Eight Improbable Possibilities The Mystery of the Moon, and Other Implausible Scientific Truths, reviewed

We look at this fun and thought provoking book, Eight Improbable Possibilities The Mystery of the Moon, and Other Implausible Scientific Truths. By John Gribbin, published 7 October 2021, Hardback £10.99, ISBN: 9781785787355, Icon Books

Eight Improbable Possibilities The Mystery of the Moon, and Other Implausible Scientific Truths, reviewed

We loved this book. The first chapter on the moon, set the tone well. In the past when it was first formed it orbited 25,000 km away from the earth. Currently the average distance is 385,000 km. Every year it moves another 4cm away, and eventually, it will spin off into space, never to return. Having the moon around us is not trivial, and having it at the distance it currently is enables us to have the twice daily tides. Whereas back in the past, these tides were much, much higher and stronger, even warping the very rocks on our planet.

Much like the Goldilocks zone of habitual life for other planets, so too with our moon, it helps to create a more perfect living zone on this planet than we can ever really realise. While life might occur on other planets, the fascinating reality is that the combination of factors that brought about life on this planet are actually very very unlikely. We are very lucky to even exist at all. Across the eight chapters of this book Gribbin discovers a range of fascinating, and interrelated topics. The impact of this is to be deeply thought provoking and a book that we want to share with as many people as possible.

A lovely read, and a great stocking filler or gift for the curious person or people in your life. Well worth reading, check it out.

More about this book

A mind-warping excursion into the most improbable truths of science.

Echoing Sherlock Holmes’ famous dictum, John Gribbin tells us:
‘Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever is left, however improbable, is certainly possible, in the light of present scientific knowledge.’

With that in mind, in his sequel to the hugely popular Six Impossible Things and Seven Pillars of Science, Gribbin turns his attention to some of the mind-bendingly improbable truths of science. Each chapter covers a scientifically proven truth that was the most unlikely outcome. For example:

– The creation of the moon and its effect on the earth is deeply improbable, but it
happened and transformed the planet’s life and climate.
– The fact that the universe’s expansion is accelerating was once an unlikely possibility
to most astronomers, but this is very much what research shows.
– Highly improbable, yet all complex life on earth is descended from a single cell.

John Gribbin’s numerous bestselling books include In Search of Schrödinger’s
Cat and Six Impossible Things, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Royal
Society Science Book Prize. He has been described as ‘one of the finest and
most prolific writers of popular science around’ by The Spectator. John lives
in Sussex.

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