Light Elements: Essays in Science from Gravity to Levity

by Judith Stone

An award-winning columnist for  Discover  magazine takes a light look at hard science.  If science had been this funny in school, maybe you would have listened.

Part stand-up comic, part gonzo journalist, Discover  magazine’s Judith Stone can sniff out strange science at five paces. This offbeat collection of her trenchant, witty essays explodes the boundaries of science, with outrageous insights and surprising factual information that will keep you laughing and learning.

Praise for Light Elements

“You need this book, because it contains Amazing Science Facts, such as how the entire world could be destroyed by cows. Also there’s a fascinating chapter on getting yourself mummified. This would be after your death, of course. Which could be any day now, what with these cows. You definitely need this book.” —Dave Barry

“Ms. Stone is a boon to those who stopped listening after fourth-grade science. She is witty and knowledgeable. I can’t believe it’s actually fun.” —Wendy Wasserstein

“It’s full of interesting information and it’s really funny. If that’s not what you’re looking for, you’re not looking for a book. Why not try a good appliance store?” —Penn & Teller

Genres: Science, Essays

213 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1991

Reviews

[Cara W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hysterical book! Laugh out loud book. Stone discusses various science principles and observations with witty comments.

The book was published in 1991 - so talking about VCRs and some less in date jokes and concepts - but I definitely knew all the references.

Highly recommend!

[Chris Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and laugh-out-loud funny essays on all things science-like

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Named after her award-winning column in Discover magazine, Light Elements is a collection of essays that appeared there and a few originals, on topics roughly categorized as either Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, or General. Stone’s style is like crossing Dave Barry, Stephen Jay Gould, and a generic magazine interviewer–and what a party that menage a trois would have been! She has a tendency to go for the pun, but her word choice while doing so ranges so far across the field, and the informational content between the puns is so high, that you find yourself grinning rather than wincing. The topics are an incredible mixture of commercial science (a microwaveable hot fudge sundae?) to research speculation (the physiological aspects of humor). Just a list of topics is fun: ozone-destroying cattle, mummification of dead pets, thorny security fences (bushes, not bush league), velcro, dental psychology, why people wince at the sound of fingernails on a blackboard, the culture of country music bars (and I bet you thought there wasn’t any), jumping and reeking roaches, the cheese detective and nouveaux punctuation. Donald Norman, who I’ve been raving about recently, even pops up as part of an essay entitled “Voodoo Ergonomics.” As a blurb on the cover says, “If science had been this funny in school, maybe you would have listened.” Maybe you will now.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some so-so essays, & some very good ones. I think the best one was the last.