25 Big Ideas: The Science That's Changing our World.25 BIG IDEAS: The Science That's Changing Our World ROBERT MATTHEWS Robert Matthews may refer to:
The author's mission in this book is to remind readers that scientists don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. everything. "Contrary to what some might believe," scientist-journalist Matthews writes, "science shows no signs of reaching completion." The evidence of this, writes Matthews, lies in the continuing discovery of unexpected phenomena about the universe, from dark matter to quantum entanglement Quantum entanglement is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which the quantum states of two or more objects have to be described with reference to each other, even though the individual objects may be spatially separated. , and about ourselves, from brain parts that create human consciousness to the role genetics plays in forming a person. Each chapter is devoted to a different big idea and includes a succinct suc·cinct adj. suc·cinct·er, suc·cinct·est 1. Characterized by clear, precise expression in few words; concise and terse: a succinct reply; a succinct style. 2. overview of its topic, from game theory to plate tectonics plate tectonics, theory that unifies many of the features and characteristics of continental drift and seafloor spreading into a coherent model and has revolutionized geologists' understanding of continents, ocean basins, mountains, and earth history. to the early human migration out of Africa. Matthews includes definitions of commonly used jargon and references for further reading. He also explains how arduous yet clever the scientific process behind each discovery or technological development has been. Matthews makes important and exciting ideas in science accessible. One World Pub., 2005, 186 p., b&w photos, paperback, $14.95. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion