Books
The Art of More
How mathematics created civilisation
From ancient Egyptian priests to the Apollo astronauts, and Babylonian tax collectors to juggling robots, join Michael Brooks and his extraordinarily eccentric cast of characters in discovering how mathematics shaped the world around you.
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The Quantum Astrologer's Handbook
A Daily Telegraph Book of the Year
The Quantum Astrologer's Handbook resurrects from the vaults of neglect the polymath Jerome Cardano, a Milanese of the sixteenth century. Who is he? A gambler and blasphemer, inventor and chancer, plagued by demons and anxieties, astrologer to kings, emperors and popes. This stubborn and unworldly man was the son of a lawyer and a brothel keeper, but also a gifted physician and the unacknowledged discoverer of the mathematical foundations of quantum physics. The book is part biography, part magical realist discussion of modern scientific ideas.
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13 Things That Don't Make Sense
The Most Intriguing Scientific Mysteries of our Times
‘Entertaining ... engagingly written ... a worthwhile read for budding explorers of new worlds’ Jon Turney, Independent
‘Riveting cliffhangers of scientific detection’ Steven Poole, Guardian
‘Entertaining and often provocative ... This elegantly written, meticulously researched and thought-provoking book provides a window into how science actually works, and is sure to spur intense debate.’
Jennifer Ouellette, New Scientist
‘Buy yourself a copy, and prepare yourself to be entertained and challenged in equal measure’ Robert Matthews, BBC Focus
‘Like Indiana Jones in a lab coat, Brooks throws himself energetically into the search and comes back with first-hand news from the wild frontiers of weird science.’
Iain Finlayson, Saga
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At the Edge of Uncertainty
11 Discoveries Taking Science by Surprise
The atom. The Big Bang. DNA. Natural selection. All ideas that have revolutionised science – and that were dismissed out of hand when they first appeared. The surprises haven't stopped: here, Michael Brooks investigates the new wave of unexpected insights that are shaping the future of scientific discovery.
Through eleven radical new perspectives Brooks takes us to the extreme frontiers of what we understand about the world. He journeys from the observations that might rewrite our history of the universe, through the novel biology behind our will to live, and on to the physiological root of consciousness. Along the way, he looks at how Buddhist Monks entered fMRI scanners to help prove that time is an illusion, how human-animal ‘chimeras’ could help treat everything from HIV to Parkinson’s, and how gender became a life-or-death issue in medical research.
These adventures at the edge of uncertainty are rarely comfortable. Today, more than ever, our unshakeable truths have been shaken apart, often leaving us with more questions than answers. But with such an exhilarating and fascinating scientific landscape opening up, it’s well worth the ride.
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