bakudreamer's review against another edition
3.0
This one is very good, ( I would have said ' reaction diffusion equations ' just like Arbesman guy said. ( First found out about those in ' The Self Made Tapestry ' P. Ball , but it turns out it was the Turing who wrote the original paper about it in 1952 )
lagobond's review against another edition
2.0
This Explains Nothing.
This book is literally the opposite of what its title would lead you to believe it is. It doesn't explain anything, or not much at all. It merely scratches the surface, or more precisely, it scratches 150 different surfaces. It reads like a series of aha moments, but they're the "hey look what I just saw in this pop-sci magazine" type of aha moments.
No real, meaningful learning experience will come of this, unless you take an idea and delve way, way deeper into books that actually have some information on whatever topic sparked your interest.
This is the science equivalent of Readers' Digest.
This book is literally the opposite of what its title would lead you to believe it is. It doesn't explain anything, or not much at all. It merely scratches the surface, or more precisely, it scratches 150 different surfaces. It reads like a series of aha moments, but they're the "hey look what I just saw in this pop-sci magazine" type of aha moments.
No real, meaningful learning experience will come of this, unless you take an idea and delve way, way deeper into books that actually have some information on whatever topic sparked your interest.
This is the science equivalent of Readers' Digest.
lovelyjanelle13's review against another edition
2.0
I’m smart enough to realize and acknowledge that most of what was in this book went completely over my head, except that I got the general concept that everything we know we owe to those before us for either giving us a jumping off point or something to prove wrong. Almost every entry read as a short excerpt from a textbook, which is fine, but if I wanted to read a textbook, I’d read a textbook. I was expecting a bit more flare to the writing in order to draw in more readers.
reigna's review against another edition
2.0
either way too technical or way too facile and not much in the way of new insights, personally
ababoglo's review against another edition
3.0
Excellent idea, amazing ensemble of thinkers... very unfortunate format. All essays are way to short to be captivating or to have a sufficient depth. Left me flicking through pages without much satisfaction
luna0730's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
ravenousbibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
In 1997, John Brockman and friends launched 'Edge', an online magazine/blog for collating and showcasing the most radical and perhaps the most fascinating questions/theories in the fields of science, mathematics, philosophy, technology etc. Every year, on the anniversary of Edge, John and his friends decide put forth the 'Edge Question'. The answers to this question are then published on the website.
In 2012, the Edge Question that was asked to these intellectual stalwarts was "What is your favorite Deep, Elegant or Beautiful explanation?". The answers (in some cases essays and in some cases a small paragraph) are what form this book.
Like many other works of a cerebral nature, this book is difficult to read in a single sitting. However, it does make for an intellectually stimulating (and sometimes hilarious) read, if tackled peace-meal. The question as you may have noticed, is rather vague. But when you ask some of the brightest minds in the world a question like that, the answers are extremely thought-provoking. The content is mostly related to the field that each contributor represents, but in some cases, the answers are simply a different way of looking at everyday occurrences. This blend of intelligence and common-sense is what makes this book (in my opinion) the intellectual equivalent of the Promethean fire.
In 2012, the Edge Question that was asked to these intellectual stalwarts was "What is your favorite Deep, Elegant or Beautiful explanation?". The answers (in some cases essays and in some cases a small paragraph) are what form this book.
Like many other works of a cerebral nature, this book is difficult to read in a single sitting. However, it does make for an intellectually stimulating (and sometimes hilarious) read, if tackled peace-meal. The question as you may have noticed, is rather vague. But when you ask some of the brightest minds in the world a question like that, the answers are extremely thought-provoking. The content is mostly related to the field that each contributor represents, but in some cases, the answers are simply a different way of looking at everyday occurrences. This blend of intelligence and common-sense is what makes this book (in my opinion) the intellectual equivalent of the Promethean fire.
jakemcc's review against another edition
3.0
This was an enjoyable collection of short (1-4 pages) of essays by a varied group of writers. Each author explained some theory that they found elegant. As you expect in a collection of shorter pieces the quality varied.
I lost count at the number of essays that started "I would talk about evolution but I'm sure someone else will." Those essays were not wrong. Quite a few of the entries were about evolution and natural selection.
Because this book is a collection of short essays it was very easy to pick it up, read a bit, and then put back down. This is how I would recommend reading this book so you can give yourself plenty of time to digest whatever explanation(s) you just read.
There were times reading this where I was able to imagine myself studying in a concent as if in the book Anathem. It was a fun book to digest slowly over the month I read it.
I lost count at the number of essays that started "I would talk about evolution but I'm sure someone else will." Those essays were not wrong. Quite a few of the entries were about evolution and natural selection.
Because this book is a collection of short essays it was very easy to pick it up, read a bit, and then put back down. This is how I would recommend reading this book so you can give yourself plenty of time to digest whatever explanation(s) you just read.
There were times reading this where I was able to imagine myself studying in a concent as if in the book Anathem. It was a fun book to digest slowly over the month I read it.
david_reads_books's review against another edition
3.0
I thought the list of questions (new question every few pages) were excellent. The individual answers were by experts in that field. But you just can't "tweet" answers to these huge questions. Each of these topics deserves an entire book.
The questions were not arranged in a logical order in the book.
The 'answers' felt like someone who had written books on this topic was asked to summarize their assigned topic all on a piece of notebook paper during lunchtime.
I did not come close to finishing this. My recommendation is to use this book as a bibliography/primer, then go and find the real FULL book(s) on these complex topics and read them in their entirety.
The questions were not arranged in a logical order in the book.
The 'answers' felt like someone who had written books on this topic was asked to summarize their assigned topic all on a piece of notebook paper during lunchtime.
I did not come close to finishing this. My recommendation is to use this book as a bibliography/primer, then go and find the real FULL book(s) on these complex topics and read them in their entirety.