Hamster

I was given this book (How to Fossilise your Hamster and other Amazing Experiments for the Armchair Scientist) for my birthday last year (thanks Garie). I kind of set it aside, and let others read it, because it had quite a lighthearted cover and sounded very shallow.

Finally, I read it. It is much better than it seemed. Lots of short simple experiments demonstrating bits and bobs of science. Some of them are quite clever (have a look at the one involving a bar of choclate and a microwave oven - I will have to try that myself). And the experiments have explanations that are mostly correct.

I say mostly, because sometimes I get the impression they have been written by someone who doesn't quite get it. They are seemingly strong on chemistry and biology, but some of the physics explanations feel a little awry. See for example the one about the candle on a revolving turntable. Still, it is mostly pretty good.

Is this a trend? The Clay Shirky book (Here Comes Everybody:The Power of Organizing without Organizations) has a similar problem. With an irritating title and a lighthearted cover, it comes across as the worst of popular science books, when actually its quite serious and interesting. Fun, even. But someone seems to have concluded it has to be packaged differently in order to sell.

Sigh. You can't judge a book by...