Customer Reviews

Einstein Simplified, Revised Edition: Cartoons on Science

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This one's hard to write a review on -- you kinda have to see the cartoons yourself, and you'll either laugh or you won't. My bet is if you're even considering buying the book, you'll laugh at 'em. And you'll find at least a few worth passing around or pasting on your office door. They cover the gamut of science and engineering topics.

I'm not a scientist and don't pretend or intend to be. Nevertheless, I thought this book was hilarious. Harris does for science and technology what Scott Adams (who created the *Dilbert* cartoon) does for the business world. He illustrates the funny sides of the scientific and technological environments in such a simple and funny way that just about everyone can enjoy it.

If you have even the remotest interest in science and/or technology . . . or even if you just think that some of what goes on in those environments can be a little wacky or bizarre at times, then this book will definitely make you laugh out loud.

this book is for the science enthusiast. i bought the book 3 years ago and i still enjoy leafing through and reading the cartoons. i highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys intelligent humor because you will get a good laugh.

... it would be necessary to invent him.

It's not just that his comics are really funny. They certainly are, but they also use real issues in science and public perception of it to make real points. Like that counter in a department store selling "Pheromones: Lanvin, Dior, Chanel, ..." Or that general telling that scientist "All we want is something new that will incapacitate the enemy without giving us bad press." Some strike just a bit close to home for me, like the labs labeled "Research" and "Development," with the lab labelled "Bottlenecks" standing between them.

The most remarkable thing is how current so many of these issues are: genetic engineering, environmental pollution, chemical hazards, and more. These comics were originally printed between 1971 and 1986, 20-35 years ago now, and the only thing dated about them is occasional bell-bottoms! They're still as pertinent (and sometimes impertinent) as ever.

Maybe what makes these comics last so well is that, even if the science changes, the scientists don't. They just as human and just a fallible now as two thousand years ago, and they're the real subjects of Harris's affectionate gibes.

-- wiredweird

Now in a newly revised and expanded edition, Einstein Simplified: Cartoons On Science by Sidney Harris (easily one of America's most acclaimed science cartoonists) brings originality, insight, and appreciation for the oddities, quirks, eccentricities, and occasional culture shocks that the contemporary sciences so often inject into our ordinary (and often extraordinary) daily life. Demonstrably doing for science what Scott Adams' "Dilbert" cartoons have done for business, Einstein Simplified will delight scientists, academicians, and non-specialist general readers alike!