ABSTRACT

A Random Walk in Science provides insight into the wit and intellect of the scientific mind through a blend of amusing and serious contributions written by and about scientists. The book records changing attitudes within science and mirrors the interactions of science with society. Some of the contributors include Lewis Carroll, Isaac Newton, Jonathan Swift, and James Clark Maxwell. This entertaining anthology covers Murphy's Law, the trial of Galileo, life on Earth, Gulliver's computer, and much more.

Chapters Include: When does jam become marmalade? The transit of Venus. Heaven is hotter than Hell. A contribution to the mathematical theory of big game hunting. Arrogance in physics. Gulliver's computer. Life on Earth (by a Martian). How radar began. The Mason-Dixon line. The trial of Galileo. In defence of pure research. A theory of ghosts.