William Hartston is a Cambridge-educated mathematician and industrial psychologist. Between 1962 and 1987 he played chess competitively, becoming an international master and winning the English chess championship in 1973 and 1975. He also writes the off-beat Beachcomber column for the Daily Express and and is one of the viewers on Channel 4's Gogglebox.
Each mystery is delightfully penned in bite-sized chunks that often
includes humorous repertoire... highly enjoyable... Captivating and
inspiring
*New Scientist*
Properly researched, and the elegance of its pop-cosmology or
pop-biology mini-narratives rivals that of many specialists. It is
slyly witty, and pleasingly optimistic.
*Guardian*
Discovering the many undiscovered things that one thought had been
discovered already is one of the joys of this book... You might
have thought that wallowing in ignorance is a tedious and fruitless
occupation. As Hartston proves entertainingly, how wrong you would
be.
*Daily Express*
A rigorous and playful exploration of human limits in scientific
knowledge about the planet, its history and culture, and the
universe beyond
*Publishers Weekly*
A delightful collection for trivia buffs and browsers.
*Booklist*
With an epigraph from Thoreau about the necessity of ignorance for personal growth, it's clear from the start of the book that it isn't Hartson's intention to clarify these 501 mysteries. He provides plenty of interesting information, but most of it comes in the form of speculation as to why certain questions-"At what speed did J.S. Bach intend his compositions to be played?"; "Why do narwhals have spiral tusks?"; "Is free will an illusion caused by quantum uncertainty?"; "Can yeast think"-remain (and in some cases will forever remain) unanswered. Readers looking for answers will be thwarted at every turn, but those hoping to learn a little more about what they don't know have a reliable guide in Hartson, a Cambridge-educated mathematician, two-time British chess champ, industrial psychologist, and master question-asker. Hartson (The Encyclopedia of Useless Information) is admirably game to tackle any subject: biology, philosophy, history, geology, physics, fantasy-it's all here, organized according to topic. With humor and an inquiring mind, he examines perennially confounding quandaries, and his investigations will surely pique the curiosity of kids and scholars alike. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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