The Universe in a Box
Andrew Pontzen
Jonathan Cape £22 • HB
The Universe in a Box begins, rather innocuously, reminiscing about computer games from the 1980s before moving on to discuss the weather. But these familiar concepts are merely setting the tone for the rest of author Andrew Pontzen's exploration of what is now an incredibly common way to explore the Universe: using simulations. It's one thing this book does brilliantly, keeping complex topics grounded – what, after all, is more familiar than a weather forecast?
Most of the book's first half asks how the principles used when predicting the weather can be applied to exploring the Universe at large. If the idea of computer coding feels technical, you need not worry –
