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| source// Crown/Random House |
There’s no denying that the famous scientists in history were on a different level of intellect to most of us. Sir Isaac Newton developed calculus at the ripe age of 24, Charles Darwin determined the origins of species here on Earth and Albert Einstein utilised the power of his mind to create an entirely new way of understanding gravity.
Fortunately for the human race, these scientists printed their intellect within books and manuscripts so that society can marvel at their findings for generations to come. But unless you’re a person that possess a complex understanding of advanced scientific concepts and mathematics, chances are these books will largely be wasted on you.
So where do you go to learn about science in an accessible way that doesn’t make you feel like you’re back failing at school?
Luckily, over the last few decades science communication to the layman has become almost as important as the complex research that makes the discoveries great. And although those books that help the everyday person learn may not have been as Earth shattering as the texts mentioned above, they allow people like you and I to take a glimpse into the cosmos through the eyes of geniuses. And that’s priceless.
10. Cosmos – Carl Sagan
“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” – Carl Sagan, Cosmos
Cosmos was written and co-developed as a compliment to the documentary series of the same name and has a similar structure throughout. Similarly, the book contains 13 chapters across a broad scientific spectrum which ranges from the concept of space time to abstract questions about certain beliefs regarding heaven and hell.
Meanwhile, the book thoroughly discusses concepts such as the fragility of Earth and is as relevant with climate change today as it was almost 40 years ago in cold-war America.
The very humbling view of the universe through the eyes of Carl Sagan provides an insight into the wonders of the cosmos on an almost spiritual level. It succeeds at removing the coldness that maths and science can sometimes provide, instead reminding us all that the universe around us truly is a wonder. Despite being written in 1980, the message of this book still stands as true as ever today.
9. A Brief History Of Time – Stephen Hawking
“Only time (whatever that may be) will tell.” – Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time
Arguably in the same genius bracket as Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell, Stephen Hawking has done what other physicists could only dream of: revolutionising our outlook on the universe we live in.
A Brief History of Time attempts to bring the complex topic of the relatively of time to those that don’t have a broad knowledge of elaborate mathematical concepts; essentially those people like you and me. In fact, publishers were so concerned that buyers would be put off by the complexity of the book that they estimated for every equation that was included, the readership would be halved. This led to Hawking only including one equation in the entire text, the infamous E=mc2.
Although compared to other books in this list A Brief History of Time has perhaps the least easily digested concepts. Yet after selling around 10 million copies, it certainly holds the title of being the most influential. At the time of its release, Einstein’s ideas of time travel and black holes were only known and understood by masochistic physicists who enjoy inflicting that sort of mathematical pain on themselves. But after its publishing in 1988, suddenly any Tom, Dick and Harry could discuss high level physics.
8. A Short History Of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson
“It is a slightly arresting notion that if you were to pick yourself apart with tweezers, one atom at a time, you would produce a mound of fine atomic dust, none of which had ever been alive but all of which had once been you.” – Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything
Famously an author who writes in a very comedic yet emotive style, Bryson might not seem like the most ideal candidate for a book that requires some very factual science. Yet A Short History of Nearly Everything has been praised for its ability to depict science in a way that appeals to the general public and rightly won the Descartes Prize for science communication.
To give an idea of why this book is so important to science, Bryson’s main source of inspiration was the fact that teachers and textbooks failed to brew any sort of inspiration in him, despite the content being so fascinating. He uses this as a framework for his attempts to make reading enjoyable, while also factual. With the book being humorously referred to as “annoyingly free of mistakes”.
A Short History of Nearly Everything is the ultimate rough guide to science. Not only discussing the universe and the facts that most people find appealing, but also exploring the boring bits like the history of scientists and their discoveries, doing so in a perfectly irreverent and bizarre way that appeals to just about everyone.
7. Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid – Douglas R. Hofstadter
“Sometimes it seems as though each new step towards AI, rather than producing something which everyone agrees is real intelligence, merely reveals what real intelligence is not.” – Douglas R. Hofstadter, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
Somewhere within the intersection of art and science, this book resides.
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid doesn’t just examine what is arty about science, it also explores the mathematical representations found in art that can somehow have the ability to evoke certain responses in our brain. The book focuses on three main adherent themes: The logic of Gödel, the art of Escher and the music of Bach. It then attempts to analyse how these coincide with the mathematical and symmetrical nature of how we cognitively react to artistic stimuli.
This summary does not do this book justice. Author Hofstadter utilises images and puzzles to expound certain concepts that cannot be explained in words alone. It also discusses how rules and structure allow things that are generally meaningless to make a place in our brains and to become more important than their constituent parts.
This book is thought provoking to the point that it eventually makes you ask yourself: do you actually feel that way, or is it your brain just tricking you?
6. Physics Of The Impossible – Michio Kaku
“One day, would it be possible to walk through walls? To build starships that can travel faster than the speed of light? To read other people’s minds? To become invisible? To move objects with the power of our minds? To transport our bodies instantly through outer space? Since I was a child, I’ve always been fascinated by these questions.” – Michio Kaku, Physics of the Impossible
So, our currently technology is great and all – it’s wonderful to be able to fly to another country, smartphones are pretty great and I’m a big fan of the fact that because of modern medicine, I won’t die at the age of 35 like our ancestors – but where are the flying cars? The hoverboards? Why can’t I invite friends over to my Mars mansion to swim in my Mars pool?
Michio Kaku wondered the same when writing Physics of the Impossible and he focuses on the idea of “impossibility”, where concepts that seemed impossible 150 years ago are now a complete reality. So what do we consider impossible now that will eventually be commonplace?
In the book, Kaku discusses three types of impossibilities. These range from things that are impossible now, but that agree with the laws of physics, to things that completely disagree with our knowledge of the universe and would require a major shift in our current scientific paradigms.
Physics of the Impossible talks science in a way that is very relevant to the childhood of many different generations. It explains phasor blasters, cloaking devices and whether or not we’ll really be able to ask Scotty to “beam us up”.
I love science, but I love it even more when it’s teaching me how to build my own lightsaber.
5. Genius: The Life And Science Of Richard Feynman – James Gleick
“Maybe that’s why young people make success. They don’t know enough. Because when you know enough it’s obvious that every idea that you have is no good.” – James Gleick, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman
As a junior, this person was involved in The Manhattan Project. Then later in life, he built the theory of quantum electrodynamics which culminated in the beginnings of quantum computing and nanotechnology. The biography of none other than the Father of Modern Physics, Richard Feynman, happens to be a particularly interesting one.
Genius: The Life of Science of Richard Feynman documents just about every step of his scientific and cultural legacy. Whether it be pulling apart radios in his homemade lab as a child, or taking LSD in Caltech and using a topless bar as place to compute complex mathematical equations. Richard Feynman was somehow as normal as me or you, but in the most strange and peculiar way possible.
Knowing that the brilliant men and women who shaped our world still made mistakes and had problems with love, anger and life makes them seem much more human and relate-able. Genius does exactly what it says on the tin by painting an exquisite portrait of what is it to be just that, Genius.
4. The Demon Haunted World – Carl Sagan
“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” – Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.
Science is not only something that’s merely “interesting”, science and scepticism is a way of thinking. The Demon Haunted World portrays the perilous and particularly evil world of pseudoscience, superstition and finally warns against a world without fact or education.
Sagan argues that not only is the pseudoscience of alternative medicine, faith healing and other erroneous beliefs completely incorrect, they’re also exceedingly harmful. He uses examples of how people in positions of power have enticed the vulnerable for their own personal gain, whether it be through religion or any other ideology that have empty promises to perhaps heal a loved one or to bring eternal happiness.
My own personal favourite on this list, The Demon Haunted World definitely changes ones outlook on the world around them by showing us all that in our universe the truth is far stranger than fiction. It is certainly one of the most selfless, genuine and life changing books a person can ever read, with a bona fide message of what is the most important asset to society: the knowledge of what is factual and what is false.
3. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
“In other studies you go as far as other have gone before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder.” – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Seemingly a slightly eccentric entry to a list of science books, Frankenstein discusses some complex questions of science and human nature way before its time.
The year was 1818; the height of the industrial revolution and Frankenstein was published anonymously by author Mary Shelley. What’s astounding is that Shelley used the book to discuss completely unheard of topics and ideals that is still thought provoking today, but would’ve been positively scandalous in a very religious 1800’s Britain. Interestingly enough, Dr Frankenstein discusses his thoughts regarding how nature makes species adapt and how that adaptation can actually change a species itself. This was a solid 40 years before Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and even before that fateful HMS Beagle voyage that provided Darwin’s evolutionary inspiration.
Yet, even on a philosophical standpoint, Shelley began to realise the power of technology and how that had completely changed the world around her. Frankenstein’s monster is the ultimate technology that comes back to haunt his creator, mentally, physically and ethically.
Strangely enough, the question of what is or isn’t ethical has some substantially blurred lines and this book delves into questions that are still entirely relevant today. To read Frankenstein is to read a chunk of the history of scientific philosophy itself.
2. Zoobiquity – Barbara Natterson-Horowitz And Kathryn Bowers
“Preventive medicine isn’t just for people. Keeping animals healthy ultimately helps keep humans healthy.” – Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, Zoobiquity
A somewhat unorthodox way of learning about human physiology is to not look at humans at all, but instead to take a look at their animal counterparts. Zoobiquity succeeds in the sometimes difficult task of convincing us humans that animals are not so different after all.
The inspiration for the case that author Natterson-Horowitz is trying to portray comes about from her time as a cardiologist. She learned that animals at various Zoo’s suffer from almost identical illnesses to that of humans and can be treated as such. In fact, the strange paradigms of health that modern medicine has discovered over the past few centuries have found bizarre trends to that of animal species.
The book is cleverly laid out, being spread across 12 chapters, each with a specific ailment that affects humans and animals both. Whether it be the cases of OCD in dogs or Chlamydia in Koalas, the goal of this book is to bridge the gap between animal and human maladies, arguing as is quoted: “Keeping animals healthy ultimately helps keep humans healthy”.
1. The Martian – Andy Weir
“Message reads: ‘Houston, be advised: Rich Purnell is a steely-eyed missile man.” – Andy Weir, The Martian
Whether you’ve seen the film or not and whether you enjoyed it or not, go out, right now, and buy this book. If you’re reading a book already, I don’t care, throw it away and read this one instead. I say this because I firmly believe every man and his dog would enjoy reading The Martian. That goes double If you like science.
It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s exciting – it’s quite frankly an emotional roller coaster. Not only that, despite being set on Mars, the constant cycle of ecstasy and devastation that this book contains speaks volumes to anyone here on Earth as well. It turns out that trying to survive on the Martian planet somehow draws some pretty substantial parallels with our everyday lives.
But in the context of science, this book shows that the frontier of discovery is still as raw and harsh as it has ever been. Mark Watney, the main protagonist, is in a constant equilibrium between discovery and danger, yet uses knowledge and engineering to keep himself alive. The frontier of science, although portrayed as relatively clinical and clean, is actually brutal and contains the chilly embrace of constant failure. Yet, scientists do it for that hit of discovery and will continue to do so for years to come.
Anyway, stop reading this article. You’ve got some books to buy.
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