A review: "How to dunk a doughnut"

Book review

Think before you dunk

"How to dunk a doughnut - The Science of everyday life" - Len Fisher

"Science is all around us" and Len Fisher starts his book from the scientific research he was awarded the IgNobel for. The awards which parody the Nobels. The Ig Nobels (or awards for Improbable research) are given for achievements in science that 'first make people laugh, then think'.1 The topics covered in this book seem like contenders for the Ig Nobel, humorous at first and then making you wonder.

Len Fisher won his Ig Nobel award for 'calculating the optimal way to dunk a biscuit'.2 If you have wondered what causes the shearing force which rips the dunked biscuit apart, sending it drowning down to the bottom of the mug, then this book has the answers. And yes, dunking a biscuit horizontally reduces the chances of it turning into bottom-dwelling mush.

The target audience for this book can be any curious laymen wanting a dose of science in situations he/she can relate to. As the introduction to the book begins, "Scientists, like hangmen are socially disadvantaged by their trade". This divide between the scientist and the interested laymen has been bridged in by Fisher. The book tries to give a view of the everyday world from a scientist's eyes. It manages to convey how a scientist can apply scientific method to the most common occurrences and deduce basic principles governing nature.

Following the pattern of the biscuit-dunking calculation, the book dissects many other mundane phenomena. How to boil an egg so that the yolk and the white are perfectly set and how to add up the the ever so long supermarket bill before the cashier does are some of the every day issues which have the been scientifically answered in this book. Best practices while using tools and even for sex are discussed from a purely physics-based perspective.

Anecdotes from ancient to modern times make the book a interesting read. An example is how principle of heat convection was discovered when Count Rumford burned his tongue on a seemingly cold apple-pie. I found the chapter on how to boil an egg particularly interesting as it also discusses the science of gastronomy. Scientists are trying to deduce which chemicals cause the food to taste and smell like it does and artificially produce the same to make food seem fresher and tastier than ever. Illustrating such examples makes the book appealing.

The book tries to keep the scientific answers enjoyable, however, in some chapters, the explanations are meandering and can leave the reader unmotivated to reach the end of the discourse. In the chapter about bath and beer foam, much of the topics and jargon used are priority of people having more than a basic knowledge of science.

Despite the tediousness of a few passages, the book is immensely enjoyable. It draws you into the world of science where the seemingly ordinary has complex reasons for being. The journey from indifference to wonder is worth the cost of this paperback.

References:

1. http://improbable.com/ (accessed on 04/03/2010)

2. http://improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig1999 (accessed on 04/03/2010)