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The Science of TV's the Big Bang Theory: Explanations Even Penny Would Understand

Dave Zobel (Goodreads Author)

3.61 · Rating details · 76 ratings · 19 reviews

Reveals the hard facts behind the laughter on TV’s most popular sitcom

The highest-rated scripted show on TV, The Big Bang Theory often features Sheldon, Howard, Leonard, and Raj wisecracking about scientific principles as if Penny and the rest of us should know exactly what they’re talking about.

The Science of TV’s The Big Bang Theory lets all of us in on the punchline ...more

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Paperback, 398 pages

Published June 9th 2015 by ECW Press (first published June 1st 2015)

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Apr 08, 2015 Marjolein rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, read-in-english, arc

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

I don't know. I'm afraid I expected a somewhat different kind of book when I requested it. I suppose I thought it would focus more on the show and give some more insights into it, but instead the show is used as a way to fix all the subjects addressed in this book together.

And as an introduction into these scientific subjects it's not bad. It's as they say 'explanations that even Penny would understand' and she might do now, but I'm pre ...more

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Apr 16, 2015 Paul Franco rated it really liked it

I’m no scientist, but I did get surprisingly passable grades in those courses in high school and college. . . except biology (PLANT biology—don’t ask). I also know I’m way smarter than Penny, which I mention because of the subtitle, but some of these concepts were still too much, not as easy to grasp as the writer no doubt envisioned.
The great Isaac Asimov used to have a column where he would explain scientific ideas in a way that the general public could understand. Stephen Hawking and Brian Gr I’m no scientist, but I did get surprisingly passable grades in those courses in high school and college. . . except biology (PLANT biology—don’t ask). I also know I’m way smarter than Penny, which I mention because of the subtitle, but some of these concepts were still too much, not as easy to grasp as the writer no doubt envisioned.
The great Isaac Asimov used to have a column where he would explain scientific ideas in a way that the general public could understand. Stephen Hawking and Brian Greene (as seen on the show) had books like this too, but they don’t have the writing elegance of Asimov. Neither does this guy, but he comes the closest, especially with his sense of humor. Even then, whereas Asimov comes off as a funny professor teaching a class, Dave Zobel (not to be confused with the tattoo artist if you google the name) is more of a guy chatting at a party, a geek trying to impress a girl perhaps. The style is therefore much more conversational, which probably helps in keeping the reader’s attention. For instance, Isaac Asimov would never have said “As for Raj, he also has a pair [of noise-cancelling headphones]. Despite what some people say.” Literally a low blow.
Like Asimov, who did columns on Shakespeare and Milton, this book includes not just science but also philosophy and psychology. I found the chapter on dimensions the easiest to follow, even before he got to Flatland, as I knew he ultimately would. There’s plenty of asides for interviews and slight tangents of the main topic, with recurring themes like “In what universe?” “eureka@caltech.edu,” “Ask an icon,” and “Out to lands beyond,” though it does seem silly to call up an “icon” like Tom Lehrer and only ask him how he feels about Sheldon singing his song “The Elements.” {Yes, I’m sure there was more to the interview, but that’s all we get.}
One of the points he repeatedly brings up concerns the building where Leonard and Sheldon live, not just its location but its architecture. Since I’ve been on Los Robles plenty of times I was certainly curious about this too. And because I live close by, it occurred to me I might take a shot at it, go over to Pasadena and look for the place where you can see City Hall and the mountains from that exact angle, though considering they live on the fourth floor, it would be tough so match from ground level. Then I got to the last chapter and found someone had already done that; I was secretly relieved.
Your mileage will of course vary on how much you learn from this, but I will say the writer makes it easy with his writing style, even if his explanations don’t quite light the bulb in my head. It’s particularly fun when he calls Sheldon on his mistakes, making me wish the fictional character could read this and I could watch his head explode. . .
...more

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Nov 22, 2016 Steven Lee rated it it was ok

This is a fairly straightforward book. The author provides explanations for some of the scientific/mathematic concepts behind key episodes and jokes in the television show. The quality of the book is entirely dependent upon the reader. If they have significant scientific knowledge then not much will be gained from reading, except perhaps for the odd joke.

It covers a lot of concepts. Some of the chapters are dull (units of measure), and some are intriguing (artificial intelligence). At times it ...more

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Jan 22, 2017 Denise rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, science

Entertaining, humorous, and a nice collection of science ideas presented in the show.

