Reviews for Razor's Edge A Science-fiction Disaster Novel for the Mature Reader

The average rating for Razor's Edge A Science-fiction Disaster Novel for the Mature Reader based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-09-01 00:00:00 William R Snoddy Jr This book illustrates why science fascinates those of us who have invested our time and interest in allowing to curiosity to run free; even in the small details of everyday life, there are questions to marvel at and, occasionally, answers as well. My wife thought I'd like this book and bought it for me. Turns out, like most things in life she was right. The book comprises a series of scientific anecdotes which in most cases address everyday phenomena. For example, why does the first tick of the second hand seem to take longer than the subsequent ticks? Or why mothers usually hold their babies on their left side, except for some unusual times (15th C), and places (ancient Maya) according to art history? So each of the sections are quite short and feel familiar, although the explanations may not be. One of the things I like is the fact that this is not necessarily about solved problems. "I don't know" is an acceptable 'conclusion' despite some of the attempts made to find answers. Indeed it is surprising how seriously some of the problems have been taken. Usually there have been multiple studies on these topics - in proper journals - I assume with a decent impact factor! Great book for those who like to ask 'why' about the events of everyday life and don't think rational reasons remove the wonder of them?

Review # 2 was written on 2009-05-30 00:00:00 Ray Carnell As far as explaining the weird physics and psychology of everyday life, I more than "liked" this book. It really was interesting and came up often in conversations with friends and coworkers. Were I to read it again, however, I would probably skip around more and read the chapters that really interested me rather than plowing through from cover to cover (something that my OCD-ness makes me do). It was also hard going from a very vibrantly written memoir to this. But I still liked it a lot, especially chapters on why time seems to go faster as we get older, whether you can sense people staring at you, how babies can count, and the like. I will probably use it in my 315 classes to show how it's possible to enter into academic conversations while using an engaging voice and avoiding the oh-so-stilted stylistics of the hard and social sciences.