Scientic American: The Big Idea

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN's The Big Idea: 150 Years of the Best and Worst Ideas in Modern Science goes beyond the headlines to present the passions, prejudice, and outrage that, from 1845 on, formed the ideas of modern science -- from the sublime to the ridiculous. This fascinating new book, based on SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN's wildly popular feature, "50, 100, and 150 Years Ago in Science Today", presents the often hilarious human aspect of science as well as a serious timetable of scientific discovery. Progress in science is rarely a straight line. While the events are arranged in chronological order, the chapters reflect the somewhat twisted path scientists take in developing their theories, conducting their experiments, presenting their findings, and getting acceptance for their ideas. The chapters in THE BIG IDEA include: Eureka! Great Discoveries & Inventions, which details achievements from insulin to the Talkies and more, often as first reported in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. From the Editor's Desk, which contains insightful and occasionally provocative commentary and news articles about subjects that have shaped our modern world. Great Debates reveals that not every invention or discovery was greeted with universal acclaim and acceptance -- and which big ideas were subject to derision when first advanced. It Seemed Like A Good Idea at the Time...contains reports on ideas and inventions that, quickly or ultimately, failed the test of time. Bizarro reveals the truly unusual lengths scientists go to prove their theories, no matter how outlandish.

David H. Levy is the co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy, which slammed into Jupiter in 1994 in a series of spectacular explosions with a force equal to several million tons of TNT. He is the author of More Things in Heaven and Earth, The Man Who Sold the Milky Way, The Ultimate Universe and Impact Jupiter. Levy was asked by Parade Magazine to take over the science column after the death of Carl Sagan. Levy is also the editor of The Scientific American Book of the Cosmos.