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A stress analysis of a strapless evening gown, and other essays for a scientific age
A stress analysis of a strapless evening gown and other essays for a scientific age Author:Robert A. Baker What's this? A collection of scientific humor, you say! But aren't the words science and humor mutually contradictory? Tlie answer, of course, is a large "No" and this book is proof Positive that science, like any human enterprise, does have its humorous aspects. Here you will find an amalgam of satiric science and scientific satire. Here you wi... more »ll find both scientists and satirists dedicated to the proposition that neither science nor man can hope to survive the rigors of our age without a sense of humor. For humor not only fosters perspective but it also provides us welcome relief from the soul-sapping monotony of our assembly-line labors, the ever-impending horror of thermonuclear war, and all the other aches and anxieties we find in our daily lives. Since the scientists are human, you will find that their satire is also human and is as sharp and incisive as any being written. For the most part, these irreverences manage to avoid excessive bitterness in lampooning the fads and foibles of our day. Most of the selections are written in good humor and with good intentions. For those that are not, the arch-villain of the Piece deserves all of the punishment meted out. Although you may not know it, good satire is an exceedingly rare commodity. More than ever, the creation of the ridiculous is almost impossible because of the competition it receives from reality.« less