No Shortcuts: Science Takes Effort
Understanding science isn’t easy, yet it is rewarding. This book presents amazing science — with no laugh track, no forced awe.
About the Book
This book stands opposed to most popular science books. While popular science books do a good job of generating appreciation for science, they often fail to communicate what science actually is — how difficult it is, how much effort it takes to really understand the mechanisms behind the broad, digestible narratives.
Each Story Contains:
Historical Context
How the idea developed, who discovered it, and why it mattered.
Clear Explanation
A direct, precise breakdown without exaggeration or simplification.
Technical Deep Dive
Real equations, derivations, and references for those who want to go deeper.
Featured Topics
Why is Gold Yellow?
Explore how relativistic effects influence electron behavior in heavy elements, giving gold its distinctive color.
Gravitational Time Dilation
Understand how time flows differently near massive objects and why this effect dominates over spatial curvature.
About the Author
David H. Silver studied Math, CS, and Biology at the Technion. He has co-authored papers in Nature, PNAS, and more on bioinformatics and computer science.
This book emerged from a desire to share the depth and complexity of scientific understanding, showing both the accessible explanations and the rigorous mathematics that underlies them.
Support This Project
Help bring this unique approach to science communication to life. Back the project on Kickstarter to receive your copy and ensure this book gets completed.