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Book Review: Hidden in Plain Sight Offers Easy to Understand Physics

Physics isn’t the most popular book topic people gravitate towards when looking for a subject worthy of reading. Hidden in Plain Sight by Andrew Thomas provides a broad overview of modern physics. Even though the topics can be quite complex to lay readers this book has simplified the principles so that seemingly complex topics are covered parsimoniously. Two theories have dominated physics for more than a century. General relativity and quantum mechanics have allowed scientists to explore the universe with satellites and has led to new momentum in the space race. The two theories have not been well connected in literature. General relativity explains how objects relate to each other in space as well as the influence of gravitational forces on the movement of those objects. Quantum mechanics helped scientists develop the laser, computers, and other high processing products. It is possible to argue that general relativity is about big things while quantum mechanics looks a

Book Review: The Philosophy of Science A Very Short Introduction

The Philosophy of Science A Very Short Introduction by Samir Okasha discusses the very nature of science and what it means to engage in scientific thinking. The book will bring you through the definitions of science, scientific reasoning, realism and anti-realism, scientific revolutions and philosophical problems. It is solid reading for students and laypeople that desire to get a basic grasp of science. Science started in the 1400 to 1700 with people like Copernicus who built a model of the universe and Aristotle who put forward ideas of physics, biology, astronomy and cosmology. Science is a way in which we think about the world (i.e. scientific mindset) and how we compare and contrast elements to come to conclusions of the world in which we live.  A key component of science is a concept called falsifiable brought forward by Karl Popper. All theories and predictions must be falsifiable in the sense that experience can determine them wrong over time. Pseudo-science was

Book Review: The Way of Science

The Way of Science-Finding Truth and Meaning in a Scientific Worldview by Dennis Trumble discusses trying to find meaning in today’s world through science. He delves into a number of concepts such as human nature, society, and religion. He appears to fight for two concepts such as knowing science and knowing truth.  The book spends some time exploring scientific thinking and how important it is for people to understand science in their everyday lives. If people understood science they wouldn’t be subject to half the beliefs that society and religion passes onto them. They would understand truth in a different way and would have a better grasp of the world around them.  He is an advocate of critical thinking. To him people who think critically can see the science behind life and can weigh and balance the multiple concepts to come to a truth. Truth is seeing situations as they are without the falsities of culture, religion, and misguided beliefs. To the author, it appears