Science Class You Wish You Had

I enjoyed reading this book very much. The first two chapters are out of this world. They provide a factual, easy-to-read account of the development of physics, and cosmology in particular. Although history of scientific ideas in the political context is one of my specialties, I found these chapters educational. Everything is laid out in such a way that it is easy to understand which scientist made which contribution to the development of our understanding of the universe. The only reservation I had about this book is that it has its dogmatic moments, for example when the authors claim that the theory of evolution is not a "theory," but something above it, because it has been "proved." One of the authors is a practicing attorney, which may be the reason for this approach. Scientific theories are not "proved" the way mathematical theorems are, or the way one proves things in a court of law. Scientific theories are always tentative, provisional, hypothetical. Science includes facts. For example that a coin can land in three ways: hads, tails, or (incredibly) on its side. This is not a theory, but a fact, and it can certainly not be "disproved." If the authors want to call evolution a fact, they are free to do so. But science is not a court of law--it does not prove things.

This book is excellent for anyone who is curious about science but had teachers and professors who made science as boring as possible. It includes one of the best explanations of Relativity I have found.

The Brody brothers provide a thorough, but not overly complex, review of seven scientific discoveries that altered human self-awareness and understanding. The book is well written, informative (even for a professional scientist!), and quite enjoyable. Especially interesting is the overall perspective of the book, which emphasizes how historical and social influences affected the pathways to discoveries and which stresses the important interrelationships between and among the seven discovies discussed. I recommend this book not only to scientists and students, but also to anyone with an interest in technologically and advances in human thought - which should be everyone.

Although this book can get a bit dense at times, it really is a great overview of the greatest scientific achievements of our time. It amazed me how up to date it was, as well as how clearly it explained some of the complex relationships of the people who discovered some of the findings that today we take for granted. (As well as talking about some of the people who took some wrong turns along the way.) Overall it's a great read, even as a brush-up and update for scienes classes you may have already had.