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Feb 03, 2016 Indah Threez Lestari rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: in-english, movie-tv-tie-in, nonfiction, narc-2016

052 - 2016

Buat yang kepo kalo lagi nonton TBBT.

Mereka lagi ngomongin apaan sih?

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Jul 23, 2019 Thomas Wickinghoff rated it liked it · review of another edition

Well, I certainly don't believe that the explanations are so simple that even Penny could understand them... Sure, they try to simplify various scientific concepts and I actually like how various they are, but a lot of them still go into way too much detail - when it came to photons and electrons for example, I nearly threw up because it reminded me so much of school. It's nice that they try, but I would like a really simplified version with almost no technical terms and more hows than whys. The ...more

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Apr 12, 2020 David Bergstrom rated it liked it

This was a book that took me quite awhile to get through. There were many of the chapters that were quite interesting, some that I decided I was too tired to really understand and a few that totally lost me. Physics was not my strong suit in school and school was 50 years ago so... Glad and read it and plodded through when I had to but do not think I will read it again.

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Sep 01, 2018 Jenny rated it it was amazing

Loved it. Very well done. Great marriage of science to one of my favorite all time tv shows. Thank you DAVE!!!

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Jan 31, 2021 Laura rated it it was ok

No way Penny would have understood the biggest part of the book - neither did I.

Some subjects weren’t that interesting. For instance the origin of the prefixes like kilo or deci. There are plenty of subjects in the book, so everyone will be able to find a couple they do enjoy reading about.

I love the sarcasm and the jokes about the series. The book has a few regular features that show up in most chapters. As much fun as they were, their placement in brackets throughout the text took away from t ...more

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Jun 07, 2015 Lisa Bentley rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley-books

I consider myself to be an educated person; I have qualifications coming out of my pooper – I realise this last sentence doesn’t exactly lend a lot of faith to that claim but it is true. However, my one downfall has always been science. I just never understood it. I can honestly say that after reading The Science of TV’s the Big Bang Theory: Explanations Even Penny Would Understand by Dave Zobel I am still in that exact same position.

The Science of TV’s the Big Bang Theory: Explanations Even Pen ...more

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May 24, 2015 Stacy rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, 4-star-books, hollywood

I read this book because I'm a Big Bang Theory fan and I wanted to learn more about what Penny refers to as Sheldon's 'jibber jabber.' I was also hoping to learn more about the things seen on the whiteboards. A little more about the work the gang is focused on would have also been interesting.

This wasn't the book for this, however. It was more of a 'scientific principles mentioned in the show' tutorial. Even though it wasn't what I hoped for, it was interesting. The main text ran a little longe ...more

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Jun 11, 2016 David Meyer rated it liked it

While I personally enjoyed the book, it referenced the show less than I expected, mostly throwing in one liners here and there. The one connection with the show that stayed true throughout was a seemingly random, fairly uninteresting attempt at the end of most chapters to pin down the exact physical location of the spot the apartment on the show is supposed to be.

While I was familiar with most of the concepts explained in the book, more than a few involved physics that was way over my head. I w ...more

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Jun 19, 2019 Marvin Fender rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, science, humor

Despite the title...Penny would not understand these explanations. The dumbing down of the subjects actually make things harder to understand. Zobel's text can give insight but you have to read carefully cause sometimes he goes right over your head. Sorry...the truth hurts. ...more

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Jun 08, 2015 Melissa T marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: netgalley, nonfiction, tv-movie-references

**I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley*** Unfortunately I did not finish reading this book. I think I was under the impression that it would be more heavily tied in with the show and it isn't. Also, the science is really complex, but the explanations aren't as simple as the title claims. ...more

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Jun 03, 2015 Annice22 rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-netgalley, humor, media-tie-in, non-fiction, science, read-a-thon, educational

Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review.

I'm a fan of The Big Bang Theory and this was interesting to read about the various scientific things they talk about on the show. Side note: this is very heavy on the science. ...more

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Mar 29, 2015 Julie rated it liked it

Shelves: firstreads

I have found myself very interested in the science parts of this book and very disinterested in the television series commentary. You really need to love the tv series to want to read this. Wishing it was really more about the science thus far.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

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