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Blind spots

An indiscriminate but interesting view of history
by
March 2013, no. 349

A Little History of Science by William Bynum

Yale University Press (Inbooks), $32.95 hb, 269 pp, 9780300136593

Blind spots

An indiscriminate but interesting view of history
by
March 2013, no. 349

Did you know that the Great Wall of China cannot be seen from space; or that Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3) came from India; or that Descartes thought up letters (a, b, c, and x) for use in algebra; or that William Bateson coined the word ‘genetics’? Did you know that there are five million trillion trillion bacteria on earth – give or take a few?Every few pages William Bynum gives you a choice factoid that’s Quite Interesting – as long as you remember to write it down straight away before it fades. Reading this Little History right through is like sitting in a Chinese restaurant with one of those long menus and ordering a portion of everything listed. Quite soon discrimination fades and the march of history seems relentless.

Robyn Williams reviews 'A Little History of Science' by William Bynum

A Little History of Science

by William Bynum

Yale University Press (Inbooks), $32.95 hb, 269 pp, 9780300136593

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