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| Author: Michael Brooks
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy New: $16.29
You Save: $7.66 (32%)
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 10985
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0385520689
Dewey Decimal Number: 500
EAN: 9780385520683
Publication Date: August 12, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 A baker's dozen of baffling scientific mysteries September 16, 2008
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
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"I have investigated just thirteen of today's scientific anomalies [or mysteries]. Some are more anomalous than others but all cry out for explanations and further study. Some have yet to be taken seriously; others are perhaps taken too seriously...Occasionally, the anomalies point us toward acutely uncomfortable facts that no one wants to face...For all their diversity, their thrilling or disturbing natures, each and every case presents a wonderful opportunity for exploration and discovery. They will also...lead us to uncover anomalies as yet unseen; as [a late, great dramatist and critic] once pointed out, science never solves a problem without creating ten more."
The above is found in the epilogue of this fascinating book by Michael Brooks, Ph.D., formerly senior editor at, and now a consultant, for the publication "New Scientist." This book is based on his article that originally appeared in a March 2005 issue of that publication.
Each mystery that is examined has one chapter devoted to it. Below I will give the general category or discipline that these mysteries are associated with and indicate the number of chapters devoted to each discipline:
Cosmology (the scientific study of the universe): 2 chapters
Physics: 1
Chemistry: 1
Biology: 4
Extraterrestrial Life: 2
Psychology: 1
Medicine: 1
Alternative Medicine: 1
Brooks presents in impressive detail the history of each anomaly and the science behind each anomaly. He defines technical terms in his well-written narrative so the reader is never lost. (However, some readers may want to have a basic science dictionary handy for basic terms that are undefined.) Brooks also presents possible solutions for each anomaly.
The cover of this book (displayed above by Amazon) is interesting. It is an optical illusion.
Finally, it is my opinion that this book would be the perfect gift for your favourite "know it all."
In conclusion, this book guides the reader through a magical, scientific mystery tour. I leave you with the final words in the book's prologue:
"In science, being stuck [by an anomaly or mystery] can be a sign that you are about to make a great leap forward. The things that don't make sense are, in some ways, the only things that matter."
(first published 2008; prologue; 13 chapters; epilogue; main narrative 210 pages; acknowledgements; notes and sources; index)
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Wow is right! August 31, 2008
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
this is like Sarte's Nausea, for those with a scientific bent. Solid assumptions about the universe we live in begin to quiver like jello,..I found myself running to Google for solace,..surely this guy is making this stuff up,..turns out he's not. Now,.I want to know more, and it's depressing to think most of these new "problems" will not be solved in my own lifetime.
Observations:
1. How maddening that scientists are having to scrap for mere millions in the search for SETI! I wish I were Bill Gates; I'd donate 10 billion dollars to the effort. And to think the democrats' "war on poverty" cost us over a Trillion dollars in the last 40 years,..and all we got was more "impoverished" people who's main problem now is rampant diabetes and MORBID OBESITY due to unlimited Free Food and the subsequent contempt of "work". We'd have easily colonized Mars by now,..Easily. If not Titan.,..but no,..we got minions of 350lb diabetics, and CNN still calls it/them America's shame. Yes, Katrina "exposed" America's shame,..read the CNN headline. WTF? The Red Cross was on TV asking for "OverSize" clothing donations. The Coast Guard needed extra large baskets to haul up America's circus-fat starvlings. We invested over a Trillion dollars to see that spectacle,..and yet we badger our finest scientists about a few million dollars to keep SETI telescopes open?
2. The author implies that Richard Dawkins and Darwin are against community based natural selection, at least that's the way I interpreted him. If so, he should read Dawkins' chapter on "in group loyalty, out group hostility" in the God Delusion.
3. The chapter on free will: I understand the author's apparent disbelief in free will,..it makes sense. But I kept waiting for the "replacement" for free will. If we don't have free will, what DOES make us get up in the morning? Ok, the brain,..but I wish the author expounded more on what possibly is the mechanism that is being satisfied by us getting up in a certain instant,..obviously not some god's plan,..but what? Also,..if we don't have free will, then, if I'm not mistaken, everything is predetermined,..cause and effect and cause and effect: but then, why do legal deterrents work so well in making us choose to, say, pay for our groceries,..as opposed to the much more energy-efficient method of just stealing them? This subject is so fascinating to me,..I wish the author had spent more time fleshing out the alternatives to free will.
