13 Things That Don't Make Sense

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13 Things That Don't Make Sense

Author	Michael Brooks
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Subject	Science
Genre	Non-fiction
Publisher	Profile Books
Publication date	2008
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	256
ISBN	978-1-84668-044-1

13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time is a book by Michael Brooks that explores some of the most perplexing anomalies in modern science. The book was first published in 2008 by Profile Books.

Overview

The book delves into thirteen scientific anomalies that challenge our understanding of the world. These anomalies span various fields of science, including physics, biology, cosmology, and medicine. Each chapter is dedicated to a different mystery, providing an in-depth look at the current state of research and the questions that remain unanswered.

The Thirteen Mysteries

1. **The Missing Universe**: Discusses the concept of dark matter and dark energy, which together make up about 96% of the universe's mass-energy content but remain undetected by current instruments. 2. **The Pioneer Anomaly**: Examines the unexplained deviations in the trajectories of the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft. 3. **Varying Constants**: Investigates the possibility that the fundamental constants of nature, such as the fine-structure constant, might change over time. 4. **Cold Fusion**: Looks into the controversial claims of cold fusion, a type of nuclear reaction that would occur at, or near, room temperature. 5. **Life**: Explores the definition of life and the search for extraterrestrial life. 6. **Viking's Methane**: Discusses the detection of methane on Mars by the Viking landers and its implications for life on the planet. 7. **Tetraneutrons**: Investigates the existence of tetraneutrons, a hypothetical particle consisting of four neutrons. 8. **The Wow! Signal**: Looks into the Wow! signal, a strong narrowband radio signal detected by the Big Ear radio telescope in 1977. 9. **A Giant Virus**: Discusses the discovery of Mimivirus, a giant virus that challenges the traditional definitions of viruses and life. 10. **Death**: Explores the scientific understanding of death and the possibility of life extension. 11. **Sex**: Investigates the evolutionary reasons for sexual reproduction. 12. **Free Will**: Examines the concept of free will in the context of neuroscience and quantum mechanics. 13. **Homeopathy**: Looks into the controversial practice of homeopathy and the scientific investigations into its efficacy.

Reception

The book received positive reviews for its engaging writing style and thorough exploration of complex scientific topics. It has been praised for making difficult concepts accessible to a general audience.

See Also

• List of unsolved problems in physics
• List of unsolved problems in biology
• List of unsolved problems in chemistry
• List of unsolved problems in neuroscience