Mind Over Matter Conversations with the Cosmos [Paperback]

The universe comes down to earth in K. C. Cole's Mind Over Matter, a fresh and witty exploration of physics, cosmology, mathematics, astronomy, and more. Like no other science writer, Cole demystifies scientific concepts and humanizes the people who study them. Beginning with a discussion of how the mind creates reality as well as muddles it, she then peeks into the stories behind science's great minds and into their playful side, and concludes by illuminating the relationship between science and society. Cole's remarkable work brings science to the reader's doorstep, revealing the universe to be elegant, intriguing, and relevant to politics, art, and every dimension of human life.

PRAISE FOR MIND OVER MATTER
“An absolute delight . . . Belongs on the bedside bookshelf of every
science enthusiast and should also be a treat for any reader curious
about the universe.”—SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
“Ruminations on every scientific subject under the sun, and plenty
beyond it . . . In pithy, three-page bursts, [Cole] tackles particle
physics, geometry,Alfred Nobel, and about a thousand other topics, all
with graceful, accessible prose.”—THE BOSTON GLOBE

An award-winning writer for the Los Angeles Times and the New Yorker, K. C. COLE is the recipient of the American Institute of Physics Award for Best Science Writer. She lives in Santa Monica, California.

The I of the Beholder

The Emperor and Enron

You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but the easiest person to fool is yourself. Especially when the products of your own wishful thinking are also being peddled by higher authorities.

So it struck me as particularly apt that I took a class of UCLA students to the oddball Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City during a week when the Enron mirage was dissolving; when dubious claims for thl3-