The Limits of Genius

Name: The Limits of Genius
Brand: Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand
SKU: 9781472294074
Price: 39.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

The Surprising Stupidity of the World's Greatest Minds

By Katie Spalding

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Summary

The Limits of Genius reveals the amusingly fine line between genius and folly by exploring the quirky, baffling, and downright foolish antics of history's most celebrated figures. From Marie Curie's disregard for lab safety to Lord Byron's eccentric companionship with a bear, Katie Spalding uncovers the unexpected sides of famous individuals who, despite their brilliance, demonstrated surprising lapses in common sense.
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Format: Paperback / softback

$39⁹⁹

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The Limits of Genius

$39⁹⁹

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 will appeal to readers interested in science and history with a humorous twist, especially those curious about the untold, humanising quirks of famous geniuses.

A hilarious look at how the line between 'genius' and 'extremely lucky idiot' is finer than we'd like to admit.

Description

A hilarious look at how the line between "genius" and "extremely lucky idiot" is finer than we'd like to admit.

The more you delve into the stories behind history's greatest names, the more you realise they have something in common: a mystifying lack of common sense. Take Marie Curie, famous for both discovering radioactivity and having absolutely zero lab safety protocols. Or Lord Byron, who literally took a bear with him to university. Or James Glaisher, a hot-air balloon pioneer who nearly ended up as the world's first human satellite...

From Nikola Tesla falling in love with a pigeon to non-swimmer Albert Einstein's near-fatal love of sailing holidays, The Limits of Genius is filled with examples of the so-called brightest and best of humanity doing, to put it bluntly, some really dumb shit. These are the stories that deserve to be told but never are: the hilarious, regrettable and downright baffling lesser-known achievements of the men and women who somehow managed to bungle their way into our history books.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781472294074

Publisher: Headline Publishing Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 25 May 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Wildfire

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 232.0mm

Weight: 440g

Pages: 352

Collections

Education & Reference History & Archaeology History & Military Humour Katie Spalding Non-Fiction Science & Nature

About the Author

Katie Spalding spent ten years of her life studying maths, which is just about the upper limit on how much maths you can do before people start actively avoiding you at parties. Ironically, the high point of her academic career was appearing on University Challenge twice, during which times she answered zero questions on maths or science but performed surprisingly well on the 'historical cross-dressers' and 'New World monkeys' round. Katie now writes for the science news website IFLScience, and has supplied research for the TV show QI and its sister podcast No Such Thing as a Fish.

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The Limits of Genius

By Katie Spalding

Paperback

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