10 Questions Science Can't Answer Yet : A Guide to the Scientific Wilderness

Product Description

From the author of the bestselling The Science of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comes another incredible trip to an even more mysterious terrain. Michael Hanlon identifies ten scientific questions that we simply can't seem to answer and explains why these compelling mysteries will remain unsolved for years to come
How did life begin? Why are there two sexes? Where did language originate? In Hanlon's characteristically witty style, he ponders the ways these questions have persisted in frustrating the best minds and asks what might be needed to get to the bottom of it all. From politics to lack of technology, each question has its own set of circumstances holding it back. By exploring these unanswerable questions, Hanlon exposes some of science's greatest failings and missteps--and charts a hopeful direction for getting science back on the road to discovery.

Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #411069 in Books
* Published on: 2007-05-29
* Released on: 2007-05-29
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Hardcover
* 208 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Michael Hanlon is the author of The Science of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Worlds of Galileo, and The Real Mars.
Customer Reviews

Decent enough3
About: Hanlon (Science Editor at the Daily Mail newspaper) explains 10 unanswered questions in science. Not including the introduction, there are 10 chapters, one for each question:

Is Fido a zombie? (that is, how intelligent, self-aware and clever are animals?)
Why is time so weird?
Can I live forever please?
What are we going to do with the stupid?
What is the dark side? (think dark energy and dark matter, not Darth Vader)
Is the universe alive?
Are you the same person you were a minute ago?
Why are we all so fat...and does it really matter?
Can we really be sure the paranormal is bunkum?
What is reality, really?

Pros: Quick read (if you don't like one topic, the next topic will be upon you quickly.) Nice range of questions and fields of science covered. Scientists you would expect to be mentioned are (i.e. Elizabeth Loftus on memory, Richard Dawkins on pseudoscience, and Stephen Hawking on the Big Bang) Mostly accessible writing on heady topics.

Cons: It doesn't appear that all references are cited. A conclusion would have been helpful, rather than an abrupt end of the book when the last topic is explained. Suggestions for further reading on each topic would have been welcome as well. Some topics get bogged down (albeit necessarily) with complexities and jargon.

Grade: B