The Reality Bubble

How Science Reveals the Hidden Truths that Shape Our World

By: Ziya Tong

Narrated by: Ziya Tong

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

WINNER OF THE 2020 LANE ANDERSON AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 RBC TAYLOR PRIZE

From one of the world's most engaging science journalists, a groundbreaking and wonder-filled look at the hidden things that shape our lives in unexpected and sometimes dangerous ways.

Our naked eyes see only a thin sliver of reality.

We are blind in comparison to the X-rays that peer through skin, the mass spectrometers that detect the dead inside the living, or the high-tech surveillance systems that see with artificial intelligence.

And we are blind compared to the animals that can see in infrared, or ultraviolet, or in 360-degree vision. These animals live in the same world we do, but they see something quite different when they look around.

With all of the curiosity and flair that drives her broadcasting, Ziya Tong illuminates this hidden world, and takes us on a journey to examine ten of humanity's biggest blind spots.

First, we are introduced to the blind spots we are all born with, to see how technology reveals an astonishing world that exists beyond our human senses. It is with these new ways of seeing that today's scientists can image everything from an atom to a black hole.

In Section Two, our collective blind spots are exposed. It's not that we can't see, Tong reminds us. It's that we don't. In the 21st century, there are cameras everywhere, except where our food comes from, where our energy comes from, and where our waste goes. Being in the dark when it comes to how we survive makes it impossible to navigate our future.

Lastly, the scope widens to our civilizational blind spots. Here, the blurred lens of history reveals how we inherit ways of thinking about the world that seem natural or inevitable but are in fact little more than traditions, ways of seeing the world that have come to harm it.

This vitally important new book shows how science, and the curiosity that drives it, can help civilization flourish by opening our eyes to the landscape laid out before us. Fast-paced, utterly fascinating, and deeply humane, The Reality Bubble gives voice to the sense we've all had -- that there is more to the world than meets the eye.

©2019 Ziya Tong (P)2019 Allen Lane

Critic reviews

“This book will tear through your preconceptions like a meteor through space. Ziya Tong is a wonderfully erudite companion on a tour of reality, from the very smallest to the size of the universe and everything in between. It’s an incredibly illuminating and challenging but ultimately empowering book, and reading it delivers a shock almost on the level as when Neo took the red pill in The Matrix. Prepare to have your bubble well and truly burst.” (Rowan Hooper, New Scientist)

“The Reality Bubble grabs your metaphoric lapels and rattles your mental cage. Page after page, Ziya Tong provides clear lenses for looking at the world, and entertainingly insists we use them - like, now, please. If you don’t want to destabilize your conceptions of space, time, biology, and geography, I suggest you back away slowly.” (Adam Rogers, WIRED)

Broad ranging yet digestible

An impressive journey through the challenges awaiting us ahead. Really enjoyed the smaller stories used to help illustrate the larger points.

This book should be a mandatory school read!

I listened to the book nearly nonstop! The information shared and oration we're fantastic!

Some chapters are downright chilling.

I had to take a break and contemplate some chapters. Well read and written. Very eye opening.

incredibly interesting and all-around a great book

I loved every chapter. I can't wait until her next book! the time lords chapter is amazing.

It kept blowing my mind

This is a must read. It makes you think about your own humanity and our interconnectedness. How the author managed to weave dense, scientific, physical and metaphysical themes in one clear narrative is beyond me.
I want to know more about the process of writing this book; it’s a masterpiece.

fantastic. like science? you will love this.

ziya weaves an encompassing web of pre-history, history, perception, where all of that puts us as a species, and what we're looking at if we continue this course. everyone should listen to this.

Thought provoking

This is an interesting book. It is sort of a pop science take on a number of subjects, roughly at the level of Scientific American. I didn’t learn anything revelatory, and I wasn’t exactly sure what the over arching theme was beyond just better seeing the world, but I still liked it and it did reinforce some ideas and broaden my knowledge within. I feel like for a break high school student this would be mind blowing!

Easy to enjoy

Too fun to be non- fiction A lot of interesting stories laced with facts, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how interesting stuff( you didn’t want to think or read about) can be. A friendly voice, should be a school required reading. No one could be disappointed after reading, it’s just that good and you’ll feel important, inspired and ready to improve your world.

depressing yet motivating lol

a great call to action. unwraps so many complex topics clearly. it kept me hooked

Apocalypse

I like how Ziya Tong structured the books and how she weave in and out topics and tied bow around it at end of chapter. Listening to this books was like watching a Adam Curtis documentary but her ideas were succinct and without all the repetition.