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Chapter one
Falling
The Executioner We Can’t Live Without
You’re dead meat without special molecules that kill rotten proteins.
The Meme as Meme
Why do things go viral, and should we care?
How a Snowflake Turns Into an Avalanche
Meet the avalanche engineers of the Subzero Laboratory.
Chapter two
Crashing
How the Computer Got Its Revenge on the Soviet Union
Condemned as a capitalist tool, the computer would help expose the USSR’s weakness.
Fear in the Cockpit
The tragic plane crash in Taipei was the result of mechanical and psychological failures.
The Best Little Bar in Manhattan
An experiment in belief versus bourbon.
What the Deer Are Telling Us
A lesson in home improvement.
Chapter three
Breaking
Yes, You Can Catch Insanity
A controversial disease revives the debate about the immune system and mental illness.
The Hidden Ocean Patch That Broke Climate Records
Why the recent global warming hiatus may have ended.
Can You Die From a Broken Heart?
What happens to our bodies when the bonds of love are breached.
PTSD: The Wound That Never Heals
Coming back to life after losing my first child.
Chapter four
Modeling
Why the Flash Crash Really Matters
The debate about what caused the 2010 stock market Flash Crash is missing the point.
The Man Who Drank Cholera and Launched the Yogurt Craze
Ilya Metchnikoff laid the foundation for modern probiotics.
Ants Swarm Like Brains Think
A neuroscientist studies ant colonies to understand feedback in the brain.
Ingenious: David Krakauer
The systems theorist explains what’s wrong with standard models of intelligence.
Chapter five
Fixing
The Man Who Beat HIV at Its Own Game for 30 Years
A survivor’s story is about to change.
Meet the 17-Year-Old, Award-Winning, Rube Goldberg Parts Manufacturer
Tommy George and the Agents of SHIELD shot a Nerf ball and erased a whiteboard.
Want to Get Out Alive? Follow the Ants
Ants show that emergency exits can work better when they’re obstructed.
Five Short Stories About the Life and Times of Ideas
A complexity theorist explores how science and culture co-evolve.
Related Facts So Romantic
“Reality provides us with facts so romantic that imagination itself could add nothing to them.” —Jules Verne
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