4. Why did Carl Sagan ultimately come to strongly disbelieve that the Viking missions had discovered life on Mars? This book seems to back Levin's findings of bacterial life,..did Sagan have extra material,..that the author purposefully left out of the book so as to sell us on the idea of possible life on Mars and the (ala Art Bell) cover up of that information?
5. the chapters on Life and Death and Sex: Wow! I felt the ground falling away beneath my feet,..gold and diamonds gleaming all around, new thoughts, new ways of questioning what seemed so securely known. I kept thinking, in real time..I have to read this book again, soon. You know you have a special book in your hands when you are thinking that. Kerouac's On the Road comes to mind,..maybe Steinbeck's East of Eden.
This is a fantastic read: one last observation: I hope this author writes another book on more things that don't make darwinian sense,,..and the first chapter should be drugs and booze,..the second chapter devoted to gods and superstition belief. Norm,..[...]
 Hard to Understand September 1, 2008
5 out of 14 found this review helpful
Brooks begins by telling readers that we can only account for 4% of the cosmos. The stars at the edges of distant galaxies seem to be moving under the guidance of invisible hands that hold them in place. According to scientists' best calculations, the substance of these invisible guiding hands ("dark matter") is nearly a quarter of the total amount of mass in the cosmos, though we don't know what it is. There there is also "dark energy" that makes the universe expand ever faster; dark energy is the equivalent of another 70% of the mass in the cosmos.
The Pioneer 10 (launched 1972) and 11 (1973) space probes provide another mystery. While covering 219 million miles per year as planned, they also deviate another 8,000 miles per year from the intended trajectory - indicating an unknown force about one-billionth the strength of the earth's gravity.
Brooks goes on, covering a total of 13 mysteries involving sex, the placebo effect in medicine, and ramifications of string theory.
Bottom Line: Each of the mysteries is difficult to understand in itself; in addition, failing to resolve the mysteries does not satisfy a reader's need for accomplishment.
Great Book September 15, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is well researched and very interesting. It points out the things we still don't understand in this world and offers insights on how they may be solved in the future. It evokes thoughts about the unknown and knowledge about our scientific past. Great read.
No answers, but a deeper understanding of things October 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The book is excellent in showing some major things we kind of take for granted, but really shouldn't, because to come up with dramatic advances in science or in understanding, we have a better chance when pondering these challenges.
There are some things I will never think in quite the same way after reading this book, like:
1. The universe is expanding, but doing so at an ever faster rate. Therefore, we should be ready to alter current science, like our understanding of gravity. The author presents the concepts of dark energy (causing the ever faster expansion) and dark matter (affecting the shape, size and spin of galaxies). Plus, that can lead us to question whether scientific constants, are actually constant or might vary somewhat over millions or billions of years. Then, there is cold fusion and we still can't say it isn't possible.
2. As for 'Life', we still don't know how it began. NASA once claimed they had found life on Mars, through the Viking exploration, but then not sure. In 1977, we received a radio signal from space, and still not sure if it was or wasn't some alien communication. The best hope for some signal would likely be some fundamental mathematical code or a laser beam.
Maybe a virus was the first form of life. There are some indications that this is possible.
3. As for 'Aging' and 'Death', some fish, amphibians and reptiles don't seem to age. Some organisms don't appear to die. There is some thought that death was only introduced to protect against damaged DNA being passed on, so maybe by tinkering with our DNA we can extend life and the vibrancy of life.
4. Why 'Sex', since many living things reproduce assexually? Maybe to purge deleterious mutations or evolve to get rid of parasites and parasites evolve to always be able to find a home. Plus, since female animals don't always select the strongest or most dominant male, maybe something else at work, like what is in the best interest of the whole group. Mathematical Game Theory does seem to indicate that the best solution is when most, in a group, are optimally happy. So, is the reason for sex mathematically based? Interesting.
5. As for 'Free Will', do we really have it? There are some scientific studies which show our actual actions can precede the mind's actual awareness of wanting to start the action. It is noted that most psychological disorders involve people who try to exert maybe too much control over their life. Maybe a better road to sanity is acknowledging we aren't in control. Anyway, it does seem likely we have a lot less free will than we think we have.
6. The 'Placebo Effect' does seem to work, like the drug, Valium, doesn't seem to work unless the patient knows he/she is taking it. But, why the placebo affect works, we still don't know.
7. Homeopathy does seem to work beyond what might be attributed to the placebo effect. But, why? We don't know.
Anyway, this book is really great at making a reader just think a little deeper about some pretty important things.
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