Why Don't Spiders Stick to Their Webs?
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'Takes things that seem hopelessly complicated and explains how simple they are.' --Ian Stewart, author of Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
'Matthews is one of the best science writers around.' --Duncan Watts, Principal Research Scientist at Yahoo!
'Ideal fodder for the curious mind.' --Roger Highfield, author of Can Reindeers Fly?: The Sceince of Christmas
'Matthews is one of the best science writers around.' --Duncan Watts, Principal Research Scientist at Yahoo!
'Ideal fodder for the curious mind.' --Roger Highfield, author of Can Reindeers Fly?: The Sceince of Christmas
'Matthews is one of the best science writers around.' --Duncan Watts, Principal Research Scientist at Yahoo!
'Ideal fodder for the curious mind.' --Roger Highfield, author of Can Reindeers Fly?: The Sceince of Christmas
'Matthews is one of the best science writers around.' --Duncan Watts, Principal Research Scientist at Yahoo!
'Ideal fodder for the curious mind.' --Roger Highfield, author of Can Reindeers Fly?: The Sceince of Christmas
Product Description
Why can't we tickle ourselves? Which properties give you the best chance of winning Monopoly? What would happen if you fell into a black hole? Is it possible to hurt your brain if you think too much? In this entertaining and enlightening tour of day-to-day life, award-winning writer and scientist Robert Matthews tackles everything from the puzzling maths of odd socks to the real 'string theory' mystery: how does string acquire all those unwanted knots?
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a big fan of the Popular Science Q&A genre, I was initially very excited to add this book to my collection. However, buyer beware: after the first chapter you will be left with the growing impression that all answers were the result of the author spending about five minutes on Google, and then throwing out any facts that disagreed with his own opinion. Further reading will only serve to enforce that impression. I have never encountered a book that contained so many science-based topics written by someone who appears to be so utterly disparaging of both science and scientists.
Many answers feel unexplored, leaving out key information that would enlighten the reader. Many appear to sacrifice an actual answer for a vague attempt at sarcastic humour, which falls utterly flat. And some are just plain wrong.
This is no 'Last Word' or 'Straight Dope'. You would be more likely to find the correct answers to these questions by Googling them yourself.
Many answers feel unexplored, leaving out key information that would enlighten the reader. Many appear to sacrifice an actual answer for a vague attempt at sarcastic humour, which falls utterly flat. And some are just plain wrong.
This is no 'Last Word' or 'Straight Dope'. You would be more likely to find the correct answers to these questions by Googling them yourself.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Many interesting reasons on how,and why,certain puzzling events occur.Causes are not always fundamental enough to satisfy a professional scientist,but all readers from the early teens should find dipping into this volume absorbing, and usually very informative.Subjects range from happenings in everyday life,to those in: medicine,myths,weather,biology numeracy and the heavens.The explanations should encourage readers to follow up some of the 300+ subjects and so satisfy a valuable purpose of such a book.
Format:Paperback
Those expecting illuminating answers reminiscent of the excellent Last Word feature of New Scientist will be disappointed. The book is stuffed with fairly routine questions - why biting foil hurts your fillings and so on. Bizarrely, the second chapter starts with the question "Is belief in god rational?" - I can't see how this has a place in a book dedicated to revealing scientific mysteries. Many of the answers are half-formed. For example, it is suggested that we get more colds in cold weather because the bloodvessels in our nasal passages contract, but there is no explanation of why this might give you cold symptoms.
Avoid this book if you are a scientist - you will have read better already.
Avoid this book if you are a scientist - you will have read better already.
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