The Upright Thinkers: The Human Journey from Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos

Description

An inspiring and entertaining account of scientific discovery from the invention of stone tools to theories of quantum physics In this illuminating work, Leonard Mlodinow guides us through the critical eras and events in the development of science, all of which, he demonstrates, were propelled forward by humankind's collective struggle to know. From the birth of reasoning and culture to the formation of the studies of physics, chemistry, biology, and modern-day quantum physics, we come to see that much of our progress can be attributed to simple questions - why? how? - bravely asked. At once authoritative and accessible, and infused with the author's trademark wit, this deeply insightful book is a stunning tribute to humanity's intellectual curiosity.

Leonard Mlodinow is the best-selling author of The Drunkard's Walk, Subliminal and Elastic, as well as a theoretical physicist who taught at Caltech and was a fellow at The Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics. He co-authored two books with Stephen Hawking, A Briefer History of Time and The Grand Design, and later wrote an acclaimed memoir, Stephen Hawking, about their time together. There are over one million copies of Leonard Mlodinow's books in print.

The Upright Thinkers playfully tracks the evolution of man's understanding of the world over millions of years. . . An accessible and engaging read that brings science's brilliant minds to life * Financial Times * Mlodinow never fails to make science both accessible and entertaining -- Stephen Hawking, author of A Brief History of Time An entrancing tale of scientific history. . . Mlodinow provides many cultural touchstones and tells personal stories, both poignant and amusing, about his experiences as a theoretical physicist to draw us even closer to the history * Washington Post * Mlodinow is an engaging narrator who leavens the proceedings with a mischievous wit * Wall Street Journal * An audacious encapsulation of our species' trek from savannah to city * Nature * Mlodinow vividly traces the revolutions in thought and culture that define our civilization and, as a bonus, presents a stimulating overview of the history and majestic sweep of modern science -- V. S. Ramachandran, author of The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human An enjoyable and readable introduction to the history of western science, beginning with the first stone tools and ending in the era of quantum physics. Mlodinow takes us on a tour of some of the high points of scientific discovery from Egyptian and Mesopotamian mathematics, to Pythagoras and Aristotle, to the classical era of Galileo and Newton, and finally to the strange worlds of Einsteinian relativity and the uncertainty principle, which taught us how to study worlds beyond the reach of our everyday senses * David Christian, co-author of Big History: Between Nothing and Everything *