Just A Theory: Exploring the Nature of Science
Moti Ben-Ari
Prometheus Books, Amherst New York 2005, ISBN 1-59102-285-1
This is not a simple book, though it is easy to
read. It tells you about the four basic
forces, Gödel’s theorem, a now
famous hoax due to the well-known American scientist Alan Sokal, extra-terrestrial
life and other interesting aspects of modern physics. The author, furthermore, does not pull any punches: for example,
he remarks that the notion that the Apollo moon landings were faked by NASA is “a
ridiculous claim”, and he attempts to make it very clear that (as will be obvious
to readers) science is very different from fiction; he also spends some time on
extra-terrestrial life and similar questions.
On the other hand, there are straightforward sections on Newton, Darwin
and on the famous (but less well-known) mathematician Emmy Noether. On balance, the book can be warmly recommended
to beginners as well as to mature readers.
Peter T. Landsberg
Southampton