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Revision as of 11:58, 17 August 2010
, 11:58, 17 August 2010no edit summary
Take fifty of science's most thought-provoking theories, and try to explain each in thirty seconds or one page. It's all here, from Schrodinger's cat, to cosmic topology, via the Gaia hypothesis and chaos theory.
At face value, ''30-Second Theories'' screams of being a perfect popular science book. The editor, Paul Parsons, has an impressive background in popular science, including editing BBC Focus magazine. The contributors are equally highly thought-of, including [[:Category:Michael Brooks|Michael Brooks]] who wrote one of [[13 Things That Don't Make Sense by Michael Brooks|Bookbag's favourite science books]]. Indeed, it's all written really well, and there's nothing to knock in terms of its inherent quality. However, the inescapable fact is that 30 seconds is no not enough to explain most of these theories. A minute, maybe. 30 seconds? No.
I'm not sure who the ideal reader for this book is. If you need global warming or natural selection explained to you in 30 seconds, then quantum mechanics will go over your head. If you have enough scientific knowledge to understand a 30-second explanation of the other theories, then you won't need the book in the first place. It's not detailed enough to be a reference book, nor clear enough to be a refresher, nor inspirational enough to set your thought processes going in any direction that takes your fancy.
