The Joy of Science

By: Robert M. Hazen, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert M. Hazen

Science is humanity's greatest achievement. It ranges from the study of the universe itself to the smallest particles of matter contained within it - and everything in between. It explores everything from the big bang to theories about the end of the universe.

If you want to better understand our physical world, as most of us do, gaining a basic understanding of science itself is profoundly important - yet many are intimidated by the breathtaking scope of such an endeavor.

Now an award-winning science teacher has taken out the intimidation, harnessing that breathtaking scope into a series of 60 exciting, comprehensive, and accessible lectures that let you explore and understand the wealth of ideas, discoveries, and principles in all of the physical and biological sciences. You learn that understanding science comes from understanding not only its component disciplines - each of which has its own theories, pioneers, problems, and fundamental questions - but of knowing how these disciplines work with one another to create an entire mosaic of human knowledge.

The lectures have been crafted to make those relationships crystal-clear, with an integrated approach that takes you through all of the major disciplines that fall under the umbrella of "science," including physics, chemistry, Earth science, geophysics, and biology.

Each lecture covers one of the 60 fundamental principles of the scientific world - offering you new knowledge and insight into topics such as the scientific method, gravitation, atoms, the big bang, plate tectonics, volcanoes, proteins, ecosystems, and electricity.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2001 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2001 The Great Courses

Good refresher of what I learned in college

I have a BS in Biology from 1993. Like many fields of science there has been tremendous growth & discovery since then. There has been more discoveries since this audiobook was made, too. Overall, it is a very well presented explanation of pretty much every field of science. For more specific and more up to date, newer audiobooks will cover those. This is one I really enjoyed listening to and look forward to re-listening in the future.

Fascinating and comprehensive overview of science and the history of science

Hazen has a firm grasp of the grand arc of scientific progress over the millennia. He explains clearly and with understandable examples how we came to our current understanding of science. Instead of an abstruse treatise on the finer points of science, Hazen explains scientific principles in clear language that anyone can grasp. His insights into how the pieces fit together and the impact and implications of various scientific discoveries are enlightening and insightful. Although the most recent discoveries covered are two decades out-of-date, this is still a valuable work even today.

Complex Scientific Concepts Made Understandable

Brought this audiobook in an effort to learn some concepts from science that I missed while spacing out during high school. Was not disappointed. This course covered so many topics I had come to regret ignoring in school. From physics to biology to chemistry, I now feel so much more confident in my knowledge of basic science, and look forward to further delving into this discipline that I somehow found so boring as a teenager but find so fascinating as an adult
Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry

Amazing information

One of the most intelligent and educated people I’ve ever heard. Covered every part of science I could have imagined and more. Tremendously mind expanding. Highly recommend.

Awesome refresher for those of us who took our science class classes long ago

What a great overview of a multitude of scientific disciplines! Acknowledging that it is 20 years old, and some information has been superseded, this is still a great overview for those of us struggling to remember what we learned years ago, or what was not even known years ago. I listened to it twice, and was then able to have intelligent conversations with people in scientific disciplines that I would not have been able to have before.