A fun and fascinating look at great scientific paradoxes. Throughout history, scientists have come up with theories and ideas that just don't seem to make sense. These we call paradoxes. The paradoxes Al-Khalili offers are drawn chiefly from physics and astronomy and represent those that have stumped some of the finest minds. For example, how can a cat be both dead and alive at the same time? Why will Achilles never beat a tortoise in a race, no matter how fast he runs? And how can a person be ten years older than his twin? With elegant explanations that bring the reader inside the mind of those who've developed them, Al-Khalili helps us to see that, in fact, paradoxes can be solved if seen from the right angle. Just as surely as Al-Khalili narrates the enduring fascination of these classic paradoxes, he reveals their underlying logic. In doing so, he brings to life a select group of the most exciting concepts in human knowledge. Paradoxis mind-expanding fun.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE is a quantum physicist at the University of Surrey and a regular radio and television broadcaster for the BBC. He is winner of both the Royal Society Michael Faraday medal and the Institute of Physics Kelvin medal for his science communication work. Paradox is his fifth book.

Preface ix
1 The Game Show Paradox
2 Achilles and the Tortoise
3 Olbers’ Paradox
4 Maxwell’s Demon
5 The Pole in the Barn Paradox
6 The Paradox of the Twins
7 The Grandfather Paradox
8 The Paradox of Laplace’s Demon
9 The Paradox of Schrödinger’s Cat
10 Fermi’s Paradox
11 Remaining Questions
Acknowledgments
Index