Book Review: We Have No Idea, A Guide to the Unknown Universe by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson

 

(Jacket design by Jorge Cham, Penguin Random House Riverhead Books)

If you are looking for an entertaining book on cosmology, We Have No Idea fits the bill. Authors Cham and Whiteson begin the book with a few chapters on what makes up the universe where we learn that it consists mostly of dark matter and dark energy. Fitting for the title of the book, scientists still know little about 95% of the universe.

To make the material easier to read, the book is generously illustrated by Cham with cartoon-style drawings.

Footnotes include science humor topics. For example, footnote 68 refers readers to the website: Has the Large Hadron Collider destroyed the world yet?

While providing a humorous example, I found their explanation of the difference of philosophical and scientific theories to be very easy to understand. Essentially, theories need to be testable to be deemed scientific.

 Another topic explored is string theory. Those who like the post, The Very Samll and the Very Big will like the chapter "How Many Dimensions are There?" 

Book’s website: We Have No Idea by Jorge Cham, Daniel Whiteson: 9780735211520 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books