The Importance of Being Interested

Adventures in Scientific Curiosity

Robin Ince

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English

Atlantic Books
18 October 2022

Mathematics & Sciences; Popular science; Humour

Comedian Robin Ince quickly abandoned science at school, bored by a fog of dull lessons andintimidated by the barrage of equations. But, twenty years later, he fell in love and he nowpresents one of the world's most popular science podcasts. Every year he meets hundreds ofthe world's greatest thinkers.

In this erudite and witty book, Robin reveals why scientific wonder isn't just for theprofessionals. Filled with interviews featuring astronauts, comedians, teachers, quantumphysicists, neuroscientists and more - as well as charting Robin's own journey with science -The Importance of Being Interested explores why many wrongly think of the discipline asdistant and difficult. From the glorious appeal of the stars above to why scientific curiosity canencourage much needed intellectual humility, this optimistic and profound book will leave youfilled with a thirst for intellectual adventure.

By: Robin Ince
Imprint: Atlantic Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Main
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 29mm
Weight: 343g
ISBN: 9781786492647
ISBN 10: 1786492644
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 18 October 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

1: Scepticism - From the Maelstrom of Knowledge into the Labyrinth of Doubt 2: Is God on Holiday? - Are There Still Enough Gaps for a God? 3: Armchair Time-Travel - Putting Out Your Beach Blanket on the Sands of Time 4: Big, Isn't It? - On Coping with the Size of the Universe 5: Escape Velocity - On Looking Back at the Planet from a Height 6: Why Aren't They Here? Or Are They.? - On Waiting for Our Alien Saviours 7: Swinging from the Family Tree - Inviting Yeast to the Family Reunion 8: The Mind Is a Chaos of Delight - On the Matter of Grey Matter 9: Reality, What a Concept - Can Anything Be What It Seems? 10: Imagining There's No Heaven - On Being Finite 11: More Important than Knowledge - On the Necessity of Imagination 12: So It Goes - Facing Up to the End of Everything

Robin Ince is co-presenter of the award-winning BBC Radio 4 show, The Infinite Monkey Cage. He has won the Time Out Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, was nominated for a British Comedy Award for Best Live show, and has won three Chortle Awards. He has toured his stand up across the world, both solo and with his radio double act partner, Professor Brian Cox. He is the author of I'm a Joke and So Are You and is the radio critic for the Big Issue. He writes a monthly column about science for Focus Magazine and appears regularly on both television and radio.

Reviews for The Importance of Being Interested: Adventures in Scientific Curiosity

Ince makes profound - and funny - reflections on our tiny lives in a massive universe. * Observer * A delightful and scintillating hymn to science. Resolutely a non-scientist, Robin Ince discovers with awe that when science addresses the big problems and destroys familiar beliefs, it does not leave us in a cold, meaningless and de-humanized world, but in a one which is colourful, human, full of intensity and wonder. * Professor Carlo Rovelli, bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics * Wonderful! A beautifully written elegy to science, combining wonder, mystery and humour. Curiosity dances across the pages. Robin's take on science is human, funny but also deeply enthralling. * Professor Alice Roberts, TV presenter, academic and bestselling author of Ancestors * Robin is the most engaging of science communicators. As someone who also struggled with science as a child, still finds physics an impossible foreign tongue, and came late to the fulfilment of a curious mind, I found this book by turns challenging, entertaining and moving. * Steve Backshall, BAFTA-winning British explorer, naturalist, presenter and writer * With razor-sharp wit and insight, Robin slices into the biggest questions of our time. The Importance of Being Interested left me smiling and thinking more deeply * Commander Chris Hadfield, astronaut and bestselling author * Brilliant and entertaining. Science is done by humans, and humans are the only reason that science matters: curiosity is part of human nature, but sometimes we need reminding just how much is out there to explore and enjoy. * Dr Helen Czerski, Physicist and bestselling author of Storm in a Teacup * Will gladden the heart and stimulate the mind... Sparkling. * Independent *