The canon : a whirligig tour of the beautiful basics of science / Natalie Angier.

Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007.

293 pages ; 24 cm

Includes bibliographical references (p. [267]-279) and index.

Introduction : sisyphus sings with a ying -- 1. Thinking scientifically : an out-of-body experience -- 2. Probabilities : for whom the bell curves -- 3. Calibration : playing with scales -- 4. Physics : and nothing's plenty for me -- 5. Chemistry : fire, ice, spies, and life -- 6. Evolutionary biology : the theory of every body -- 7. Molecular biology : cells and whistles -- 8. Geology : imaging world pieces -- 9. Astronomy : heavenly creatures -- References -- Acknowledgments -- Index.