A Human's Guide to the Future by Jordan Nguyen

$34.99 AUD

Category: Science

TECHNOLOGY IS EVOLVING AT THE FASTEST RATE WE'VE EVER SEEN, BUT IT MAY BE THE SLOWEST RATE WE'LL EVER SEE AGAIN! What does this mean for the future of the human race? Do we resist these changes or embrace them?Australian biomedical engineer, inventor and visionary Dr Jordan Nguyen has lived a life of cu riosity and wonder - exploring positive opportunities in science and technology, including robotics, artificial intelligence, bionics, extended reality and avatars. He believes that technology is a powerful tool that we as humans can choose to harness to create a better tomorrow.In A Human's Guide to the Future, Dr Jordan takes us on a journey through the big innovations being developed around the world, along the fun and amazing rollercoaster of his own adventures, and to envisage where our collective future is headed.Written by one of this generation's most exciting voices, this is a book that will deepen your understanding of new and emerging technologies and fuel your imagination at the dawn of what will be the most transformative era in human history. ...Show more

Stuff You Should Know: An Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things by Josh Clark Josh Clark and Chuck Brya

$32.99 AUD

Category: Science

Is the Moon Upside Down? by Greg Quicke

$29.99 AUD

Category: Science

During his younger days working as a bush mechanic and pearl diver in remote WA, Greg Quick spent countless nights lying in a swag and staring at the stars. That daily distraction grew into a passion that has seen him become one of Australia's best known and most engaging astronomers. In recent years Gr eg - aka 'Space Gandalf' - has taken on cult status among audiences via his appearances alongside Professor Brian Cox in the hit TV series Stargazing Live. Greg's practical explanations of the complexities of space have also earned him respect from astronomers around the world. Is The Moon Upside Down?is an absorbing guided tour of the cosmos as seen through Greg's eyes. Unlike many of his peers who studied at university he offers a unique and refreshing perspective on astronomy that was instead forged on cliff tops outside Alice Springs, in the endless expanse of the Great Sandy Desert, on the floor of the Indian Ocean and in his own front yard in Broome. No matter what mysteries you've pondered about Earth's astral dance with the Sun, planets, Moon and the stars, it's guaranteed Greg has thought about them too, and the answers can be found in the pages of this book.   ...Show more

The Secret Life of Stars: Astrophysics for Everyone by HARVEY-SMITH LISA

$34.99 AUD

Category: Science

The Secret Life of Stars takes us on a cosmic journey to meet some of the weirdest, most extreme and enigmatic stars in the universe.‘Astrophysics made fun!’Pam Melroy, former astronaut and space shuttle commander‘The most enjoyable stroll through the cosmos’Gerry Griffin, former flight director, Apollo Mission ControlWe all know the Sun, the powerhouse of our solar system, but what about Luyten’s Flare, the Rosino-Zwicky Object or Chanal’s variable star? For those whose curiosity takes them far beyond Earth’s atmosphere, The Secret Life of Stars offers a personal and readily understood introduction to some of the Galaxy’s most remarkable stars.Each chapter connects us to the various different and unusual stars and their amazing characteristics and attributes, from pulsars, blue stragglers and white dwarfs to cannibal stars and explosive supernovae. With chapter illustrations by Eirian Chapman, this book brings to life the remarkable personalities of these stars, reminding readers what a diverse and unpredictable universe we live in and how fortunate we are to live around a stable star, our Sun. ...Show more

Wonderful Life With The Elements by Bunpei Yorifuji

$29.99 AUD

Category: Science

From the brilliant mind of Japanese artist Bunpei Yorifuji comes Wonderful Life with the Elements, an illustrated guide to the periodic table that gives chemistry a friendly face. Look hydrogen in the eye, run your fingers through carbon's bushy beard, admire the glorious shine of iodine's bulbous head- in Yorifuji's periodic paradise, the elements are people too. And once you've met them, you'll never forget them. ...Show more

There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important Than Kindness - And Other Thoughts on Physics, Philosophy and the World by Carlo Rovelli

$35.00 AUD

Category: Science

One of the most inspiring and counter-intuitive thinkers of our age, the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, transforms the way we think about the world with his reflections on science, history and humanity In this collection of writings, the logbook of an intelligence always on the mo ve, Carlo Rovelli follows his curiosity and invites us on a voyage through science, history, philosophy and politics. Written with his usual clarity and wit, these pieces range widely across time and space: from Newton's alchemy to Einstein's mistakes, from Nabokov's butterflies to Dante's cosmology, from travels in Africa to the consciousness of an octopus, from mind-altering psychedelic substances to the meaning of atheism. Charming, pithy and elegant, this book is the perfect gateway to the universe of one of the most influential scientists of our age. ...Show more

Metazoa : the Evolution of Animals, Minds, Consciousness and Sleep by Peter Godfrey-Smith

$32.99 AUD

Category: Science

From the human being to the octopus, the shark to the humble sea squirt, all animals are physical beings made up entirely of cells. And yet they can think, to varying degrees. How did this come to be? How did a mind first grow from the matter that is the body? And at what stage did that clump of cells b ecome a 'self'? In Metazoa, Peter Godfrey-Smith, author of the bestselling Other Minds looks beyond the octopus to the complexity of the whole animal kingdom, exploring the origins of consciousness and grappling with the greatest mystery of evolution. Metazoa (the biological term encompassing all animals), covers, with various degrees of detail, the main stages in animal evolution: the long period of life before animals, the enigmatic period known as the Ediacaran, in which the first animal fossils were laid down, then the Cambrian, the period that rapidly gave rise to most of the familiar animal forms. Then, in a few distinct evolutionary lines, the appearance of bodies with a set of unusual capacities: bodies with eyes and other senses that can track objects in space, bodies that can freely move and bodies with tools for the manipulation of objects. And the bringing together of these capacities would have pivotal consequences for the evolution of the brain and hence the evolution of consciousness. There is much to marvel at in the natural world. But take a moment to wonder at the fact that we can marvel at all. ...Show more

The Comedy of Error: Why Evolution Made Us Laugh by Jonathan Silvertown

$29.99 AUD

Category: Science

What is humour? Why do we laugh? And why is the root of a good joke almost always error? Good jokes, bad jokes, clever jokes, dad jokes -- the desire to laugh is universal. But why do we find some gags hilarious, whilst others fall flat? Why does explaining a joke make it less amusing rather than more s o? Why is laughter contagious, and why did it evolve in the first place? Using the oldest jokes and the latest science, in The Comedy of Error, Professor Jonathan Silvertown investigates why we laugh: from laughter's evolutionary origins, to similarities and differences in humour across cultures, and even why being funny makes us sexier. As this unique book demonstrates, understanding how humour really works can provide endless entertainment. ...Show more

The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson

$22.99 AUD

Category: Science

'We spend our whole lives in one body and yet most of us have practically no idea how it works and what goes on inside it. The idea of the book is simply to try to understand the extraordinary contraption that is us.' Bill Bryson sets off to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable a bility to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up. A wonderful successor to A Short History of Nearly Everything, this new book is an instant classic. It will have you marvelling at the form you occupy, and celebrating the genius of your existence, time and time again. 'What I learned is that we are infinitely more complex and wondrous, and often more mysterious, than I had ever suspected. There really is no story more amazing than the story of us.' THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A directory of wonders.' - The Guardian 'Jaw-dropping.' - The Times 'Classic, wry, gleeful Bryson...an entertaining and absolutely fact-rammed book.' - The Sunday Times ...Show more

How To by Randall Munroe

$22.99 AUD

Category: Science

Randall Munroe is . . .'Nerd royalty' Ben Goldacre 'Totally brilliant' Tim Harford 'Laugh-out-loud funny' Bill Gates 'Wonderful' Neil Gaiman AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally bad that no one would ever t ry it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole. Bestselling author and cartoonist Randall Munroe explains how to predict the weather by analyzing the pixels of your Facebook photos. He teaches you how to tell if you're a baby boomer or a millennial by measuring the radioactivity of your teeth. He offers tips for taking a selfie with a telescope, crossing a river by boiling it, and getting to your appointments on time by destroying the moon. And if you want to get rid of this book once you're done with it, he walks you through your options for proper disposal, including dissolving it in the ocean, converting it to a vapour, using tectonic plates to subduct it into the Earth's mantle, or launching it into the sun. By exploring the most complicated ways to do simple tasks, Munroe doesn't just make things difficult for himself and his readers. As he did so brilliantly in What If?, he invites us to explore the most absurd reaches of the possible. Full of clever infographics and amusing illustrations, How To is a delightfully mind-bending way to better understand the science and technology underlying the things we do every day. ...Show more

Adam Spencer's Numberland by Adam Spencer

$34.99 AUD

Category: Science | Reading Level: 4 Non Fiction

Australia's funniest mathematician returns in 2019 with more rollicking romps through the world of science, technology, numbers and all things nerdy. This terrific new fully illustrated title follows on from Adam's bestselling Big Book of Numbers (2014); World of Numbers (2015), Time Machine (2016), The Number Games (2017), and Top 100 (2018), and is packed full of fascinating facts, tantalising trivia, brainbusting number puzzles, and much much more. Praise for Adam Spencer's Big Book of Numbers:  'If you find this book boring, you should be in a clinic!' John Cleese 'Funny yet with hidden depths, like its author. A brilliant introduction to the world of numbers.' Brian Cox 'Even the page numbers will start to look fascinating once you've read this book!' Amanda Keller 'Every bright young mind in Australia should read Adam Spencer's Big Book of Numbers - and we oldies would benefit, too.' Peter FitzSimons ...Show more

Letters from an Astrophysicist by Neil deGrasse Tyson

$19.99 AUD

Category: Science

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has attracted one of the world's largest online followings with his fascinating, widely accessible insights into science and our universe. Now, Tyson invites us to go behind the scenes of his public fame by unveiling his candid correspondence with people across the glo be who have sought him out in search of answers. In this hand-picked collection of 100 letters, Tyson draws upon cosmic perspectives to address a vast array of questions about science, faith, philosophy, life, and of course, Pluto. His succinct, opinionated, passionate, and often funny responses reflect his popularity and standing as a leading educator. Tyson's 2017 best seller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry offered more than one million readers an insightful and accessible understanding of the universe. Now, revealing Tyson's most candid and heartfelt writing yet, Letters from an Astrophysicist introduces us to a newly personal dimension of Tyson's quest to understand our place in the cosmos. The full list of narrators includes Victor Bevine, Gabriel Vaughan, Lauren Fortgang, Neil Hellegers, Kevin Free, Vikas Adam, Nick Sullivan, Gabra Zackman, Allyson Johnson, Brandon Rubin, and Piper Goodeve. ...Show more