The Great Unknown: Seven Journeys to the Frontiers of Science

Brilliant and fascinating. No one is better at making the recondite accessible and exciting. Bill Bryson A captivating journey to the outer frontiers of human knowledge by the popular presenter of Netflix s The Story of Maths Ever since the dawn of civilization we have been driven by a desire to know to understand the physical world and the laws of nature. But are there limits to human knowledge? This tantalizing question has inspired scientists and functioned as a spur to innovation. Now, Marcus du Sautoy invites us to join him on a journey to the outer reaches of human understanding as there are still lots of deep mysteries waiting to be solved. Are some things beyond the predictive powers of science? Or are those challenges simply the next big discovery waiting to happen? Du Sautoy takes us into the minds of science s greatest innovators and reveals the fraught circumstances of their discoveries. He reminds us that major breakthroughs were often ridiculed at the time of their discovery. And he carries us on a whirlwind tour of seven Edges of knowledge chaos theory, matter, quantum physics, the universe, time, consciousness and infinity –grounding a deeply personal exploration in simple concepts like the roll of dice, the notes of a cello, or how a clock measures time. At once exhilarating, mind-bending and accessible, The Great Unknown will challenge you to think in new ways about every aspect of the known world. It gives us the tools to understand the riddles our most creative scientists are struggling to solve and invites us to consider bigger questions about who we are and the nature of God that even the most creative scientists have yet to answer definitively.”