Most of us think that the history of science is undoubtedly important for the evolution of our society, but, at the same time, incredibly boring. Since scientists and mathematicians who made the history of science, and therefore of the human kind as a whole, are simply thought to be massive geniuses, it is hard to imagine how their stories could be applied in our everyday life. That was the purpose of Bill Bryson, who made it possible to gather the amazing tales of some of the most extraordinary inventions and discovers in our history, showing how ingenuity must be combined with other ingredients: surely passion and hard work, but also fate and even good luck.

The message of the book “A short story of nearly everything” is simple. There are not revolutionary men, but only revolutionary ideas. Success is the result of a complex equation in which ingenuity, curiosity and a favorable context are the main variables.

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