A review by mathstalio
30-Second Theories: The 50 Most Thought-provoking Theories in Science, Each Explained in Half a Minute by Robert Matthews, Michael Brooks, Paul Parsons, Susan Blackmore, Martin J. Rees, Christian Jarrett, Jim Al-Khalili, Jon Gribbin, Mark Ridley, Bill McGuire

4.0

I am constantly skeptical of science and math books that have an introduction like “I wrote this for the everyday person who doesn’t have a math/science degree! Someone with high school math and science could understand this!” Because all too often...they are not. I know this because I interact with high schoolers daily and I know where their math and science understanding is at.
This one, though, at the very least gets close. I also love the layout of the pages and the minimalist graphics. I love the 3 second, 30 second, 3 minute delvings into each theory or idea. I could see this being used by a high school science teacher as an introduction to certain topics or as review, and it was certainly interesting for me to read. I was already familiar with some theories because I do have a bit of a math science background, but others I had not heard of and felt I understood the explanations, maybe occasionally having to read one twice through.
In short, I was impressed with this one. The science communicators they gathered to write all the summaries should be proud.