The New Scientist Book Club has been testing its collective brain power in September with Chanda Prescod-Weinstein’s The Edge of Space-Time. Subtitled “particles, poetry and the cosmic dream boogie”, this sees the* New Scientist* columnist and theoretical physicist set out to explain our universe, from the quantum to the inner workings of black holes.
That’s a lot to get through, but as Chanda writes in her book, it is worth the effort: “We should bother with physics because it is, in part, how we as a species learn to use our minds.” She went further in an exclusive essay for book club members, challenging us to get to grips with the quantum nature of space-time. “Spending time with what feels strange about physics can help prepare us to better reckon with difficult political questions,” she wrote. “Given the crises we face – genocides, climate change, attacks on transgender people – we need our critical faculties now more than ever.”