"Assume the cow is a sphere." So begins this lively, irreverent, and informative look at everything from the physics of boiling water to cutting-edge research at the observable limits of the universe. Rich with anecdotes andaccessible examples (like the cow as sphere, which illustrates the principle of simplifying the world in order to explain it), Fear of Physics nimbly ranges over the tools and thought behind the world of modern physics, taking the mystery out of what is essentially a very humanintellectual endeavor. An internationally known theoretical physicist, as well asfor many years the very popular teacher of a "physics for poets" class at Yale University, Lawrence M. Krauss shows how simple ideas at the heart of physics can be built uponto develop the very theories that drive modern research. The book proves that physics can be accessible, exciting, and enjoyable even to those who shamefully wear the scarlet letters SI ("scientifically illiterate"). The key to understanding, according to Krauss, is not to learn more names and facts but to learn how physicists think. Among the topics treated are how to handle the "art" of numbers, how physicists define truth, how and when to plagiarize creatively, and much more. At the same time, this witty and engrossing book provides new and valuable insights even for confirmed scientific junkies. Fear of Physics takes readers on a joy ride from Galileo to Stephen Hawking, from Plato to Marshall McLuhan, through new presentations of original classics and into subjects so current that they have never before been discussed in the popular literature. Fear of Physics is must reading for anyone who has ever wanted to understand where modern physics is coming from and where it is going.