The Science Of Discworld by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen

Synopsis: When a wizardly experiment goes adrift, the wizards of Unseen University find themselves with a pocket universe on their hands: Roundworld, where neither magic nor common sense seems to stand a chance against logic.

The Universe, of course, is our own. And Roundworld is Earth. As the wizards

watch their accidental creation grow, we follow the story of our universe from the primal singularity of the Big Bang to the internet and beyond.

Through this original Terry Pratchett story (with intervening chapters from Cohen and Stewart) we discover how puny and insignificant individual lives are against a cosmic backdrop of creation and disaster. Yet, paradoxically, we see how the richness of a universe based on rules, has led to a complex world and at least one species that tried to get a grip of what was going on.

Published: 1999 | ISBN: 978-0091951702

Terry’s Homepage: http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com

Ian’s Homepage: http://freespace.virgin.net/ianstewart.joat
Ian’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoatStewart

Mini-bio: Jack Cohen is a British reproductive biologist also known for his science books and involvement with science fiction. Wikipedia

I’m kind of cheating here, because this is really two books in one: a collection of fascinating science stories interwoven throughout a hilarious fantasy romp. Bumbling wizards living on a flat, disc-like world (which flies through space on the back of four elephants all standing on the back of a giant turtle, which makes sense) observe an even stranger world, a spherical world where things on the bottom are upside down but don’t fall off. And by alternating between fiction and non-fiction, the Science of Discworld explores the origins of the universe, ideas of creation and lies-to-children – the half-truths and factual inaccuracies we use to teach broader truths. – From 10 Great Books on Skepticism and Stuff

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