13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time

by Michael Brooks

Book Overview

Spanning disciplines from biology to cosmology, chemistry to psychology to physics, Michael Brooks thrillingly captures the excitement of scientific discovery.Science's best-kept secret is this: even... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307278816
• ISBN13: 9780307278814
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A written symphony for interhemispheric stimulation

13 Things That Don't Make Sense ... By Michael Brooks 13 Things for me was ... let me shamelessly and pompously wax on about it like this: Now that I've finished this engaging seamless weave of effortless transitions between chapters; and now that I'm at the end of the last chapter where for me the irresistible impulse to keep on reading this mesmerizing book finally ended, I am now compelled to write this personal contribution to this Customer Review board. My hope is that I'll take away someone's illusion of free will (Chapter 11) and compel them to buy it and enjoy it as much as I did. What a deeply stimulating provocative exploration of science, history and plain deep analysis of wide-ranging but interconnected ideas from the likes of which maybe most of us aspiring scientists would take sweet delight. What a unique work of art and accessible easy-to-follow cutting-edge science this book provides. And what a great Jester's way to end the book and leave the reader laughing a good belly laugh: "Finally, during (and for years before) the writing of this book, I have gained enormous insight and clarity from discussions with my New Scientist colleagues: the collective brain of that magazine is an awesome organism. Jeremy Webb, Valerie Jamieson, Graham Lawton, Kate Douglas, and Claire Wilson were particularly helpful. Any mistakes in the book are their fault." Buy this book. You will be delighted. You will be Googling its "mysteries" as you read to learn even more about the book's tantalizing topics. You will be amazed and infused with imagination and child-like wonderment. Maybe this book lifts the average person to imagine like a lay Einstein may be able to. I know that as I read the book, and even now that I have finished it, I feel like I was lifted to do just that ... still am. Excellent work, Mr. Brooks! Both hemispheres of my humble 3-pound universe were set afire! Thank you for the deep inspiration and enjoyable symphony.

Searching For The Next Paradigm Shift

It's been quite awhile since science has had what Thomas Kuhn referred to as a paradigm shift; a major earth shaking change that alters our perception of the universe. Michael Brooks takes a look at 13 of the biggest unexplained mysteries in science that may lead to that next big paradigm shift. Topics range from the mystery of dark matter to the usefulness of SETI and the question of why evolution developed sex as a means of procreation. Cold Fusion even manages to get a chapter. I'll discuss a few topics that I found more interesting than the rest. As I get older I think more often about my own mortality and wonder if there will ever be a breakthrough that can extend life indefinitely (if that were even desirable). There exists some animals that seem to defy the effects of aging and the author asks the question why do we age and die. In other words why do cells decay over time and would it be possible to somehow duplicate the age defying effects that a handful of animals seem to possess. Although the average human life span has continued to increase, there seems to be an impenetrable wall at the upper limit. The answer that the author seems to lean towards is that genetically altering human's to halt aging would be exceedingly difficult if not impossible. I'll leave it to Mr. Brooks to explain the scientific reasoning behind this conclusion. Another fascinating topic was on the subject of free will. This isn't the first time I've heard that our brain begins preparing for bodily motions about a half second before we become consciously aware of it. In other words it appears that our bodies move unconsciously and we only delude ourselves into thinking that WE are dictating the movement. The author uses the term `brain-machines' to describe how we operate. These are not involuntary reaction such as touching a hot plate or subconscious movements such as typing on a keyboard but movements we consider fully under our control such as waving a hand. Does this mean that we are merely passengers in our own bodies, slaves to external and internal influences? If every decision we make is an involuntary response to neurons firing in our brain machines how does that relate to long term planning? Is each small step, each tiny decision merely the result of an electro chemical reaction in the brain as involuntary as the beating of our hearts and if this is so does this demand an entire redefinition of what voluntary is? Does voluntary even have any meaning? For me this chapter alone makes the book worth purchasing for the deep and perhaps frightening philosophical implications. Although it wasn't the point of the book one thing I found interesting was how scientists who lie on the edges of science are frequently ostracized by their peers. One example would be Pons and Fleischmann, the unfortunate scientists involved in the Cold Fusion debacle. Although the two scientists made a serious lapse in judgment they were attempting something which if successful woul

Thought-provoking and very readable

This is an outstanding book. It's a thought-provoking examination of thirteen problems in science that have puzzled-- and sometimes embarrassed and angered-- scientists for years. Though it is scientifically rigorous, it is at the same time very readable. The book is a greatly expanded version of an article that the author wrote for New Scientist magazine. Brooks considers a wide range of issues, including what dark matter and dark energy might be, if they are anything at all; why the Pioneer spacecraft is apparently violating the rules of physics as it leaves the solar system; why scientists decided that the Viking landers on Mars didn't detect life, despite consistent evidence that they did; whether an alien civilization has already contacted us but we weren't listening carefully enough to notice; why death and sex exist, despite their nearly complete lack of evolutionary advantage; how experiments continue to show that cold fusion may be a real phenomenon, despite abundant proof that it can't exist; why the placebo effect works, despite evidence that it doesn't actually exist; and more. All of this is tied together by a theme: The world's best experts can't always figure things, out, even when large numbers of them agree; indeed, sometimes those experts prevent things from being properly examined, let alone figured out. The general tone and style of the book reminded me of Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould, and John McPhee. There is a LOT to chew on here, but the bites are correctly sized and very tender. The author has a PhD in quantum physics, but he's also a good magazine feature writer. The balance of real science and entertainment is perfect. I enjoyed this book very much, and I think it will easily repay any reader for the time and money invested in it.

Quantifying Ignorance...the fractal nature of knowledge

"I believe that knowledge is fractal in nature. No matter how much we learn, what remains how seemingly small is infinitely complex." Isaac Asimov In detailing 13 mysteries at the edge of modern science Michael Brooks expertly lays bare fertile domains for scientific progress. But much more than that, referencing history and historical shifts in perspective that accompanied scientific advance (as for example, when the church attempted to suppress the writings of Galileo and was ultimately unsuccessful in doing so) Brooks also suggests that shifts in perspective may be necessary for us to gain the advance we seek. But enough about generalities...let's take glimpse at the mysteries surveyed by Brooks: 1) The search for the missing mass in the universe: Today's physicists believe they can only fully explain four percent of what constitutes the universe. The remaining 96 percent has been supposedly divided into dark matter and dark energy owing to qualities about some of it that seem to behave more like matter and others that seem to behave more like energy. However, another proposal is that our understanding of gravity itself is at fault and just as Einstein had to tweek Isaac Newton's concepts of gravity in relation to light we may also have to tweek them in relation to supposedly empty space...which relates to the next mystery: 2) The Pioneer anomaly: In the early 1970s the US sent out two Pioneer probes that are now both past Pluto. Yet amazingly both of them are off course and by the same degree than would be predicted under traditional notions of gravitational pull. Have our probes journeyed far enough to make contact with that missing universe aluded to in the first mystery? The answer to that question is related to our next mystery: 3) Varying Constants: The set strength of the various fundamental forces of nature may not be constant. For those whose appetite is whetted by this chapter, please read Oxford University Prof. John Barrow's book entitled simply "Constants of the Universe." In a rough way, this mystery relates to the next one: 4) Whether cold fusion is possible: Thanks to Einstein's famous E = MC2 huge amounts of energy can be produced by either nuclear fission (the division of nuclear particles) or alternatively fusion (the unification of certain nuclear particles). For those familiar with US A bomb and H bomb testing videos and Godzilla movies, this process is usually a very dramatic one. If cold fusion were possible it would bode significantly against global energy concerns. And while we still don't know for sure if it can be done, we do know that the US Navy is convinced enough to massively fund research in this area. From this mystery, we leap to our next one: 5) How did life originate: Wisely Brooks peppers this part of his book heavily with quotations from both Erwin Schroedinger whose 1944 essay of the same name is still in print and also Adelaide U prof Pau

Fascinating Mysteries in Modern Science

This book bursts with enthusiasm - that with which the author wrote it. And that enthusiasm can be very contagious for any of its readers. In 13 spellbinding chapters the author presents concise overviews of 13 topics in modern-day science that seem to defy scientific explanation. These topics include dark matter/energy in the universe, varying constants, cold fusion (still alive in some laboratories), the placebo effect and homeopathy to name just a few. In each case, scientists specializing in the field in question have been interviewed and their work discussed in sufficient detail for the reader to get a good grasp of what is involved. This book contains very good examples of the scientific method at work. The writing style is animated, clear, friendly and quite engaging. Although the book is also quite accessible to anyone, it will likely appeal the most to science buffs.