Book of Scientific Curiosities by Cyril Aydon: book review

A Book of Scientific Curiosities: Facts and Feats (2005) is jammed packed with exactly as the title describes: facts, feats, and interesting oddities.

Fortunately there is order in the myriad of facts. The contents are divided into 10 sections, such as The Heavens; The Earth; The Living World; Mass and Energy; The Nature of Matter; People and Places; Science in Society; Keeping Count; and two appendices – Measuring Things and Timelines.

From science history to people of science to the various sciences themselves, the information ranges from half a page to three pages, which makes it easy-to-read, easy to pick up and put down without losing your place, easy to drift through, or easy to read in detail. In it, there is something for everyone: from the microscopic to the macroscopic, tera to pico, convergence to divergence, terminology to vocabulary, and from chaos and confusion to clarity. It covers astrology to zoology, air to zodiac, and al-Ma’mun to Zhang Heng.

As Aydon says in the introduction, no prior knowledge is required and there is only one equation in the whole book of 308 pages. There are few diagrams, but that does not detract from the text because it’s precise and concise, leading the reader to further material as their interest dictates.

No, it is not an excuse to avoid science classes altogether because it’s not the definitive answer to the theory of everything, nor is it a scientific encyclopedia or dictionary. It’s an interesting book for the curious about the curiosities of science.

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog