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Space Oddities: The Mysterious Anomalies Challenging Our Understanding of the Universe

This superb study by University of Cambridge particle physicist Cliff (How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch) examines contemporary physics’ most intriguing mysteries through profiles of the scientists trying to solve them … Cliff’s lucid explanations do a remarkable job of making the complicated physics accessible and even exciting, and the focus on the scientists’ stories ensconces the heady ideas in approachable, human narratives. This is a first-rate dispatch from the cutting edge of physics. Read more

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Three Authors Named Winners of Science + Literature Awards

The National Book Foundation has teamed with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to honor books that wed two categories not always in harmony: technology and the arts. On Wednesday, the two organizations announced the inaugural winners of the Science + Literature awards, $10,000 honors for books, fiction or nonfiction, “that deepen readers’ understanding of science and technology.” The winners are Daisy Hernández’s “The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease”; Linda Hogan’s “The Radiant Lives of Animals,” a blend of poetry and prose; and Rachel Pastan’s “In the Field: A Novel,” inspired by the life of Nobel-winning cytogeneticist Barbara McClintock. Read more

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How to Talk to a Science Denier

“Climate change is a hoax—and so is coronavirus.” “Vaccines are bad for you.” These days, many of our fellow citizens reject scientific expertise and prefer ideology to facts. They are not merely uninformed—they are misinformed. They cite cherry-picked evidence, rely on fake experts, and believe conspiracy theories. How can we convince such people otherwise? How can we get them to change their minds and accept the facts when they don’t believe in facts? In this book, Lee McIntyre shows that anyone can fight back against science deniers, and argues that it’s important to do so. Science denial can kill. Read more

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Is Poe the most influential American writer? A new book offers evidence.

Is Poe really the most influential American writer? Note that I didn’t say “greatest,” for which there must be at least a dozen viable candidates. But consider his radiant originality. Before his death in 1849 at age 40, Poe largely created the modern short story, while also inventing or perfecting half the genres represented on the bestseller list, including the mystery (“The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Gold-Bug”), science fiction (“The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,” “The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion”), psychological suspense (“The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado”) and, of course, gothic horror (“The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” the incomparable “Ligeia”). Read more

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