There is much in science that is asserted without there being real evidence, and many theories which are accepted by science as proven when there are fundamental questions still remaining. If you have read "The Selfish Gene", and despite the brilliance and persuasiveness of the arguments still feel (as I do) that something is wrong you will like this book.

If you like to think, to be intellectually challenged and stimulated, to explore ideas, or to look at science in different ways than the conventional, I don't think you will be disappointed with this book.

In the Discworld strand, the bickering Unseen University wizards revisit their accidental creation Roundworld--that astonishing place where there's no magic. Our world, in fact. But it's being influenced by elves (bad news in the Pratchett cosmos), who bring superstition and irrational terrors to evolving humanity. They feed on fear.

This is the cue for Stewart and Cohen to develop their ideas of stories as a shaping power in the evolution of human intelligence. Whether they're called spells, memes, creeds, theorems, artworks or lies, satisfying stories are Roundworld's equivalent of Discworld magic. It's just that it all happens in our heads: "headology" as top witch Granny Weatherwax puts it.

Struggling to make Roundworld history come out right despite elvish interference, the wizards entangle themselves in complications of time travel and must eventually beg advice from Granny. To encourage a rational attitude to facts, it seems, Roundworld needs transcendent fic...
Possibly the best science books in this world or the Discworld, 2008-10-29
The Science of Discworld series books are simply some of the best science books around. As a Pratchett fan, and at one point a working scientist, I knew a lot of the science in both books, but the presentation of the material made me rethink many of my ideas, and get a better grasp of the scientific viewpoint. Aspiring scientists much read, digest and understand. I simply don't understand the reviews with less than 5 stars, they must have been reading a different book.

With Flatterland, Stewart, professor of mathematics at the University of Warwick, updates the science of Flatland, adding literally countless dimensions to Abbott's scheme of things. ("Your world has not just four dimensions," one of his characters proclaims, "but five, fifty, a million, or even an infinity of them! And none of them need be time. Space of a hundred and one dimensions is just as real as a space of three dimensions.") Along his fictional path, Stewart touches on Feynman diagrams, superstring theory, time travel, quantum mechanics and black holes, among many other topics. And, in Abbott's spirit, Stewart pokes fun at our own assumptions, including our quest for a Theory of Everything.

You c...
Flatterland -, 2001-04-25
When I first struggled with the concepts of multi-dimensional space a friend recommended I read "Flatland" by Edwin A. Abbott. It was a best seller during the reign of Queen Victoria and I didn't expect to find it in a high street store. However, much to my delight, I found it in the mathematics section next to a book called "Does God Play Dice" by Ian Stewart. I bought them both and they had a profound effect on my choice of career. In "Flatterland" both my favourite subject and author have been combined in one book. Ian's style, both humourous and informative, brings the flatland characters into the context of this millennium and opens the readers mind to the rich complexity of the world of mathematics. The adventures of Victoria Line carries the reader through the book in an effortless ease. Ian is a winner of the Faraday Award, for the public understanding of science. His unique style carries the reader from chapter to chapter on a voyage that will enhance the readers understanding of some of the most challenging concepts and problems in mathematics. It may be a record for a sequel (over 100 years) but, having read it with the same enthusiastic delight as "Flatland" and "Does God Play Dice", it is not hard to picture a high street store 100 years from now with "Flatterland" still on the best seller list.

Dr. G. Keith Still (Head of Mathematical Modelling - Starlab, Brussels)

However as Abbott's age and background are firmly rooted in the latter half of the 19th century, it would be thought that the finer nuances alluded to by the author would pass into obscurity. Here, the ingenuity of Ian Stewart comes to the fore. Prof Stewart refreshes Abbott's text with his annotations, detailing every minuscule reference that Abbott makes in his 19th century world. The result is an informed invigoration of a classic and opens more paths to inspiration in diverse disciplines such as theology and partical physics.

The book does require at least two readings; once for the story itself to bring alive the narrative of A Square, the second to fit in the background provided by Stewart around the story. One could almost say that Stewart uses a fourth dimension of time to expand a three dimensional tale that belongs in more dimensions.