Lightning Often Strikes Twice: The 50 Biggest Misconceptions in Science

by Brian Clegg

A revealing and entertaining guide through some of the biggest misconceptions in science that many of us still believe.

You may well be familiar with the fact that lightning, contrary to the popular saying, often strikes the same place twice. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what many of us wrongly believe about the way the world works. Whether it’s word of mouth, myths you’ve read about online, or misremembered facts from school , we’re bombarded by misconceptions about the science we come into contact with every day – this book will uncover the most popular myths to help you avoid contributing to the perpetuation of these misunderstandings.

Breaking it down into fifty of the most popular misconceptions in science , each chapter of this book will be headed up with a ‘fact’, followed by the real story, providing the science and theory that debunks the myth. From fears about the exponential growth of the human population to the embarrassment of always pointing out the north star as the brightest in the sky, this is the book to read if you want to separate the science fact from fiction .

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

192 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2023

About the author

Brian's latest books, Ten Billion Tomorrows and How Many Moons does the Earth Have are now available to pre-order. He has written a range of other science titles, including the bestselling Inflight Science, The God Effect, Before the Big Bang, A Brief History of Infinity, Build Your Own Time Machine and Dice World.

Along with appearances at the Royal Institution in London he has spoken at venues from Oxford and Cambridge Universities to Cheltenham Festival of Science, has contributed to radio and TV programmes, and is a popular speaker at schools. Brian is also editor of the successful www.popularscience.co.uk book review site and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Brian has Masters degrees from Cambridge University in Natural Sciences and from Lancaster University in Operational Research, a discipline originally developed during the Second World War to apply the power of mathematics to warfare. It has since been widely applied to problem solving and decision making in business.

Brian has also written regular columns, features and reviews for numerous publications, including Nature, The Guardian, PC Week, Computer Weekly, Personal Computer World, The Observer, Innovative Leader, Professional Manager, BBC History, Good Housekeeping and House Beautiful. His books have been translated into many languages, including German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, Norwegian, Thai and even Indonesian.

Reviews

[Cristina Lazăr · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://carti.blog/2025/03/15/trasnet...

[Boghean Daniela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesantă, dar se bazează prea mult pe teorii nefinalizate sau care nu au fost studiate suficient pentru a ajunge la o concluzie, iar asta m-a făcut să pun la îndoială unele din cele 50 de concepții.

[Ben Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I appreciate the purpose of the content- that is, pointing out misconceptions, describing their origins, and correcting them - the delivery of the content was nothing short of a buzzfeed article (e.g. "50 Things You Were Taught Wrong"). I could hardly make sense of what was being said through all the tangents, vague analogies, and awkward sequence of information. Simplicity has taken its toll, and the information was not conveyed in impactful manner. The only information from this book that may stick with me are the fact that the lightning strikes wherever and how many times it wants, and the fact that the phases of the moon is NOT caused by the Earth's shadow.

[Vanessa N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering that this is a four hour audiobook, each fact takes just under five minutes.

I do enjoy the these quick clearing up of common misconceptions - it’s not too heavy, making it easy to put down and pick up again.

Interesting fact: Your fingertips and toetips wrinkle after a long shower not because water went under your skin - it’s pretty much waterproof. It’s a response to increase fiction - If there’s nerve damage, the wrinkling doesn’t happen.

This book was published in July earlier this year.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is way more of a 'technically...' approach rather than things people actually believe that are wrong. Some were actual misconceptions but most felt like filler and would have been better served having maybe 10-20 instead of 50. Some areas of quantum mechanics piqued my interest, however, for a notoriously difficult area, the author spoke about it in a way which made it more complicated. Didn't appreciate that approach.

[Gautam Surath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable read and topics right up my alley and hence the 5 stars rating. Things are explained fairly easily and enough hints to do your own research in case you want more details. Also clear call outs on where we still don't have answers. Specifically I want to know why the moon appears so close.

[alex (taylor's version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I already knew all this... it uses very simple language and doesn't explain anything in detail just briefly covers the basics
I picked it up because the cover and concept seemed interesting
my rating comes from me already knowing the information in this book and the author going on tangents a lot. it's just not for me

[Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant book which had me raising my eyebrows often. Some of these misconceptions seem too good to be true. I'd really like to see the the literature for myself.

If these misconceptions are indeed proved true, we really must share the info and set the record straight!

[Bronya Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely devastated to learn that i have more than 5 senses mere days before becoming a legal adult

the short sharp chapters were actually really fun to give little snapshots of 50 science myths

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Clegg is a terrific science communicator.

[Tom Forbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, light read. Interesting and informative.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, easy to read as each chapter is only 4-5 pages.

[Vincent Parenteau · Rating 2 out of 5]

La plupart des faits présentés sont intéressants, mais il manque de détails et de références à mon avis. Livre idéal à lire avant le dodo!

[David Fredh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun!

[Bri Un · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun easy one with lots of interesting facts.