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Why the Toast Always Lands Butter-Side Down: The Science of Murphy's Law
 
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Why the Toast Always Lands Butter-Side Down: The Science of Murphy's Law (Paperback)

by Richard Robinson (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Robinson Publishing (8 Sep 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1845291247
  • ISBN-13: 978-1845291242
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.4 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 53,701 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

Fun, quirky popular science explaining the real reasons why everything always goes wrong - the various truths behind Murphy's Law. The law of laws, Murphy's Law, sits above all others like an uninvited guest at the feast. Whatever your field of endeavour Murphy is there to trip you up, delay and frustrate you. The more your endeavour, the greater the uptrip. Is there a rational explanation? That's what this book is here to provide. In fact, a closer look at Murphy's Law can give us some insights into us and the increasingly tangled lives we lead. Intended as light reading for the popular science market, this book presents the fullest ever analysis of Murphy's Law, peppered with examples such as why does your toast always lands butter-side down? (it has nothing to do with the butter) Why does your queue always go slowest? Why, when you lose something, do you keep looking in the same place over and over?...And why is it suddenly there the 20th time you look? Why do you think of the right thing to say just after you've put the phone down? Why is the tune you hate most the one you can't get out of your head? Why do you think of five important things to remember for tomorrow just as you're about to fall asleep? Why do you take the same wrong turning every single time? The first part of the book shows that, however odd the external phenomena at work, there is generally a scientific explanation. But why then do we continually fail to recognize or remember the explanation? The second part of the book goes on to show how much of Murphy's Law stems from the way our own mind works - its physical limitations, evolutionary biases, and social impressionability.


About the Author

Richard Robinson is the author of 10 books of popular science including the Science Magic series (Oxford University Press) which was shortlisted for the Aventis Science Prize. He works full-time as a science presenter, and is regularly invited to perform demonstrations around the world at science festivals, universities and schools. He has performed at festivals ranging from the Edinburgh Science Festival to the Korean Science Festival, and lectured at universities ranging from the UK to the Ukraine. He holds a BSc in psychology. Illustrator Kate Charlesworth has drawn regularly for New Scientist and has illustrated a wide variety of publications including The Cartoon History of Time.

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Why the Toast Always Lands Butter-Side Down: The Science of Murphy's Law
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Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Light Hearted Read for the Curious Mind, 21 Mar 2007
Don't buy this book imagining you're going to get an indepth scientific explanation as to why "if something can go wrong, it will go wrong (at the worst possible moment!)" This book provides a glimpse into the psychological factors surrounding Murphy's Law but it's only glimpse.

This book falls into the category of "popular science" and, like many modern popular science books, it aims to explain a little known wonder of our modern world in a light hearted manner suited to both the scientific and lay citizen. Don't enter into reading this book thinking that it's going to help you on your way to a Nobel Prize; it explains some of the complexities of the human mind, but heed Robinson's own warning: "anything that is easy to understans is bound to be wrong, so take this guide with a pinch of salt" (in 'Notes on the Shape of the Brain', pg. xi).

As both a scientist and a layman (as I don't claim to know much of anything of psychology) Robinson's writing is both humorous and enlightening; whether you're looking for answers or just a laugh, it's worth the read. It only falls short of five stars because nothing is ever 'perfect'.
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2.0 out of 5 stars not for the scientists, 29 Mar 2006
'Why the Toast Always Lands Butter Side Down' first intrigued me because of its title as it states it can explain the science behind Murphy's Law. To my dissatisfaction it did nothing of the sort.

This book read by a non-scientific member of the public would probably impress them and make them feel enlightened about Murphy's Law, I for one am not.

In the opening chapter of the book it tries to fill you with scientific knowledge of the human body and how things like the memory work and emotions, the problem is that it is only telling half truths, which to me, is of no use at all.

The chapters of this book range from time perception to memories, when I would read to the end of the chapter I would stop, think and ask myself this question, 'does this answer the question it set itself in the first place?' For example does the chapter explain why certain things seem to take forever or why time can fly. On a scientific level it fails to answer the questions it sets itself.

This book is o much based on half truths and not being able to answer the questions it sets, on a brief skim of this book you may think how informative or feel wowed by the amount of facts and information given, sadly on a more in depth read of this book the first impressions fade and the truth about this book is that it has no butter side, but would probably be more informative if it were a piece of toast.

By Marc Charleton.

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