BIG IDEAS That Changed the World
5 total works
Machines That Think! explores machines from ancient history to today that perform a multitude of tasks, from making mind-numbing calculations to working on assembly lines. Included are fascinating looks at the world’s earliest calculators, the birth of computer programming, and the arrival of smartphones. Contributors discussed include Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, Ada Lovelace, and Bill Gates. From the abacus to artificial intelligence, machines through the ages have pushed the boundaries of human capability and creativity. Back matter includes a timeline, endnotes, a bibliography, an author’s note, and an index.
A Shot in the Arm!,
book 3 in the Big Ideas that Changed the World series, is the history
of vaccinations and the struggle to protect people from infectious
disease. Beginning with smallpox--perhaps humankind's greatest
affliction to date--and concluding with an overview of the COVID-19
pandemic, Brown traces the evolution of vaccines and examines deadly
diseases such as measles, polio, anthrax, rabies, cholera, and
influenza. The book is narrated by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who
historically popularized inoculation in England in the early 18th
century. Brown covers the science behind how our immune systems work,
the discovery of bacteria, and major achievements from scientists like
Louis Pasteur, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, and Edward Jenner, the "father
of immunology." Brown also tackles the public and political response to
vaccination throughout history, addressing head-on the anti-vaccination
movement and debunking false claims that vaccines cause autism. A
reminder of progress made so far as well as the millions of lives still
to be saved, A Shot in the Arm! is a fascinating deep-dive for
readers young and old. Back matter includes an author's note, timeline,
bibliography, notes, and index.
Big Ideas That Changed the World is
a graphic novel series that celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas
that ultimately changed the world. Humor, drama, and art unite to tell
the story of events, discoveries, and ingenuity over time that led
humans to come up with a big idea and then make it come true.
In 600 BCE, the Greek mathematician Thales observed a seemingly strange phenomenon: amber, when rubbed with a cloth, had the ability to attract lightweight objects like feathers, straw, and leaves. He had unknowingly discovered an electric charge. His experiments wouldn’t be picked back up until about 2,000 years later, when another curious mind, inspired by the Greek word for amber (elektron), declared the rubbed object to have an invisible power: electricity. From phones to light bulbs to electric cars, electricity is something we can’t live without today.
Narrated by Jagadish Chandra Bose, a Bengali pioneer in radio technology from the previous century, All Charged Up! is the fascinating story of both tireless experimentation and accidental discovery, of inspiring human progress and dramatic scientific rivalries. Full of facts and colorful historical figures, this nonfiction graphic novel highlights key inventors and breakthroughs, through the earliest discoveries to the Age of Electricity to today, including: Musschenbroek’s Leyden jar, which proved that electricity could be stored; founding father Benjamin Franklin’s famous experiment using a kite as a lightning rod (don’t try this at home!); a fierce competition between two Italian scientists that resulted in the first battery (and inspired Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein); and Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison’s War of the Currents; uses of wind and solar energy, and many more. Breaking down concepts like atoms, current, electromagnetism in a kid-friendly, accessible way, acclaimed author-illustrator Don Brown demonstrates how our world became plugged in and connected by electricity.
Big Ideas That Changed the World is a graphic novel series that celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas that ultimately changed the world. Humor, drama, and art unite to tell the story of events, discoveries, and ingenuity over time that led humans to come up with a big idea and then make it come true.
