{pictured: science being awesome}
I know what you are saying right now, "Well golly, it sure has been a long time since Kelsi has posted anything." That is what you were saying RIGHT GUYS because I know all you ever do is sit at the computer and wait for me to post on the book blog.
Well today is your lucky day! Because whilst on break at work, I conquered my latest volume of knowledge: The Prism and the Pendulum by Robert P. Crease.
This particular reading was a break in form for me: a nonfiction book that basically listed and described the ten "most beautiful" experiments in science, plus some reasoning and argument for why they could be considered beautiful. Among the experiments listed: Eratosthenes' measurement of the earth's circumference, Foucalt's pendulum, and Millikan's oil-drop (are any of these familiar to you folks? Because none were familiar to me before I read this book. I ain't no science nerd.) Between every chapter describing and analyzing each experiment, there was a chapter that discussed beauty, perception, artistry, and other such topics.
I won't attempt to deceive you: there were parts of this book that bored me. But that is only because I have a very limited understanding and interest in the scientific discipline. What kept me going was Crease's obvious passion on the subject. You could just tell by reading The Prism and the Pendulum that he has this big crush on physics, and it's super cute. In all seriousness, though, I find it fascinating to listen to people discuss and explain the things they love. It can keep me interested in even the most inaccessible subjects.
My favorite experiment to read about was Newton's leaning tower experiment. OKAY THAT'S A LIE I really just wanted to reference Isaac Newton so I could link this comic, because what would this blog post be without a link to my favorite webcomic? NOTHING. It would be NOTHING.
Next up I am going to try to finish Reconstructing America but trust me, it's taking forever. Probably because I finally acquired my own copy of The Hunger Games and now I spend all of my spare time re-reading that marvelous tome.
5 comments:
I know I'm a total nerd, but I think these kind of books are awesome. I love that they make science accessible to people who aren't scientists. And just so everyone knows, LEARNING IS FUN!
p.s. in further testament to my nerdiness, I TOTALLY KNEW ABOUT THE AFORE-MENTIONED EXPERIMENTS!
this was a funny post. I can totally relate to reading books that im necessarily not interested in but the author really loves the subject....... ps. i heart hark a vagrant
Kelsi, I bet you didn't think I read your book blog but I do. When I was reading As I Lay Dying I wasn't interested in the subject and the author didn't seem passionate about anything except isolation and a lack of sentence structure, so I can't really relate. So there you go.
Natasha! You read our book blog! This makes my day.
Yes yes, I am well aware of your intense and burning hatred for William Faulkner, thank you for attempting to open that can of worms. What did interest me about "The Prism and the Pendulum" was the points the author brought up in suggesting that science can be beautiful. I mean, can science be beautiful in the traditional sense of the word? What is the traditional sense of the word? Et cetera.
Well, when I think of science, and math problems, and formulas creating something beautiful I think of Disneyland because of how the rides or even the buildings provide an atmosphere for children to truly believe in magic. Creating magic out of science, I think, is a beautiful concept.
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