The news cycles are abuzz with happenings in the world of science. First it was the possible discovery of the Higgs Boson particle and then, as of 10:32 pm Sunday, the landing of the Mars rover Curiosity. We celebrate these achievements because we know that our leading scientific minds have pushed the boundaries once again. But do we understand them? Can the majority of us explain why the Higgs Boson is significant?
We live in a world full of amazing phenomena: aurora borealis, fire rainbows, and black holes . Yet, the majority of us understand little of the magic behind the magic. Mainstream scientific research is . We imagine scientists to be in white lab coats working with Bunsen burners and test tubes in a sterile lab.
We live in a world full of amazing phenomena: aurora borealis, fire rainbows, and black holes . Yet, the majority of us understand little of the magic behind the magic. Mainstream scientific research is . We imagine scientists to be in white lab coats working with Bunsen burners and test tubes in a sterile lab.
Even the greatest scientists are humans, with all of the accompanying faults and quirks. They fall in love, tell great jokes, and make mistakes. Similarly, scientific knowledge is not locked away in expensive journals and masked with specialized languages. Many great writers have taken it upon themselves to explain scientific theory and history.
Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything is just that. He takes on physics, geology, epidemiology, and biology while taking the reader through the history of science. His history is peppered with interesting and quirky men and women who devote their life, and sometimes physical well-being, to their work.
Richard Cohen, over seven years and eighteen countries, traces the history of and the relationship that humankind has had with the sun in Chasing the Sun. Among a myriad of other areas, his studies take him through fields such as psychology, medicine, oceanography, and astronomy.
Jonathon Fetter-Vorm's Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb is a great visual introduction to nuclear reactions. Along the way, he brings life and feeling to the story of the Manhattan Project.
Or, if you are too invested in the Olympics to think about anything else, try learning about particle physics through one of the coolest Olympic sports: the hammer throw.
Richard Cohen, over seven years and eighteen countries, traces the history of and the relationship that humankind has had with the sun in Chasing the Sun. Among a myriad of other areas, his studies take him through fields such as psychology, medicine, oceanography, and astronomy.
Or, if you are too invested in the Olympics to think about anything else, try learning about particle physics through one of the coolest Olympic sports: the hammer throw.
And finally, here is celebrated theoretical physicist Richard Feynman playing the bongos and singing about orange juice.
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