December 12, 2012

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Book Review: This is Improbable

By Scicurious

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

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Have you ever wondered how the ideal bottle of liquid would glug when you tried to pour it out? How the sound of a potato chip's crunch changes how crispy you think it is? How stuffing your bra could influence your hitchhiking skills?

You may recall that Sci covered this year's (and last year's) wonderful and hilarious IgNobel Prizes! The Ignobel Prizes are the brainchild of Marc Abrahams, who covers weird and wild and WONDERFUL science. And it's science done with a purpose. Now granted, not all people know the real, deep purpose behind the physics of falling cats, but I have no doubt it exists.

And if you love the IgNobel prizes, be prepared. Because now you can have them all year round with Marc's new book "This Is Improbable: Cheese String Theory, Magnetic Chickens, and Other WTF Research". I got my hands on a copy, and have reviewed it over at Neurotic Physiology. Head over and check it out!

Scicurious has a PhD in Physiology from a Southern institution. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from another respected Southern institution. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher at a celebrated institution that is very fancy and somewhere else. Her professional interests are in neurophysiology and psychiatric disorders. She recently obtained her PhD and is pursuing her love of science and writing at the same time. She often blogs in the third person. For more information about Scicurious and to view her recent award and activities, please see her CV ( http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/a-scicurious-cv/)

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