The Undercover Scientist: Investigating the Mishaps of Everyday Life

by Peter J. Bentley

We all know that things go wine stains, toast burns, drawers jam. But how many of us pause to think why these accidents happen? Undercover Scientist Peter Bentley is fascinated by the science of the everyday, and in this eye-opening book, organised in the form of one of those days when everything falls apart, he probes into the reasons why mishaps occur, from sleeping through the alarm to making the bathwater overflow. As he does so he explains exactly what happens when you put metal in a microwave and why the combination of chewing gum and hair is so sticky. And from there he goes on to show how these simple events form part of a pattern of scientific principles that govern everything around us. If you want to find out why a diesel engine can run on chip fat or how the sun creates energy, The Undercover Scientist has all the answers.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Audiobook

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Dr Peter Bentley is an Honorary Reader and Senior College Teacher at the Department of Computer Science, University College London and is known for his research covering all aspects of Evolutionary Computation and Digital Biology. He is the author of the popular science books Digital Biology, The Undercover Scientist and Digitized, and editor of the books Evolutionary Design by Computers, Creative Evolutionary Systems and On Growth, Form and Computers.

Reviews

[Petra X]

Some quite fascinating facts and explanations, presented in an unlikely manner - a whole day of having accidents, and the explanations of each. What I did get from the book so far is that there will be a cure for baldness one day.

This is because all the hair follicles we'll ever have are formed by 22 weeks in the womb. It's just they aren't all activated at the same time, and some may never be activated at all. They will find a way to turn them on, I'm sure.

Another one is small cuts, like shaving cuts. We all know that the white blood cells rush to the site to attack any infection and that the red blood cells, specifically the fibrin, forms a clot as fast as it can. What we do wrong is to put a piece of tissue paper on top thereby introducing all the bacteria sitting on the bit of paper waiting for an opportunity to get to a good place to do their nasty thing.

There was a good explanation of lightning that strikes the ground. Clouds become positively and negatively charged. Positive atoms go to the top, negative to the bottom. the pull from the negative ones on the ground excites the formation of positive ones down there, and before you know it they are fatally attracted to each other and must meet!

I'm going to finish the book now.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The science of everyday life is the theme of this book. There are 39 chapters each covering a different topic, so there’s a wide range of subjects covered. The author tries to link them all together by imaging a day in which someone has a near impossible number of mishaps, which are then explained in scientific terms. Using this concept, the imaginary central character sleeps in, cuts himself shaving, gets lost, gets a computer virus, gets stung by a wasp, puts diesel into a petrol car, breaks a finger, etc etc. You get the idea.

The book is very much aimed at the layman. An actual scientist or engineer wouldn’t get much out of it. A fair bit of it was stuff that even I knew about. On the other hand there were also things I learned. Mainly the book is about explaining why materials, (and the human body) behave the way they do. For example, we all know that if we drop a glass it’s likely to smash, but this book will tell you what it is about the molecular structure of glass that makes it brittle. The author also dismisses the old story about glass being a slow flowing liquid – a story I have been told myself - and explains why this is a myth.

One thing I noticed was that some of the technology references seemed out of date. For example, in the chapter about computers, he refers to the Solid State Drive as a relatively new development. This led me to check the publication date, and I wasn’t surprised to find the book was published in 2008. There was also one surprising error. In discussing evolution, the author referred to “our ancient descendants”. Surely this should be “our ancient ancestors”? I’m surprised the proof readers didn’t pick that up.

A very readable book, reasonably informative and moderately diverting.

[Bruce Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the introduction to this book, the author wrote that, "Turning your back on science is closing the door to curiosity." He then proceeds to investigate everyday things. Clouds, glue, chewing gum, teeth, sleep, soap etc.

I was a bit surprised that he was off about three thousand years in the dating of the earliest chewing gum, so I recommend checking his data.

Stuff like the chapter on CDs shows how quickly these kinds of books age. That said, the book was well worth the read.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bits of trivia. A few everyday activities explained in layman terms. Not a bad talking book to have while doing lots of little driving trips of 15 to 30 minutes each. May have even learnt something, for example the "spindle" on a CD is over 5km long.

[Ricky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, it was quite amusing with regards to all the mishaps in one day and the science behind it all. There were some new facts I learnt, with some facts I knew already and overall this was an ok book. It lacked the Bill Bryson wit and colour, but was worth reading, especially if your into factual scientific stuff that is simply put and any layman can understand.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most amazing book. It takes you on a tour of how electricity works, why chewing gum is so sticky to why wine stains your carpet and why glass shatters and more.

A super interesting and well explained book on how things work!

[MrsB · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

An interesting style. It takes you through a single day, but as if most things have gone wrong. From the science behind pain, how our teeth grow (and decay), to muscles, microwaves, malware, soap, batteries, blisters, capsicum, ABS and more.

[Salih · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it interesting especially the microwave part. This book gives overall knowledge about the science behind our daily life for person who doesn't have a science background.

[Remo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro muy interesante en el que en cada pequeño capítulo el autor nos habla breve pero detalladamente sobre algún concepto científico. La peculiaridad del libro es que se estructura en torno al relato de un día de mierda (ese es su título original en inglés).
Comenzamos viendo al protagonista ignorar el ruido del despertador, lo que le hace lavantarse tarde el día de una importante reunión. Aprovecha el autor para hablarnos de los ciclos de sueño de los seres humanos. EN el camino al trabajo derrapa y se sale de la carretera: nos hablan de tribología (ciencia que estudia el rozamiento) y de fabricación del caucho. Asíhasta unos 50 accidentes en lo que será sin duda el peor día del protagonista.
Quitando el hecho de que cada vez que empezamos un capítulo nos intranquilizamos porque sabemos que algo malo le pasará al prota, el libro es fantástico. Muy conciso y muy claro. Incluye además una extensa bibliografía de libros y artículos para ampliar conocimientos. El autor además nos anima a escribirle un correo si pensamos que algo está mal. Muy recomendable.

[Calum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever wondered how adhesives and dyes work? How diesel and petrol engines work? Why do we get swellings, broken bones, blisters and a myriad of other questions?

The Undercover Scientist by Peter Bentley attempts to address the underlying science behind everyday workings through a day in the life of an extremely unlucky individual. The problems described are extremely varied, but the underlying science is sound and well cited. Unfortunately, the level of science is fairly varied, ranging from interesting explanations of lightning to mundane gravity. I appreciate that it is targeted at the non scientist, but the decision to force the events into a fictional day mean that there is little order to the grouping of the problems. There is an index, but I am hardly going to use this as a reference - the contents is useless since each chapter title is not particularly informative as to the matters discussed.

A fairly short and mildly entertaining read, but not challenging or interesting enough to recommend.

[Hubcon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this enlightening. It corrected an old school teaching that said glass flowed over time. It explained how tooth paste works, and the differences between each grade of skin burns.

[Konain · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great idea! The events are woven around an extremely unlucky day from morning till night of an individual. Starting when he oversleeps despite the alarm through filling diesel in his petrol car to spreading water from the bathtub at night. The science behind each mishap is then explained in a simple language that even those without a background in science will find it easy to understand. A delightful little book!

[Any Length · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book to get anyone interested in science. This book was funny, gripping and full of interesting everyday science. From lightning, to pain, from microwave ovens to CDs. Everything got covered. Great book. Everyone should read it.

[Rose]

I found this somewhat disappointing. While parts were interesting, I didn't really like the overall approach or tone.