Fiction 17 Mar 2005 03:51 pm
The Science of Harry Potter
The Science of Harry Potter
Roger Highfield
Though written by a self-described Harry Potter fan, this is not a book about the well-known wizard from Surrey: this is a book about science. What the author did was to select several interesting scientific facts from different branches of science and tie them together with references to Harry Potter books.
The result, though clearly well researched (both on the science and magic sides) is a book that fells a little “messy”: the mixture of subjects, sometimes in the same chapter, is a little tiring, and the connection with Harry Potter stories is, very often, a little strained.
There is a very interesting chapter on “the need for a belief” (related to why all human cultures seem to have beliefs in supernatural phenomena), and that alone is almost worth the book. But you also get to read about genetics, quantum physics, medieval history (including some passages that are definitely not intended for young kids), medicine, agriculture, pharmaceutical research and so on.
It is not the best book I’ve read recently; it was good at times, but quite boring at others, so I can’t really recommend it. It might be good to guide young Harry Potters fans towards science, but it’s not a “fun” book to read. My verdict would be “so-so”.
