Review In 500 Words: 13 Things That Don’t Make Sense – Michael Brooks

Title: 13 Things That Don’t Make Sense

Author: Michael Brooks

Publisher: Profile Books (2010)

Price: £8.99

Rating: 8/10

 

13 Things That Don’t Make Sense is another book I’ve had sat on my bookshelf for far too long. As soon as I started reading it, I regretted how long I had spent not having not read it. It’s a book I urge everyone to read. It’s thirteen delightful chunks of science. It takes you on a journey from physics through to biology with all kinds of topics covered.

 

I’m a scientist and I love science. But this book really made me think long and hard about some of the things which we take as scientific fact. The placebo effect is something that, as a biologist, I thought I was familiar with. I understand various forms of clinical trials. Heck, from being in school we’re taught about the importance of placebos and the placebo effect. So, to be confronted with the entire placebo debate in a neat little chapter was mind-blowing to say the least. Every chapter in this book is brilliantly insightful, written with a flair and an ease which can make even the trickiest scientific subject easy to grasp. At times, I was truly envious of Michael Brooks’ ability to explain complex scientific processes so easily.

 

That, I suppose, is one of the reasons why I rate this book so highly. Anybody can read it. As long as you’ve got a rudimentary grasp of basic science, you can be taken on journeys of scientific intrigue which leave you feeling like you’ve learnt something really interesting. Most of my readers will know how passionate I am about making science accessible to the many. Well, people, this book does it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s an underrated gem amongst popular science books. If you’re even slightly curious about the world we live in, then this book is a must-read.

 

The structure of this book is also most excellent. You can get through it in no time at all with ease. It’s split into thirteen main chunks, meaning that you can read a chapter a day (or over a couple of days, depending on how busy you are), and have finished the entire book in two weeks. This book is like a two-week crash-course of scientific trivia.

 

I think my favourite chapters were those on death and free will – they really turned a lot of what I took for granted about my field upside down. The chapters on physics were great, too – I now know a lot more about astronomy and the possibility of alien contact than I ever previously did. Even if you’re not interested in some things, this book lends itself to being a ‘drop-in’ read: Just read the chapters about the things you’re most interested in. You’ll find yourself picking your jaw up off the floor and marvelling at how cool science is, I promise.

 

To summarise, 13 Things That Don’t Make Sense is a cracker of a book. In my opinion, the only thing that doesn’t make sense is why you wouldn’t want to read it.