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The Barmaid's Brain: And Other Strange Tales from Science

by Jay Ingram

First US Printing

Price: $22.95
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W. H. Freeman, 1-Sep-00. First US Printing. Hardcover. Like New. NICE BOOK! FIRST US PRINTING, 2000. CLEAN PAGES, NO MARKINGS & VERY MILD SHELF WEAR ON DUSTJACKET. Description: Featuring 21 stories from the weird and wonderful world of science, this collection of strange tales explores some of the little-known quirks of human behavior. ""From Publishers Weekly: How can a waitress's brain allow her to remember every drink order at a table but be unable to know that the surface of beer in a tilted glass remains horizontal? Are the earliest human ancestors primates or aquatic mammals? Can mutant genes ever be beneficial? Canadian science writer Ingram (The Science of Everyday Life, etc.) examines these and other mysteries in this lively collection. He shows that science most often does not arrive at its conclusions through any straightforward method of hypothesis and experimentation. Instead, science involves a series of fits and starts as it probes the human psyche, the world of microbes and electrons, and the behavior of animals, often suggesting along the way different answers to the same question. For example, some scientists contend that male moths are attracted to candles because the infrared radiation of the burning wick """"feels"""" similar to the infrared radiation that female moths produce in their sexual pheromone. Other scientists argue that once upon a time moths used moonlight to guide their nocturnal flights and that now, confusing porch lights with moonlight, they naturally fly to the first glow they see. In a story about microbiology, Ingram explains how being a carrier for cystic fibrosisDthat is, having a mutant geneDmay offer protection against cholera in the same way that being a carrier for sickle cell anemia provides protection against malaria. Finally, he discusses the """"aquatic ape"""" theory of evolution, which holds that our lack of body hair, our subcutaneous fat and our ability to hold our breath argue for a marine, rather than a terrestrial, evolutionary ancestry. In these humorous and winning tales, Ingram displays a genuine wonder for the world around him; pop science fans will enjoy following these entertaining investigations. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc."" ""From Booklist: This hugely entertaining collection of popular-science essays is sure to appeal to fans of Oliver Sacks, Stephen Jay Gould, and Lewis Thomas. Like those best-selling authors, Ingram, a veteran science writer and television host (he anchors the world's first daily, science-based television show), combines snappy writing with interesting and unusual science. Here, among others, are stories about the nature of laughter; perpetual-motion machines; optical illusions (with, incidentally, a proposal concerning sea monsters); the phenomenon of simultaneous discovery; and a possible scientific explanation for the curious behavior that provoked the Salem witch trials. Ingram is an accomplished writer--an earlier book won a Canadian Science Writers Book Award--and fans of science books that spotlight the offbeat, the unusual, and the colorful will flock to this title. A must for science collections. David Pitt. Copyright American Library Association."" ISBN: 0716741202.