The Science of Doctor Who |  | Author: Paul Parsons
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.02
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Seller: THE BOOK SHACK
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 235,968
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 328
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 080189560X
Dewey Decimal Number: 500
EAN: 9780801895609
ASIN: 080189560X
Publication Date: May 5, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Almost fifty years after he first crossed the small screen, Doctor Who remains a science fiction touchstone. His exploits are thrilling, his world is mind-boggling, and that time travel machine -- known as the Tardis -- is almost certainly an old-fashioned blue police box, once commonly found in London. Paul Parsons's plain-English account of the real science behind the fantastic universe portrayed in the Doctor Who television series provides answers to such burning questions as whether a sonic screwdriver is any use for putting up a shelf, how Cybermen make little Cybermen, where the toilets are in the Tardis, and much more. Taking the show as a starting point -- episode-by-episode in some cases -- Parsons dissects its scientific concepts. In addition to explaining why time travel is possible and just how that blue police box works, Parsons discusses who the Time Lords are and how we may one day be able to regenerate just like them ponders the ways that the doctor's two hearts might work and introduces us to a terrestrial animal with five details the alien populations and cosmology of the Whovian Universe and relates them to what we currently know about our universe compares the robotics of the show with startlingly similar real-world applications This slender, equation-free discussion is penned by a Ph.D. cosmologist and is ideal beach reading for anyone who loves science and watches the show -- no matter which planet the beach is on.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
 Good Scientific Explanations with Fun Whovian Moments April 15, 2010
TammyJo Eckhart (Bloomington, Indiana United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
To fully appreciate this book, I think you need to be like my husband and I who read it outloud to each other. I've been a Whovian since I was a child, I'm talking since I was four years old way back in the early 1970s. My husband has a degree in physics and taught it for a few years. So a great book about science and Doctor Who had to meet a high standard around our house.
This book meets that standard. First, it is clear that Paul Parsons knows his Whovian universe. Not just the classics, not the new series, but it all. He pulls in examples from across the decades to demonstrate how the show has developed or maintained ideas about history, the future, humanity and alien life. Secondly, while my husband noted a handful of problematic explanations of science and I could nitpick about a few historical and social comments, by and large we found the discussion and diagrams useful.
The premise of the book is really to gauge how the world of Doctor Who fits into our current understanding of how things work through all branches of social and physical sciences. The book is divided into four Part which cover the Doctor and time travel, aliens including humans, technology, and journeys into the truly unknown and fundamental questions of the universe. There are a total of 35 relatively short chapters making it easy to read.
He covers all 11 doctors, including the brief glimpse of Matt Smith at the end of 10th doctor's tenure. Indeed the book has been repeatedly updated and expanded over a few years and I hope it continues to be revised every few years to cover changes in science and in the show.
Over all a very enjoyable and educational book.
Who knew? March 25, 2010
Dr. Stuart Gitlow (Providence, RI United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The science of Dr who is a clever little book. It attempts to rationalize the scientific and magical events, species, and technologies by applying current physical and biological laws. It has a healthy element of humor and whimsy. The author has clearly done his homework and refers to the work of experts in their fields. He appears to have forged personal relationships with the experts he has consulted. The author has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Dr. Who series from the very beginning to the present day. I found it an enjoyable and entertaining read.
Hope Daleks can't turn pages March 9, 2010
Michael D. Briggs (El Reno, OK United States)
This is a very good book for Dr Who fans, it looks at different aspects of the show from a "real world" point of view and tries to explain "how it works". This more difficult than other books like these because the Technology of Dr Who runs the gambit from Stone Knives to Time Travel.
Another aspect of this book that I like is that it takes into account the entire Dr Who Series, all 10 Doctors are included, not just the last two Doctors.
The book takes on everything from the Doctor's physiology to how the TARDIS travels. The technology of a Sonic Screwdriver to Wormholes and alternate universes.
Overall, it is a very fun book to read and could introduce some people to new worlds of science and physics.
Excellent resource. March 26, 2010
D. A. Schuman (Coventry, RI United States)
Fantastic resource for the casual viewer or die-hard fan.
This book answers all the questions I have every had about Dr. Who. It provides a clear, easily understood explanation for all of the fantastic science and gizmos on the show. It isn't intended to be a college level textbook with ultra-technical definitions, but rather a user-friendly resource for people who like Dr. Who. And it succeeds very well.
A fun look at the real science behind the science fiction April 21, 2010
Craig (Mountain View, CA USA)
I have only seen a couple of episodes of Dr. Who, but I found this book very enjoyable. The author doesn't make knowledge of the show critical, because he describes the people, situations, and gadgets being used on the show prior to any further discussion of the science related to them. And I should mention that the author doesn't just talk about the science of the show. He looks at the known science and then the potential for what happens in the show to someday actually happen. This is what made the book enjoyable to me. For example, there are a variety of weapons on the show like lasers, nuclear grenades, and sonic blasters. The author would describe the weapon's use in the show, and then he would tell us about the science encompassing the weapon. Then through discussions with others, he would tell us if there is current technology that is close the that on the show, if there is the potential for the development of the technology on the show, or if it was pure science fiction. It was really interesting to hear about how there is the potential for so many of the sci fi gadgets on the show to actually one day become a reality. And it was also interesting to hear about the things that just can't happen and why. And the variety of science covered was a plus. There was talk about various areas of physics, biology, anatomy, chemistry, etc. They covered time travel, high speed travel, long range space travel, various weapons, various ways to destroy things like stars and planets, the idea of sustaining life on other planets, how certain aliens like cyborgs could live and function. He managed to cover so much in such a little while, that I came away with an interest in seeing the show and also with some conversation worthy knowledge about a lot of science related to sci fi. I feel like I could sit down with Dr. Who fans, Star Trek fans, or Star Wars fans and share in the fun of discussing the science around any of the shows. I highly recommend the book.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
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