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Rutherford and Fry’s Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything (Abridged)

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( 1,762 ratings, 180 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In Rutherford and Fry’s Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything (Abridged), Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry take readers on an entertaining journey through the marvels of science. They explore fascinating topics from the natural world, human behaviour, and the cosmos, presenting complex ideas with wit and clarity. It's a fun and enlightening read that demystifies science for everyone.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy exploring a wide range of intriguing topics with a blend of humour and scientific insight. The authors provide witty and accessible explanations, making complex concepts engaging and understandable for curious minds.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The presenters of BBC Radio 4's flagship show, The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry, set about explaining why the world is as it is and celebrate how we know what we know (even while we get so much wrong).

In Rutherford and Fry's Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything (Abridged), they tell the complete story of the universe and absolutely everything in it—skipping over some of the boring parts. This is a celebration of the weirdness of the cosmos, the strangeness of humans, and the fact that amid all the mess, we can somehow make sense of life.

Our brains have evolved to tell us all sorts of things that feel intuitively right but just aren't true—the world looks flat, the stars seem fixed in the heavenly firmament, a day is 24 hours... This book is crammed full of tales of how stuff really works. With the power of science, Rutherford and Fry show us how to bypass our monkey-brains, taking us on a journey from the origin of time and space, via planets, galaxies, evolution, the dinosaurs, all the way into our minds, and wrestling with some truly head-scratching questions that only science can answer:

  • What is time, and where does it come from?
  • Why are animals the size and shape they are?
  • What is a thought?
  • How horoscopes work (Spoiler—they don't, but you think they do)
  • Does my dog love me?
  • Why nothing is truly round
  • Do you need your eyes to see?

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Reviewers praise Rutherford and Fry’s Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything (Abridged) for its engaging blend of wit, enthusiasm, clarity, and knowledge. The illustrations are highly commended, and the content is described as fascinating, multi-faceted, and surprising. The book is lauded for being funny, wise, and exceedingly brainy, making complex topics accessible and enjoyable.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780552176712

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 13 October 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin (Transworld)

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 209g

Pages: 304

About the Author

Adam Rutherford (Author) Adam Rutherford is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and geneticist at University College London. His books include A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, The Book of Humans, and the Sunday Times bestseller How to Argue with a Racist. He has written and presented numerous documentaries for BBC radio and television, including Inside Science and The Cell. Adam has also worked as a science advisor on many films, including the Oscar-winning Ex Machina (2015) and Annihilation (2018). Hannah Fry (Author) Hannah Fry is an Associate Professor in the mathematics of cities from University College London. She is also the author of The Mathematics of Love, The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus and Hello World and regularly writes for The New Yorker. In her day job she uses mathematical models to study patterns in human behaviour, and has worked with governments, police forces, health analysts and supermarkets. Her TED talks have amassed millions of views and she has fronted television documentaries for the BBC and PBS. With Adam she co-hosts the long-running science podcast, 'The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry' with the BBC.

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