To quote the great modern philosopher, David Malki ! (the exclamation point is part of his name - and technically he's a cartoonist, but they are the philosophers of our generation):
Oh, and Louise has also squeezed in a shameless plug for the upcoming Great Book Swap for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Good job, Louise!
Louise Cottrell read A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson
Did you
know that after much controversy Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet, and
that the diagrams of the solar system that appear in textbooks are not to scale?
Apparently if Earth was the size of a pea than Pluto would be over 1 kilometre
away.
Did you know that we base our theories of human evolution on the fragmented remains of roughly 5000 individuals, the combined pieces of which, if you threw it all together, would fit comfortably in the back of a ute?
The insides of things are beautiful - let's see what they look like.We're seeing out August's theme of "Science and Mathematics" in our Reading Challenge by showcasing a number of books that look at how things work.
Oh, and Louise has also squeezed in a shameless plug for the upcoming Great Book Swap for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Good job, Louise!
Louise Cottrell read A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson
Did you know that we base our theories of human evolution on the fragmented remains of roughly 5000 individuals, the combined pieces of which, if you threw it all together, would fit comfortably in the back of a ute?
A Short History of Nearly Everything is a fascinating exploration of
notoriously dry topics. Chemistry, physics, biology, geology, and pretty much
any other physical science you care to name, are explored to one extent or
another. What I really liked about this book was the history and human elements
that Bryson uses to flesh out the science facts. I learnt about some of the
greatest feuds in scientific history, chemists who experimented on themselves
and that “Volcanologists may or may not be the worst scientists in the world at
making predictions, but they are without question the worst in the world at
realising how bad their predictions are” (p. 275).
The Library
has copies of this book at 500 BRY. My personal copy will appear in the GreatBook Swap the JCU Library is holding on the 4th of September.
Author I
have never read, non-fiction, 500 BRY
Sharon Bryan read What Makes it Go? by Joe Kaufman.
Joe Kaufman was an author and illustrator in the 60s, 70s and 80s, who specialised in non-fiction works for children. You may have memories of his Little Golden Book Things in My House (a book featuring pictures of things you might find in your house - like, say, a hammer or a sock - in no particular order), or perhaps you learnt all about mammals and birds from Joe Kaufman's Big Book of Mammal's and Birds? Kaufman had a knack (as only mid-20th century illustrators did) of creating images that were both scientifically accurate and entirely cartoonish at the same time.
In What Makes it Go?, Kaufman takes us through the basic inner workings of everything from a vacuum cleaner to the Apollo capsule. There are technical(ish) drawings showing how a toilet works, but also glorious spreads showing various train engines, cars, aircraft and the like. Everything is so 70s it makes you want to start disco dancing (handily, he also tells you how a record player works).
Some of the descriptions are a bit, shall we say, "interesting". He describes how television works by getting you to imagine sending someone a jumper through a keyhole by unravelling it at one end and re-knitting it at the other. Maybe kids in the 70s were more down with knitting patterns than I am, I don't know, but that didn't make things clearer for me. And while Kaufman does explain how a toaster works, he doesn't explain why no toaster ever invented has ever worked well for long...
Non-Fiction, c500 KAU
Gabriella Rogina read Roller Coaster Science – 50 Wet, Wacky, Wild, Dizzy Experiments, by Jim Wiese.
Interesting that this month’s focus on Science and Math is particularly relevant as my home life is currently filled with experiments, forces, mixtures and parabolas! Why? My high-school age children are learning new scientific topics where I thought an explanation through a ‘hands-on’ approach may help it ‘sink in’. Not only does the library provide information for university life, there are books in the collection that will cater for the whole family. I was looking for a book to simplify how these scientific things happen when I found Roller Coaster Science – 50 Wet, Wacky, Wild, Dizzy Experiments.
So off we went experimenting! We began with the parabola experiment that turned out to be an easy throwing exercise (although best suited to the outdoors). Next, learning about forces I discover that this is safer on a playground swing rather than measuring “how many g’s do you feel” when driving around a corner! Experimenting with bubbles, making fairy floss and heaps of other fun activities in the book demonstrate that science is all around us. Jim Wiese keeps things simple with his experiments and most of the equipment needed is already at home or at the park. This book was fun and educational all at the same time – double tick.
Author I haven’t read before, non-fiction, c507.8 WIE
Non-Fiction, c500 KAU
Gabriella Rogina read Roller Coaster Science – 50 Wet, Wacky, Wild, Dizzy Experiments, by Jim Wiese.
So off we went experimenting! We began with the parabola experiment that turned out to be an easy throwing exercise (although best suited to the outdoors). Next, learning about forces I discover that this is safer on a playground swing rather than measuring “how many g’s do you feel” when driving around a corner! Experimenting with bubbles, making fairy floss and heaps of other fun activities in the book demonstrate that science is all around us. Jim Wiese keeps things simple with his experiments and most of the equipment needed is already at home or at the park. This book was fun and educational all at the same time – double tick.
Author I haven’t read before, non-fiction, c507.8 WIE
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