Based on Michael Brooks’s popular article forNew Scientist—one of the most forwarded articles in the magazine’s online history—13 THINGS THAT DON’T MAKE SENSEtackles the most hotly debated topics in science today, from the placebo effect to life on Mars, and shows how these conundrums are changing the way scientists approach their work and why these issues will define science in the twenty-first century. Brooks covers such topics as: • THE MISSING UNIVERSE: Ninety percent of the universe simply does not exist—at least, not in any detectable form. Will we find a way to identify this “dark matter,” or will Isaac Newton’s laws of universal gravitation be proven incorrect? • THE WOW SIGNAL: In 1977, an astronomer detected a radiation blast, with no known origin, that may have been a transmission from an alien civilization. Debate has raged ever since, but is there any way to know for certain? • COLD FUSION: Theoretically, it’s impossible. Experimentally, it works. It might also solve our energy crisis for good. How can we harness it? Displaying the accessible appeal that made Bill Bryson'sA Short History of Nearly Everythingsuch a tremendous success, 13 THINGS THAT DON'T MAKE SENSE is science writing at its provocative best.Based on Michael Brooks7;s popular article forNew Scientist-one of the most forwarded articles in the magazine7;s online history-13 THINGS THAT DON7;T MAKE SENSEtackles the most hotly debated topics in science today, from the placebo effect to life on Mars, and shows how these conundrums are changing the way scientists approach their work and why these issues will define science in the twenty-first century. Brooks covers such topics as: 6; THE MISSING UNIVERSE: Ninety percent of the universe simply does not exist-at least, not in any detectable form. Will we find a way to identify this 0;dark matter,1; or will Isaac Newton7;s laws of universal gravitation be proven incorrect? 6; THE WOW SIGNAL: In 1977, an astronomer detected a radiation blast, with no known origin, that may have been a transmission from an alien civilization. Debate has raged ever since, but is there any way to know for certain? 6; COLD FUSION: Theoretically, it7;s impossible. Experimentally, it works. It might also solve our energy crisis for good. How can we harness it? Displaying the accessible appeal that made Bill Bryson'sA Short History of Nearly Everythingsuch a tremendous success, 13 THINGS THAT DON'T MAKE SENSE is science writing at its provocative best.When we look to the "anomalies" that science can't explain, we often discover where science is about to go. Here are a few of the anomalies that Michael Brooks investigates in13 Things That Don't Make Sense: Homeopathic remedies seem to have biological effects that cannot be explained by chemistry Gases have been detected on Mars that could only have come from carbon-based life forms Cold fusion, theoretically impossible and discredited in the 1980s, seems to work in some modern laboratory experiments It's quite likely we have nothing close to free will Life and non-life may exist along a continuum, which may pave the way for us to create life in the near future Sexual reproduction doesn't line up with evolutionary theory and, moreover, there's no good scientific explanation for why we must die Science starts to get interesting when things don't make sense. Science's best-kept secret is this: even today, there are experimental results and reliable data that the most brilliant scientists can neither explain nor dismiss. In the past, similar "anomalies" have revolutionized our world, like in the sixteenth century, when a set of celestial anomalies led Copernicus to realize that the Earth goes around the sun and not the reverse, and in the 1770s, when two chemists discovered oxygen because of experimental results that defied all the theories of the day. And so, if history is any precedent, we should look to today's inexplicable results to forecast the future of science. In13 Things That Don't Make Sense, Michael Brooks heads to the scientific frontier to meet thirteen modern-day anomalies and discover tomorrow's breakthroughs. 13 Thingsopens at the twenty-third Solvay physics conference, where the scientists present are ready to throw up their hands over an anomaly: is it possible that the universe, rather than slowly drifting apart as the physics of the big bang had once predicted, is actually expanding at an ever-faster speed? From Solvay and the mysteries of the universe, Brooks travels to a basement in Turin to subject himself to repeated shocks in a test of the placebo response. No study has ever been able to definitively show how the placebo effect works, so why has it becomea pillar ofmedicalscience? Moreover, is 96 percent of the universe missing? Is a 1977 signal from outer space a transmission from an alien civilization? Might giant viruses explain how life began? Why are some NASA satellites speeding up as they get farther from the sunand what does that mean for the laws of physics? Spanning disciplines from biology to cosmology, chemistry to psychology to physics, Brooks thrillingly captures the excitement, messiness, and controversy of the battle over where science is headed. "In science," he writes, "being stuck 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."Science starts to get interesting when things don't make sense. Science's best-kept secret is this: Even today, there are experimental results and reliable data that the most brilliant scientists can neither explain nor dismiss. In the past, similar "anomalies" have revolutionized our world, like in the sixteenth century, when a set of celestial anomalies led Copernicus to realize that the Earth goes around the sun and not the reverse, and in the 1770s, when two chemists discovered oxygen because of experimental results that defied all the theories of the day. And so, if history is any precedent, we should look to today's inexplicable results to forecast the future of science. In13 Things That Don't Make Sense, Michael Brooks heads to the scientific frontier to meet thirteen modern-day anomalies and discover tomorrow's breakthroughs. 13 Thingsopens at the twenty-third Solvay physics conference, where the scientists present are ready to throw up their hands over an anomaly: is it possible that the universe, rather than slowly drifting apart as the physics of the big bang had once predicted, is actually expanding at an ever-faster speed? From Solvay and the mysteries of the universe, Brooks travels to a basement in Turin to subject himself to repeated shocks in a test of the placebo response. No study has ever been able to definitively show how the placebo effect works, so why has it becomea pillar ofmedicalscience? Moreover, is 96 percent of the universe missing? Is a 1977 signal from outer space a transmission from an alien civilization? Might giant viruses explain how life began? Why are some NASA satellites speeding up as they get farther from the sunand what does that mean for the laws of physics? Spanning disciplines from biology to cosmology, chemistry to psychology to physics, Brooks thrillingly captures the excitement, messiness, and controversy of the battle over where science is headed. "In science," he writes, "being stuck 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."Advance Praise for13 Things That Don't Make Sense "WOW! is one of the things that Michael Brooks includes hereit is the signal from space that may have come from an alien civilizationbut it's also the way I feel about this book's magical mystery tour. You will be amazed and astonished you when you learn that science has been unable to come up with a working definition of life, why death should happen at all, why sex is necessary, or whether cold fusion is a hoax or one of the greatest breakthroughs of all time. Strap yourself in and prepare for a WOW! of an experience." Richard Ellis, author ofThe Empty OceanandTuna: A Love Story
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