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Review
“This elegantly written, meticulously researched and thought-provoking book provides a window into how science actually works, and is sure to spur intense debate.”
— New Scientist
“Fascinating…. Brooks expertly works his way through … hotly debated quandaries in a smooth, engaging writing style reminiscent of Carl Sagan or Stephen Jay Gould.”
— The New York Times
“You will be amazed and astonished you when you learn that science has been unable to come up with a working definition of life, why death should happen at all, why sex is necessary, or whether cold fusion is a hoax or one of the greatest breakthroughs of all time.”
— Richard Ellis, author of The Empty Ocean
From the Hardcover edition.
— New Scientist
“Fascinating…. Brooks expertly works his way through … hotly debated quandaries in a smooth, engaging writing style reminiscent of Carl Sagan or Stephen Jay Gould.”
— The New York Times
“You will be amazed and astonished you when you learn that science has been unable to come up with a working definition of life, why death should happen at all, why sex is necessary, or whether cold fusion is a hoax or one of the greatest breakthroughs of all time.”
— Richard Ellis, author of The Empty Ocean
From the Hardcover edition.
Product Description
Ninety-six per cent of the universe is missing. The effects of homeopathy don’t go away under rigorous scientific conditions. The laws of nature aren’t what they used to be. Thirty years on, no one has an explanation for a seemingly intelligent signal received from outer space. The US Department of Energy is re-examining cold fusion because the experimental evidence seems too solid to ignore. The placebo effect is put to work in medicine while doctors can’t agree whether it even exists.
In an age when science is supposed to be king, scientists are beset by experimental results they simply can’t explain. But, if the past is anything to go by, these anomalies contain the seeds of future revolutions. While taking readers on an entertaining tour d’horizon of the strangest of scientific findings – involving everything from our lack of free will to Martian methane that offers new evidence of life on the planet – Michael Brooks argues that the things we don’t understand are the key to what we are about to discover.
This mind-boggling but entirely accessible survey of the outer limits of human knowledge is based on a short article by Michael Brooks for New Scientist magazine. It became the sixth most circulated story on the internet in 2005, and provoked widespread comment and compliments (Google “13 things that do not make sense” to see).
Michael Brooks has now dug deeply into those mysteries, with extraordinary results.
From the Hardcover edition.
In an age when science is supposed to be king, scientists are beset by experimental results they simply can’t explain. But, if the past is anything to go by, these anomalies contain the seeds of future revolutions. While taking readers on an entertaining tour d’horizon of the strangest of scientific findings – involving everything from our lack of free will to Martian methane that offers new evidence of life on the planet – Michael Brooks argues that the things we don’t understand are the key to what we are about to discover.
This mind-boggling but entirely accessible survey of the outer limits of human knowledge is based on a short article by Michael Brooks for New Scientist magazine. It became the sixth most circulated story on the internet in 2005, and provoked widespread comment and compliments (Google “13 things that do not make sense” to see).
Michael Brooks has now dug deeply into those mysteries, with extraordinary results.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A baker's dozen of baffling scientific mysteries,
By
This review is from: 13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time (Hardcover)
XXXXX"I have investigated just thirteen of today's scientific anomalies [or mysteries]. Some are more anomalous than others but all cry out for explanations and further study. Some have yet to be taken seriously; others are perhaps taken too seriously...Occasionally, the anomalies point us toward acutely uncomfortable facts that no one wants to face...For all their diversity, their thrilling or disturbing natures, each and every case presents a wonderful opportunity for exploration and discovery. They will also...lead us to uncover anomalies as yet unseen; as [a late, great dramatist and critic] once pointed out, science never solves a problem without creating ten more." The above is found in the epilogue of this fascinating book by Michael Brooks, Ph.D., formerly senior editor at, and now a consultant, for the publication "New Scientist." This book is based on his article that originally appeared in a March 2005 issue of that publication. Each mystery that is examined has one chapter devoted to it. Below I will give the general category or discipline that these mysteries are associated with and indicate the number of chapters devoted to each discipline: Cosmology (the scientific study of the universe): 2 chapters Physics: 1 Chemistry: 1 Biology: 4 Extraterrestrial Life: 2 Psychology: 1 Medicine: 1 Alternative Medicine: 1 Brooks presents in impressive detail the history of each anomaly and the science behind each anomaly. He defines technical terms in his well-written narrative so the reader is never lost. (However, some readers may want to have a basic science dictionary handy for basic terms that are undefined.) Brooks also presents possible solutions for each anomaly. The cover picture of this book (displayed above by Amazon) is interesting. It is an optical illusion. Finally, it is my opinion that this book would be the perfect gift for your favourite "know it all." In conclusion, this book guides the reader through a magical, scientific mystery tour. I leave you with the final words in the book's prologue: "In science, being stuck [by an anomaly or mystery] can be a sign that you are about to make a great leap forward. The things that don't make sense are, in some ways, the only things that matter." (first published 2008; prologue; 13 chapters; epilogue; main narrative 210 pages; acknowledgements; notes and sources; index) <<Stephen Pletko, London, Ontario, Canada>> XXXXX
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Mysteries in Modern Science,
By
This review is from: 13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time (Hardcover)
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.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting look at unsolved problems,
By
This review is from: 13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time (Paperback)
One of the best new popular science books I've read in quite a while. Brooks examines some of the big unanswered questions facing 21st century science, including the nature (indeed, very existence) of dark matter and dark energy; the tiny anomalies in the trajectories of Pioneer 10 and 11 on their way out of the solar system, which hint that there just might be something wrong with our understanding of gravity; the unexplained but never repeated signal that appears to be evidence of an extraterrestrial civilization; the curious results from the Viking landers, which at first were interpreted as proving the existence of life on Mars, then repudiated; and the puzzles still lying at the heart of evolutionary theory, including the existence (and persistence) of sexual reproduction and death. An exciting read.
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