A review by julcoh
The Science of Discworld by Terry Pratchett

I stopped about a third of the way through on this one. I'm sure I'll pick it up again and read through a few chapters.

I've read a ton of history/philosophy of science books, and the authors do a great job of following the thread of scientific development through the eyes of the Discworld characters we love and know, but at the end of the day not so illuminating.

Where this book is incredible for me is Pratchett's clear influence on the writing-- his style and satire are suffused throughout, and his turn-of-phrase is equally delightful in non-fiction:

When you live in a complex world, you have to simplify it in order to understand it. Indeed, that's what 'understand' means. At different stages of education, different levels of simplification are appropriate. Liar-to-children is an honourable and vital profession, otherwise known as 'teacher'. But what teaching does *not* do— although many politicians think it does, which is one of the problems— is erect a timeless edifice of 'facts'. Every so often, you have to unlearn what you thought you already knew, and replace it by something more subtle. This *process* is what science is all about, and it never stops. It means you shouldn't take everything we say as gospel, either, for we belong to another, equally honourable profession: Liar-to-readers.