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100 Ideas that Changed the World
Essays from such authorities as Brian Cox, Patrick Moore, Richard Dawkins, and Marcus du Sautoy offer glimpses into the minds behind history's greatest eureka moments With selections nominated by experts from all fields of science and engineering, this fascinating book explores 100 of the most forward thinking, far-reaching, and downright inspired ideas and inventions in history. The essays cover topics as diverse as the Big Bang, vaccination, computing, radioactivity, human genomes, the wheel, and more. Each essay looks at the logic behind these great inventions, discoveries, theories, and experiments, studying the circumstances that brought them into being and assessing the impact that they had on the world at large. From the earliest understandings of our place in the solar system, via Darwinism, DNA, neutrons, and quarks, right up to the theories that are pushing the boundaries of our knowledge today, we are forever propelled forward by our most gifted scientific minds.
- GenresScienceNonfictionHistory
416 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 13, 2015
I'm a library wallah, and I very rarely buy books - but I may well have to buy this one. It is absolutely fantastic...
Engineering, numbers, chemistry, physics, astronomy and technology are NOT my thing. Zzzzzzzzz.....I am falling asleep. But hey, no I am not! Here is a wonderful book of scientific sound bites for idiots. Each piece is a concise and entertaining synopsis on issues of major importance in various scientific fields, each nominated by a scientist held in high regard. The author is a good writer, and it is is marvellously readable. Some of the things described are to do with modern inventions and discoveries, like dark matter or Elon Musk's attempts to build a reusable spacecraft, but other things, like the invention of paper, or the printing press, are to do with old and sometimes ancient inventions.
I didn't understand everything in this book, but I got a good grasp of several things that had previously just been vague names or phrases to me.
Not all areas of the book were alien to me - other subjects discussed include the breakthroughs in our understanding of the natural world and medicine, and there is a small entry on psychology - these write ups gave me particular pleasure, but most of the book is unusually accessible. All the pieces are short, and liberally scattered with diagrams: it is well designed. It is also full of little surprises, which make it quite a fun read.
I will end by listing each of the short chapters, and the person who nominated the topic, so that anyone thinking of reading the book can get a clear idea of its contents.
Phew, typing that list (in the spoiler) was a labour of love. My ancient fingers are ready to fall off! But it was worth it. For the scientifically challenged, I think this book is outstanding.
Engineering, numbers, chemistry, physics, astronomy and technology are NOT my thing. Zzzzzzzzz.....I am falling asleep. But hey, no I am not! Here is a wonderful book of scientific sound bites for idiots. Each piece is a concise and entertaining synopsis on issues of major importance in various scientific fields, each nominated by a scientist held in high regard. The author is a good writer, and it is is marvellously readable. Some of the things described are to do with modern inventions and discoveries, like dark matter or Elon Musk's attempts to build a reusable spacecraft, but other things, like the invention of paper, or the printing press, are to do with old and sometimes ancient inventions.
I didn't understand everything in this book, but I got a good grasp of several things that had previously just been vague names or phrases to me.
Not all areas of the book were alien to me - other subjects discussed include the breakthroughs in our understanding of the natural world and medicine, and there is a small entry on psychology - these write ups gave me particular pleasure, but most of the book is unusually accessible. All the pieces are short, and liberally scattered with diagrams: it is well designed. It is also full of little surprises, which make it quite a fun read.
I will end by listing each of the short chapters, and the person who nominated the topic, so that anyone thinking of reading the book can get a clear idea of its contents.
Phew, typing that list (in the spoiler) was a labour of love. My ancient fingers are ready to fall off! But it was worth it. For the scientifically challenged, I think this book is outstanding.
July 22, 2018
I am not sure about the topic's of the 100 ideas that changed the world as written in this book..But most of the topics are quite acceptable..The explanations for the ideas and their backgrounds are also well explained by their authors..
June 30, 2016
قراءة لطيفة خفيفة تدعوك لبعض من التفكر في المسلمات من حولنا والتي لم تكن موجودة من قبل. كتاب لطيف لمن أراد البحث في بنك معلومات لتحضير مسابقات أو لجرد معلومات ثقافية عامة.
—
اقتبست:
“Secrecy has no place in science. In the words of the Austrian-born British biochemist Max Perutz: ‘True science thrives best in glass houses, where everyone can look in. When the windows are blacked out, as in war, the weeds take over; when secrecy muffles criticism, charlatans and cranks flourish.”
—
The first patent was obtained for the safety pin in 1849; invented by Walter Hunt. Lipstick in 1944 by Eleanor Kairalla.
—
“The Cambodian language, Khmer, has the largest alphabet, with 74 different letters.”
“Papua New Guinea is the country with the most living languages —over 800.”
—
“There are about 1000 billion neurons in the human body —more than the number of stars in the Milky Way!”
—
On mobile phones:
"- One-third of the global population make calls using their mobile phones.
- There are currently around 3 billion mobile phones in use worldwide.
- The number of mobile phones in Britain now exceeds the number of people.
- About 90 million mobile phones are lying around unused in homes throughout the UK, weighing in at 11,250 tons, five times the weight of the London Eye."
—
May 17, 2014
If you can weed out the left-wing and secular bias (it is a BBC book after all!) then this is useful and fun.
Liked it.
Liked it.
April 30, 2019
Extremely informative book. Man, I now know things I didn't know I didn't know about.
Contains a hefty amount of ice breakers.
Contains a hefty amount of ice breakers.
September 5, 2020
Kitap bilmediğimiz bir şey anlatmıyor. Ancak her buluşun önemini bir kez daha ve farklı bir açıyla bakmak için güzel bir kaynak.
February 5, 2016
This is a very informative and highly satisfying read. The one hundred ideas all follow logically on from each other and are beautifully organised into the following sections:
01. Science in Society
02. The Natural World
03. The Universe
04. The World of Physics
05. The Chemical World
06. The Living World
07. The Medical World
08. The World of Psychology
09. The World of Numbers
10. The World of Engineering
11. The World of Technology
This all makes for an effortless and rewarding read. I particularly liked the gem facts scattered throughout the volume and the clearly annotated, easy-to-follow diagrams.
Each chapter heading is subtitled with why the idea was chosen and it is good to see this pattern of consistent rational thinking throughout the text.
There is also a comprehensive index too, great for dipping in and out of - but I strongly recommend reading sequentially from cover to cover.
Thank you Jheni Osman for all your hard work in compiling and authoring this wonderful well-researched book which I give a well deserved 5 stars.
01. Science in Society
02. The Natural World
03. The Universe
04. The World of Physics
05. The Chemical World
06. The Living World
07. The Medical World
08. The World of Psychology
09. The World of Numbers
10. The World of Engineering
11. The World of Technology
This all makes for an effortless and rewarding read. I particularly liked the gem facts scattered throughout the volume and the clearly annotated, easy-to-follow diagrams.
Each chapter heading is subtitled with why the idea was chosen and it is good to see this pattern of consistent rational thinking throughout the text.
There is also a comprehensive index too, great for dipping in and out of - but I strongly recommend reading sequentially from cover to cover.
Thank you Jheni Osman for all your hard work in compiling and authoring this wonderful well-researched book which I give a well deserved 5 stars.
December 7, 2016
A great read. Had to quickly skim through the last bits as I was slightly overdue returning the book. However, I still found it rather enjoyable and informative.
The most rewarding parts were the insights into the lives of people who thought of the ideas, not the sole focus on the result.
The most rewarding parts were the insights into the lives of people who thought of the ideas, not the sole focus on the result.
January 3, 2022
absolutely you must this book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews