The World's Best Book Summaries
Do you notice yourself gaining weight during the cold winter months? Is it because of the holidays or is there another reason? Many people gain weight during the winter and blame it on the excess food during the holidays. However, as it turns out, your winter weight gain isn’t your fault—it’s prehistoric programming. Discover the science behind this seasonal shift and learn how to keep your physical and mental health on track this winter.
What enables bats and dolphins to navigate and hunt with such precision in complete darkness? How do animals like sea turtles find their way back to specific beaches across hundreds of miles of ocean? In An Immense World, Ed Yong explores animal echolocation, electrolocation, and magnetoreception—sensory abilities that help creatures navigate their environment. These extraordinary capabilities reveal how different species experience and interact with their surroundings. Keep reading to discover how animals use sound, electricity, and magnetic fields to perceive their world in ways humans can barely imagine.
What happens in an animal’s body when it encounters something harmful? Do animals feel pain? How do different species process pain? Ed Yong’s book An Immense World explores the complex question of whether and how animals feel pain. From naked mole rats that don’t react to acid to fish that show signs of distress after injury, the animal kingdom presents a wide range of responses to potentially harmful stimuli. Keep reading to discover the surprising science behind how different creatures experience pain and what this means for our ethical treatment of animals.
How does ADHD work in the brain? What is the role of the prefrontal cortex in ADHD? ADHD works by impairing executive functions, and it has to do with poor development of the prefrontal cortex and deficits of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine. The prefrontal cortex in ADHD brains is less capable of controlling impulses. Here’s more on how this condition manifests in the brain.
What mysterious ways do animals experience touch beyond direct contact? How do creatures from wasps to elephants use touch to survive and thrive? Ed Yong’s fascinating book An Immense World reveals how the sense of touch in animals extends far beyond what humans can imagine. From detecting vibrations in the ground to sensing distortions in water, animals use remarkable methods to perceive their environment and connect with others. Keep reading to discover the extraordinary touch abilities that help creatures navigate their world, find food, escape danger, and build relationships.
What makes hearing different from our other senses? How do animals use sound in ways humans can’t even imagine? In An Immense World, Ed Yong explores the remarkable sense of hearing in animals, revealing capabilities far beyond human perception. From birds detecting subtle variations in song to whales mapping ocean floors with sound, the animal kingdom showcases extraordinary auditory abilities that help creatures survive and thrive. Keep reading to discover fascinating examples of how animals perceive sound and learn how their unique abilities are helping scientists develop better solutions for human hearing problems.
What makes a mountain lion’s vision so different from a human’s? How do scientists know whether animals can see colors and which ones they detect? Ed Yong’s An Immense World reveals fascinating details about how animals see color and light. From deep-sea creatures that navigate in darkness to birds that can spot prey from a mile away, the animal kingdom showcases an incredible range of visual abilities that differ dramatically from human perception. Keep reading to discover the remarkable ways animals perceive their world through sight, and how evolution has shaped these diverse visual capabilities.
What makes the sense of taste different from our other senses? How do various animals experience taste differently from humans? In Ed Yong’s fascinating book An Immense World, we discover surprising facts about the sense of taste in animals. From bees tasting with their feet to catfish having taste buds all over their bodies, the animal kingdom’s relationship with taste is far more diverse than most people realize. Keep reading to explore the remarkable ways different creatures experience flavors and how their taste abilities help them survive.
What makes dogs’ sense of smell so different from humans’? How do various animals use their sense of smell to navigate and survive? In An Immense World, Ed Yong explores the fascinating ways animals perceive their environment through scent. From dogs detecting identical twins to elephants avoiding threats and seabirds mapping the ocean, the sense of smell in animals reveals capabilities far beyond human understanding. Keep reading to discover the surprising truth about how animal and human noses compare, and why we might be better sniffers than we think.
What are the limitations of the green revolution that’s supposed to save our planet? Can renewable energy sources really replace fossil fuels and solve our climate crisis? In False Alarm, Bjorn Lomborg challenges the optimistic vision of a world powered entirely by renewable energy. He examines real-world examples from both developing and developed nations to reveal the practical constraints of solar, wind, and other green technologies. Keep reading to discover why the transition to renewable energy might be more complicated than you’ve been led to believe.