mirrors) to a recent experiment that seems to have sent Mozart's 40th Symphony faster than light, and thus back through time. Clegg is very good at explaining the bizarre properties of light.""
-The Guardian
""A fascinating book on a fascinating subject. It brings together all aspects of light in an unusual and compelling manner.""
-Sir Patrick Moore
""Light's properties often seem mysterious to the point of being unfathomable. Yet in this extraordinary book, Brian Clegg manages to explain them through the lives of those so fixated with light that they have shaped our perception of it. . . . Clegg's accessible writing style manages to encapsulate the lives of light's disciples with humorous and interesting anecdotes . . . quite awesome ""
-New Scientist

Essential Science aims to be the most detailed, accessible and authoritative book of its kind. Each of the 34 discoveries is broken down into seven essential elements to aid comprehension and inform the reader about what really matters:

• THE ESSENTIAL IDEA: a concise summary of the idea or discovery that makes complex ideas as simple as possible.
• ORIGINS: where does the discovery come from, who made it and how does it fit in the wider scientific context?
• KEY THEORIES AND EVIDENCE: even our most familiar ideas and discoveries are far from 'common sense'. How do we know what we know? What is the evidence? What are the dominant theories?
• CRITICS: science is a constant process of criticism and revision. How have various ideas survived attempts to discredit them? How secure is our knowledge and is it complete?
• WHY IT MATTERS: how important is the discovery in the wider scientific context? How much has it reshaped our perception of reality?
• FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS: what remains to be discovered? Might even dominant ideas and discoveries be superseded by better ones?
• THE ESSENTIAL SUMMARY: a visual outline of all the key insights from the above analytical headings.

'Gets right to the heart of what makes us what we are. Read it!' Angela Saini, author of Inferior and Superior: The Return of Race Science The popular science equivalent of Who Do You Think You Are? Popular science master Brian Clegg's new book is an entertaining tour through the science of what makes you you. From the atomic level, through life and energy to genetics and personality, it explores how the billions of particles which make up you - your DNA, your skin, your memories - have come to be. It starts with the present-day reader and follows a number of trails to discover their origins: how the atoms in your body were created and how they got to you in space and time, the sources of things you consume, how the living cells of your body developed, where your massive brain and consciousness originated, how human beings evolved and, ultimately, what your personal genetic history reveals.

Are you stuck in a rut? Short of inspiration? Looking for a study guide that's a break from the norm? This innovative book will give you the tools and techniques you need to work a bit of creative magic into every aspect of your studying. Clegg's easy-to-read, entertaining book will show you: what the whole creativity business is about why you need to bother with it; clever methods to stimulate your brain into action; and how to come up with a mass of ideas at a moment's notice. Mind stretches and mental workouts will enable you to take effective notes and to absorb and structure information in a way that can easily be recalled.Studying Creatively, the study guide with a difference, will show you how to change your environment to make creative study more effective, it will help you work on your presentation skills - there's no point having great ideas if you can't put them across. Good ideas are essential for any student who wants to do well. This invaluable guide, suitable for students from ages fifteen to twenty-one, empowers you with the tools you need to work creatively.

The stone age, the iron age, the steam and electrical ages all saw the reach of humankind transformed by new technology. Now we are living in the quantum age, a revolution in everyday life led by our understanding of the very, very small. Quantum physics lies at the heart of every electronic device from smartphones to lasers; quantum superconductors allow levitating trains and MRI scanners, while superfast, ultra-secure quantum computers may soon be a reality. Yet quantum particles such as atoms, electrons and photons remain mysterious, acting totally unlike the objects we experience directly. With his trademark clarity and enthusiasm, acclaimed popular science author Brian Clegg reveals the amazing world of the quantum that lies all around us.

"With this book in hand, we have all we need to set off on our next flight with our eyes open to the sheer wonder of what is involved." --Alain de Botton, author of "A Week at the Airport, " in the "Mail on Sunday "

"Imagine Leonardo da Vinci seated next to you on an airplane. . . . Brian Clegg attempts to restore something of the lost wonder of air travel . . . even as Leonardo, so fascinated by science, might have done . . . leav ing] his readers improved for the journey and filled with a renewed sense of curiosity toward the wonders out their window."--"Wall Street Journal"

"An eye-spy book for adults . . . fitting into that publishing niche somewhere between hard science and "Schott's Miscellany" that was so successfully exploited by books such as "The Cloudspotter's Guide."" --London "Times" Book of the Week

Every moment of your airplane journey is an opportunity to experience science in action--"Inflight Science" will be your guide. Brian Clegg explains the ever-changing view from your window seat and suggests entertaining experiments to calculate how far away you are from distant objects and the population of the towns you fly over. You'll learn why the coastline is infinite in length, the cause of thunderstorms, and why there's absolutely no chance of getting stuck on an airline vacuum toilet

Packed full of amazing insights from physics, chemistry, engineering, geography, and more, "Inflight Science" is a voyage of scientific discovery perfect for any journey.

Brian Clegg is the author of several popular science titles, including "Before the Big Bang "and the forthcoming "How to Build a Time Machine" (2011), both from St. Martin's Press.

Physicists will tell you that four forces control the universe. Of these, gravity may the most obvious, but it is also the most mysterious. Newton managed to predict the force of gravity but couldn't explain how it worked at a distance. Then Einstein picked up on the simple premise that gravity and acceleration are interchangeable to devise his mind-bending General Relativity, showing how matter warps space and time. Not only did this explain how gravity worked - and how apparently simple gravitation has four separate components - but it predicted everything from black holes to gravity's effect on time. Whether it's the reality of anti-gravity or the unexpected discovery that a ball and a laser beam drop at the same rate, gravity is the force that fascinates.