House of Karls

by Karl Kruszelnicki

In the ruthless pursuit of scientific fact, there is no candidate more formidable than Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Master Geek and National Living Treasure.

"There's no topic on which Dr Karl does not have an interestingly expressed opinion" The Weekly Review

"Guaranteed good read" The Age

In House of Karls , Dr Karl addresses a range of issues and questions: how Politics and Greed are dirtying the purity of Science and why the world's most expensive book costs more than $23 million dollars, but only $4 to post. How real is the Five Second Rule with food? Why does a frog in milk stop it from souring? Why did the Nazis steal the only Space Buddha?

Gold may bring power, but how did it get from an exploding star to a gum tree? Why are children smarter than their parents? Why is bank robbery a terrible economic decision, and what are the surprising origins of the 'selfie'?

Did you know that the Government knows of a cancer cure and it has 75,000 pieces of Big Data on you ...

Vote #1 @doctorkarl.

Fans of Adam Spencer will love House of Karls.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

296 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Known popularly as Dr Karl.

Karl has degrees in Physics and Maths, Biomedical Engineering, Medicine and Surgery and has worked as a physicist, tutor, film-maker, car mechanic, labourer, and as a medical doctor at the Kids' Hospital in Sydney.

In 1995 he took up the position of the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at Sydney University, spreading the good word about science and its benefits.

His enthusiasm for science is totally infectious and no one is better able to convey the excitement and wonder of it all than Dr Karl Kruszelnicki is.

Dr Karl's Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) site:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/

http://www.abc.net.au/profiles/conten...

Reviews

[Sam Still Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr Karl is a master when it comes to explaining science in a fun and interesting way that can make anyone understand what’s going on. I love receiving his books for Christmas because they’re easy to pick up, but when you’re interrupted to do something mundane like wash the dishes, it’s easy to pick up where you left off. In this book, Dr Karl tackles many scientific subjects, including space and ticks causing meat allergy. (The ticks and meat allergy link was recently covered by a television programme in Australia – whether they were inspired by Dr Karl I can’t say).

But it’s not just planets and space travel that Dr Karl looks at. There are practical and fun things too – does the five second rule when you drop food exist? (I always thought it was 10 seconds, so I’ve been misled). What went on at Bletchley Park during World War II and why is Apple linked to Alan Turing? Why does Amazon sell books for millions of dollars? What is the truth about the paleo diet? Does swearing help with pain relief?

What I love about Dr Karl’s books is that they encourage discussion and to conduct your own scientific experiments. I did look at the most expensive books on Amazon. I did mention to my colleagues over coffee about how much you swear affects the pain relief felt when swearing (I still haven’t found any takers to repeat that experiment). In true geek fashion, I did look up some original articles about the abscopal effect in various cancers. (I would have been happy with a whole book about this, but I understand that would be a limited market – and who knows what price the Amazon bots would set it at!) While the space stuff didn’t interest me as much as the medicine and the plain quirky, I felt that I benefitted from understanding that bit more.

Dr Karl’s writing is easily approachable and would fascinate those interested in science- not just adults, but teenagers as well. No wonder he’s one of Australia’s living treasures!

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about the fourth Dr Karl book I've read in a fairly short span so they're starting to run together a little bit - however I'm glad to have tracked down the latest as he does revisit and update some topics he's touched on before. (And, being science, knowledge is always being updated and corrected.)

It's a good book to dip in and out of, especially to break up reading a long novel or something else at the same time - the entries are short (almost like books you get that are compendia of a regular columnist.)

I've always liked Dr Karl for the broad variety of topics and issues he's fascinated by, and is determined to encourage others to be just as passionate about. However, I wonder if his publishers should consider collating his books around themes (either books about a certain topic or even just themed sections) - while it's good to explore things I wouldn't normally come across, having to switch from space to cell biology to language development back to space again can be a little tiring when reading his books in a longer sitting.

[Kate Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded to 3.

Let me start off by saying I love Karl, it's just I was already familiar with a lot of the topics. And the topics I didn't know so much about, well, I just wish they were expanded on more. I Got this book on a whim secondhand at Blue Dragon books. An easy read. An okay read. I'll stick to his podcast instead.

Some interesting points:
- Ancient cultures used to use meteorite material to make knives and swords, thought that was pretty cool.

- On income inequality "most people go through life and simply don't know they've got enough". The rich get more entitled because they don't have to think about others.

[Stefani Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was young, I had thousands of "why" questions in my mind. For example, does the five-second rule actually exist? What is lactose intolerance and why does lactose-free milk taste so bad? And tonnes of other questions have been discovered in this book, with funny illustrations and a humour way of writing this book. Dr. Karl has amazed me with his knowledge, I used to read some of his papers and now I'm so into his books, I would recommend you buy this book if you have younger siblings or for your inner child. I love it!!!!!

[Maddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book of Dr Karl’s that I’ve read.
- complicated science made easy
- interesting !!! Makes you think about things you’ve never heard of
- fave chapters were ahead of his time, Apple logo, five second rule, gold in trees, nazis stole Buddha, orgasms via foot, 100 percent cancer cure

[Sri Gopalan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karl has taken scientific research journals and retold it for the layman. His puns and humour make it quite entertaining. I quite loved the one about the $23m book.

[Jake Crozier · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5)

[Carl Eastman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating information in a lot of parts but other parts were hard to read.

[Arthur Cravan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to like this that much. It's not the kind of thing I'd pick up for myself. But I picked it up every now & then to read a section or two, & I gotta say, tres decent book. I feel some parts are stronger than others.

For example, finishing it today, I read possibly my favourite part of the book, being about our IQ rising over time. He studies the whys & explains a bit about how those IQ tests are put together & how they change over time.

This bit is followed by a look into why people sneeze when they see light, along with a page about how some guy came up with the acronym ACHOO syndrome or something, which I doubt is used much in professional circles. I don't know, one seems really informative & one seems ridiculously trivial to me.

But overall, it's a great read covering a lot of ground, & I wouldn't hesitate to grab another book by him. (P.S. My other issue with the book was his constant hawking of his older books. I don't know if it was meant to be a joke... probably not, I mean, it often tied in with what he was talking about... but when you have 24 books or whatever, it can turn into a lot of self-reference.)

[Warren Gossett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book by Australia's scientist in the house. Many topics are raised and discussed succinctly aiming to rely on peer reviewed scientific papers. Mathematics is left for readers to pursue on their own once curiosity is well stimulated. I have read several of his books and enjoy listening to him on popular media platforms.

[Dragan · Rating 4 out of 5]

So after reading a number of books by Dr. Karl I have learnt that they can be very hit and miss. This certainly is one of his better works. Good number of myths to talk about and some good humour packed in as well

[Ms Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gotta love Dr Karl. A good one to dip in and out of in between other novels.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again my mind was blown. So many facts, so little time...