The Edge of the Unknown: 101 Things You Don't Know about Science - and No One Else Does, Either [Hardcover]

James Trefil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 1996

James Trefil takes the reader on a thrilling tour across the borders of current scientific knowledge. From astronomy to genetics, from information technology to cosmology, he surveys the great contested questions that preoccupy researchers today and will become the headlines of tomorrow. In a series of elegant three-page summations, written with wit and wisdom, Dr. Trefil predicts the course of future breakthroughs over the whole range of the sciences. The Edge of the Unknown asks and answers such questions as: Is there an asteroid in our future? What's the likelihood of discovering proof of extraterrestrial intelligence? Can we reasonably hope to cure brain tumors with an injection? What's the future of "designer drugs" and DNA repair? Will we ever understand consciousness? Are physicists on the verge of discovering the origin of the universe? How worried should we be about killer bees and mutant viruses? The Edge of the Unknown is the perfect book and ideal gift for browsers of the s

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Perfect for "Did you know . . .?" barroom conversations, this handy volume--intended more as a reference book for browsing than a sequential narrative--includes a chapter on the top 10 problems in modern science and explains the outer frontiers of current biology and physics knowledge to the layman. String theory, neurobiology, chaos theory: all are touched on lightly and concisely as Trefil describes key concepts in a broad range of scientific enigmas. With its excellent bibliography, this book could provide the springboard for many further excursions in scientific literature.

From Publishers Weekly

Overlook the fatuous subtitle; here is a competent and sometimes fascinating tour of the frontiers of scientific inquiry. Trefil, a physicist with 20 previous popular science titles to his credit, has chosen an interesting premise: drawing from all the major disciplines, he presents 101 scientific questions, their theoretical underpinnings and likely resolutions, each in no more than three pages. Lay readers will appreciate being able to satisfy their curiosity about the likelihood of time travel, the causes of cancer and the future of the computer with this user-friendly resource. Trefil has a gift for constructing useful analogies?it is no mean feat to explain quasars or dark matter or the intricacies of the human immune system in just a few pages. However, the book lacks an overarching theme, unless it is a pervasive admiration for the accomplishments of the scientific community, and lacks connective tissue between sections and chapters. Readers may wonder how fuzzy logic, treated in one chapter, relates to the binary functioning of computers, discussed in several others. But they will come away sharing the author's respect and awe for the achievements of those who scan the geometric surfaces of viruses and construct molecular remedies for deadly diseases, probe the chaotic system of the earth's atmosphere and even try to save us from our genetically encoded craving for fat.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 355 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1ST edition (October 24, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395728622
• ISBN-13: 978-0395728628
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,615,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an interesting exploration of scientific wonders in..., July 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Edge of the Unknown: 101 Things You Don't Know about Science - and No One Else Does, Either (Hardcover)

An interesting exploration of scientific wonders in easy to read 3 page sections. As the author says , this is not meant to be read cover to cover.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Pertaining, July 6, 1998

By 

[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Edge of the Unknown: 101 Things You Don't Know about Science - and No One Else Does, Either (Hardcover)

Trefil's book does contain 101 of the most fascinating unanswered questions of our time. This book is an excellent source for grad students looking for a dissertation as well as for the average person just wanting to learn a little more on science. Admittedly he doesn't go into a lot of detail, but that is part of the books charm, he keeps it short.

4.0 out of 5 stars Stuffed full of fascinating stuff, March 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Edge of the Unknown: 101 Things You Don't Know about Science - and No One Else Does, Either (Hardcover)

If, like me, you were learning to fix cars or skipping class when everyone else in your high school was dissecting frogs, but you always had an interest in science, this book is well worth reading.

It's more of a spot-reference book than anything else; for detailed information, you'd need to look elsewhere. The author takes a brief, yet informative look at some of the hottest topics in science today (while pointing out that what's foremost in the popular mind isn't always what researchers are most interested in). Some of the questions are as old as thought itself: why does the universe exist? Why do we get old? Why haven't we cured the common cold? Will we ever invent a thinking machine?

There's stuff in here that's been examined in science fiction, and a few theories so esoteric that I suspect even Larry Niven never would have thought of them. You come away with the realization that, contrary to what they teach you in school, science *doesn't* have all the answers; scientists look at the universe with as much wonder and curiosity as the rest of us