Author:Lord Robert Winston
From caveman to modern man ...
Few people doubt that humans are descended from the apes; fewer still consider, let alone accept, the psychological implications. But in truth, man not only looks, moves and breathes like an ape, he also thinks like one.
Sexual drive, survival, competition, aggression - all of our impulses are driven by our human instincts. They explain why a happily married man will fantasize about the pretty, slim, young woman sitting across from him in the tube and why thousands of people spend their week entirely focused on whether their team will win their next crucial match.
But how well do our instincts equip us for the twenty-first century? Do they help or hinder us as we deal with large anonymous cities, stressful careers, relationships and the battle of the sexes? In this fascinating book, Robert Winston takes us on a journey deep into the human mind. Along the way he takes a very personal look at the relationship between science and religion and explores those very instincts that make us human.
Wide-ranging and thoroughly entertaining
—— New ScientistDevastaingly good...Every chapter bursts with clear logic, style, wit and imagination.
—— Brian May, Guitarist for Queen[Segrè] demonstrates a knack for explaining weird conundrums and a humane sympathy for the wrong turnings and moral difficulties of his heroes
—— Steven Poole , GuardianSegrè unravels the tensions and conflicts within the group, both personal and scientific, and of the different approaches to the task of making mathematical sense of the weirdness of the subatomic world
—— Kenan Malik , Daily TelegraphFaust in Copenhagen provides an engaging glimpse of the process of scientific discovery
—— Sunday TelegraphAn engaging romp through the strange world of the quantum and its creaters
—— BBC History MagazineProdigiously illustrated and beautifully designed... I cannot think of a better, or simpler, introduction to science
—— GuardianThis book may be exactly what's needed to increase science literacy for readers of all ages
—— Publishers WeeklyThe text is persuasive whatever one's age ... the chapter on rainbows has the clearest explanation of how they appear that I've ever seen
—— Financial TimesThis book is primarily aimed at teenagers, but plenty of adults will get a kick out of it too...McKean's drawings bring the text to life brilliantly ... Dawkins writes convincingly about everything from chemistry to statistics
—— Independent on SundayDawkins uses a simple, brilliant technique highly appealing to young and old
—— The Washington PostLess folksy and biographical than Bill Bryson, less zany than a Bluffer's Guide. But many a bang for your buck, washed down with quotations from the greats ... Potter has an engaging style
—— Daily MailWith marvellous clarity, compassion, erudition, humour and open-mindedness, Potter blasts us through the vast vacuum of space
—— Daily Telegraph