Roger Highfield > Quotes

“If Newton had not, as Wordsworth put it, voyaged through strange seas of thought alone, someone else would have. If Marie Curie had not lived, we still would have discovered the radioactive elements polonium and radium. But if J. K. Rowling had not been born, we would never have known about Harry Potter. That is why Master Potter means so much to me. Science may be special but Harry, as a work of art, is more so. Harry Potter is unique.”
― Roger Highfield, The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works

“Words can calm people, can make them them fall in love, can whip them up into a frenzy, can turn them into killers.”
― Roger Highfield, The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works

“They Harry Potters still enormously outnumber the likes of Petunia and Vernon Dursley in society, who just don't hold with such nonsense, perhaps reflecting how modern life seems more out of control than ever. Most people do indeed believe in magic of one sort or another, whether the thespian who shouts "break a leg" at a colleague, the student who always wears the same outfit for exams, the blushing bride who crosses her fingers for good luck or those who jump with joy when they find a four-leaf clover. Why is our belief in magic so deeply ingrained? Indeed, why do we believe in anything at all?”
― Roger Highfield, The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works

“Smells can even help us carry out tasks, according to an experiment by Martin's colleague Alison Gould. In one experiment, subjects completed a tedious “visual vigilance task” in the presence of either no odor, an alerting (peppermint) smell, or a relaxing (bergamot) one. They did better with the peppermint. Another study showed that subjects performed an unchallenging task better when stimulated by an unpleasant smell —in this case, sour milk. A pleasant smell, that of an air freshener, helped them perform complex tasks better.”
― Roger Highfield, The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey

“life span is determined by a fixed amount of metabolic activity: eat less, slow your metabolism, and you may live longer.”
― Roger Highfield, The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey

“(The selfsame hydrogen bonds also make water blue, because they absorb a little red from sunlight, which contains all the colors of the rainbow.)”
― Roger Highfield, The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey

“The sprout's slightly bitter, sulfurous taste is meant to discourage would-be insect diners. This is the vegetable equivalent of a chemical weapon and evolved to deal with pests.”
― Roger Highfield, The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey

“When it comes to the number of forms, or phases, of ice, water has more solid phases —nine total —than any other known pure substance because it can form phases which differ only in the orientations of the hydrogen bonds. No wonder every crystal is different.”
― Roger Highfield, The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey

“some researchers have found that eating resin or oil from Commiphora or guggulu, lowers blood cholesterol levels. Chinese scientists have discovered that C. myrrha can reduce the development of arteriosclerosis —hardening of the arteries —in animals.”
― Roger Highfield, The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey

“Retailers use various strategies, policies, and procedures in timing their markdowns of Christmas merchandise, adds Dale Lewison of the University of Akron. “Some retailers start taking small and early markdowns before Thanksgiving, while others wait until after the weekend following Thanksgiving —the biggest shopping weekend of the year. Still other retailers wait longer to mark down merchandise.”
― Roger Highfield, The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey