The Seven Follies of Science [2nd ed.] / A popular account of the most famous scientific impossibilities and the attempts which have been made to solve them. To which is added a small budget of interesting paradoxes, illusions, and marvels

A popular account surveys seven long-pursued scientific impossibilities—quadrature of the circle, duplication of the cube, trisection of an angle, perpetual motion, transmutation of metals, fixation of mercury, and the search for a universal medicine—tracing historical attempts, common errors, and why they conflict with established principles. Presented in plain language and illustrated with simple geometric and mechanical demonstrations, the volume also collects related curiosities: paradoxes, optical and tactile illusions, micrography, and recreational arithmetical problems, with explanations that favor elementary reasoning and hands-on experiments over formal mathematics for the general reader.