mental floss presents Condensed Knowledge
A Deliciously Irreverent Guide to Feeling Smart Again
Ratings1
Average rating4
15
A Deliciously Irreverent Guide to Feeling Smart Again
Ratings1
Average rating4
mental_floss is proud to offer a delicious, hearty helping of brain-food that's sure to fire up your neurons and tantalize your synapses. Condensed Knowledge is a mouthwatering mix of intriguing facts, lucid explanations, and mind-blowing theories that will satisfy even the hungriest mind!
Ingredients include:
5 tiny nations that get no respect • 4 civilizations nobody remembers • 5 classics written under the influence • 4 things your boss has in common with slime mold • 3 schools of thought that will impress the opposite sex • 4 things Einstein got wrong • 5 classical tunes you know from the movies • 3 famous studies that would be illegal today • 2 religious mysteries solved by chemistry • 5 scandals that rocked art, and much more ...
Reviews with the most likes.
This compendium of factoids is a fun read but probably not something you'd read all at once. It's kind of like a bathroom reader (not that I'm doing that). And in fact, I did read this in several chunks over a span of months. Topics include art, history, science (biology, chemistry, physics, etc), pop culture, religion, economics, philosophy, and so forth. And it's written in a cheeky manner with all sorts of fun sidebars. I learned a lot! I remember some! Here's one thing sort of apropos from the religion section I picked up: Did you know there was a legend about a Persian god named Mithra that predates Jesus by centuries. Well, legend has it that Mithra was born of a virgin on December 25 and was visited by sheperds and magi. He had 12 disciples, healed the sick, and cast out devils. He rose again around the vernal equinox (March 21) and ascended into heaven. Sounds somewhat familiar, no?
