Science Surprises
Science Surprises

Author: Vicki Cobb

Publisher: Sky Pony

Published: 2015-08-04

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9781632203168

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

With See for Yourself!, budding scientists can wow their teachers and classmates (and maybe win a ribbon or two) by learning: How to extract DNA from an onion How pigments from vegetables make dye How to make paper out of lint from a clothes dryer How to make a friend feel like he or she has a third hand What happens when you grow yeast in dandruff shampoo That tea and iron pills make excellent inks And much more! See for Yourself! includes experiments in the areas of chemistry, earth science, physical science, the human body, and technology, but the experiments all take their inspiration from very familiar places. The materials needed to execute the experiments can all be inexpensively purchased at the supermarket, the toy store, the hardware store, the stationery store, and the drugstore. Some of the experiments are quick and easy, while others are more challenging. Most include additional suggestions so that curious young scientists can keep on investigating.

Ignorance and Surprise
Ignorance and Surprise

Author: Matthias Gross

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2010-05-07

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 0262265613

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The relationship between ignorance and surprise and a conceptual framework for dealing with the unexpected, as seen in ecological design projects. Ignorance and surprise belong together: surprises can make people aware of their own ignorance. And yet, perhaps paradoxically, a surprising event in scientific research—one that defies prediction or risk assessment—is often a window to new and unexpected knowledge. In this book, Matthias Gross examines the relationship between ignorance and surprise, proposing a conceptual framework for handling the unexpected and offering case studies of ecological design that demonstrate the advantages of allowing for surprises and including ignorance in the design and negotiation processes. Gross draws on classical and contemporary sociological accounts of ignorance and surprise in science and ecology and integrates these with the idea of experiment in society. He develops a notion of how unexpected occurrences can be incorporated into a model of scientific and technological development that includes the experimental handling of surprises. Gross discusses different projects in ecological design, including Chicago's restoration of the shoreline of Lake Michigan and Germany's revitalization of brownfields near Leipzig. These cases show how ignorance and surprise can successfully play out in ecological design projects, and how the acknowledgment of the unknown can become a part of decision making. The appropriation of surprises can lead to robust design strategies. Ecological design, Gross argues, is neither a linear process of master planning nor a process of trial and error but a carefully coordinated process of dealing with unexpected turns by means of experimental practice.

The Little Giant Book of Science Facts
The Little Giant Book of Science Facts

Author: Glen Vecchione

Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9781402706530

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Hundreds of fascinating, flabbergasting, and sometimes freaky facts are at your disposal in this fun-sized compendium. Uncover animal oddities, including the fact that certain species of frogs can survive being frozen solid and thawed. Find out how strange people really are: Did you know that the average human produces 25,000 quarts of saliva in a lifetime—enough to fill two swimming pools? And there are botanical surprises, such as that bananas are actually herbs, plus science tidbits about the Earth, inventions, computers, and more.

Seven Pillars of Science
Seven Pillars of Science

Author: John Gribbin

Publisher: Icon Books

Published: 2020-09-24

Total Pages: 134

ISBN-13: 1785786571

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

John Gribbin, author of Six Impossible Things, shortlisted for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize, presents a tour of seven fundamental scientific truths that underpin our very existence. These 'pillars of science' also defy common sense. For example, solid things are mostly empty space, so how do they hold together? There appears to be no special 'life force', so how do we distinguish living things from inanimate objects? And why does ice float on water, when most solids don't? You might think that question hardly needs asking, and yet if ice didn't float, life on Earth would never have happened. The answers to all of these questions were sensational in their day, and some still are. Throughout history, science has been able to think the unthinkable - and Gribbin brilliantly shows the surprising secrets on which our understanding of life is based.

Surprises in Theoretical Physics
Surprises in Theoretical Physics

Author: Rudolf Ernst Peierls

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 1979-11-21

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9780691082424

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Problems in theoretical physics often lead to paradoxical answers; yet closer reasoning and a more complete analysis invariably lead to the resolution of the paradox and to a deeper understanding of the physics involved. Drawing primarily from his own experience and that of his collaborators, Sir Rudolf Peierls selects examples of such "surprises" from a wide range of physical theory, from quantum mechanical scattering theory to the theory of relativity, from irreversibility in statistical mechanics to the behavior of electrons in solids. By studying such surprises and learning what kind of possibilities to look for, he suggests, scientists may be able to avoid errors in future problems. In some cases the surprise is that the outcome of a calculation is contrary to what physical intuition seems to demand. In other instances an approximation that looks convincing turns out to be unjustified, or one that looks unreasonable turns out to be adequate. Professor Peierls does not suggest, however, that theoretical physics is a hazardous game in which one can never foresee the surprises a detailed calculation might reveal. Rather, he contends, all the surprises discussed have rational explanations, most of which are very simple, at least in principle. This book is based on the author's lectures at the University of Washington in the spring of 1977 and at the Institut de Physique Nucleaire, University de Paris-Sud, Orsay, during the winter of 1977-1978.

The Power of Surprise
The Power of Surprise

Author: Michael Rousell, PhD

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-09-15

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1538152428

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Rousell examines the rich and complex nuances of the science of surprise and shows us how we can use it strategically to enrich lives. Random events transform us. After studying formative events, moments that define us, for over three decades, Michael Rousell discovered that most of them took place during a spark of surprise. This breakthrough launched a fascinating journey from neuroscience to stand-up comedy. Rousell draws on research from a wide variety of brain science disciplines (cognition, motivation, neuroscience, psychology, artificial intelligence, persuasion, evolution, and learning), then examines those who already use surprise strategically (comedians, film directors, entertainers, magicians, and novelists). This examination illustrates the hidden, yet critical features inherent in surprise, while demystifying the complexities. Surprise evolved as a mechanism to instantly change our beliefs. Rousell shows how surprising events produce invisible influence because they open a window to spontaneous belief change with no warning or conscious awareness. You’ll see how seemingly minor features of surprise create profound differences and can be used to strategically enrich lives, create positive mindsets, and maximize influence.

Climate Surprises
Climate Surprises

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space

Publisher:

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Elements of Surprise
Elements of Surprise

Author: Vera Tobin

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 9780674919570

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Elements of Surprise opens with an novel but narrow focus: how a particular cognitive bias, the "curse of knowledge," underwrites stories that rely on what it calls "well-made surprise," as seen in (for example) classic detective fiction--that is, surprises in novels, films, television, and plays that set us up to be fooled in ways we find pleasing and satisfying. But from there, the book expands its reach. At its core, "cursed" thinking underlies almost everything people write, say, and think about both other people and our own pasts. The more information we have about something, and the more experience we have with it, the harder it is to step outside that experience. What unfolds is both a fresh approach to mental heuristics and biases and an ambitious work of cognitive literary criticism. Elements of Surprise provides a new and exciting way of thinking about the mechanics of narrative, explored through thoughtful readings of classic, popular, and obscure texts.--