Life is Simple

Resumen del libro

'The most sheerly enjoyable history of science of recent years' The Spectator'This is one of the best science books I have read in a decade' Paul DaviesLife is Simple tells the remarkable story of how a thirteenth century monk's search for simplicity led to the emergence of the modern world. We begin in the turbulent times of the medieval friar, William of Occam, who first articulated the principle that the best answer to any problem is the simplest. This theory, known as Occam's razor, cut through the thickets of medieval metaphysics to clear a path for modern science.

We follow the razor in the hands of the giants of science, from Copernicus, to Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Einstein, Rubin and Higgs. Its success suggests that we live in the simplest possible habitable universe and supports the revolutionary theory that our cosmos has evolved. By highlighting the very human passion, curiosity, mistakes and struggles of those who were inspired by Occam's razor to create the modern world, Johnjoe McFadden provides new insight into what science is really about.

And that the principle of simplicity is as relevant today as ever.

Biografía del autor

Johnjoe McFadden es profesor de Genética Molecular en la Universidad de Surrey, donde estudia la genética de los microbios que causan enfermedades infecciosas, como la tuberculosis y la meningitis. Ha publicado más de 100 artículos en revistas académicas y ha escrito extensamente para el público general en The Guardian, Washington Post y Frankfurter Allgemeine y es autor de Quantum Evolution y coautor de varios libros, entre los cuales se encuentra Life on the Edge, que fue preseleccionado para el Royal Society Book Prize.