More myth than mathematics, more satire than science, Italo Calvino’s collection of short stories Numbers in the Dark (Jonathan Cape, £15.99, ISBN 0 224 03732 3) takes a dim view of humanity. Peace is maintained by mutilating and beheading political leaders. Communication is an illusion -everybody has a telephone but no one connects. We’re down to the last dregs of petrol, the Sun is dying and the person charged with recording world history is a liar. Oh, and by the way, evolution was a waste of time, the Neanderthals knew it all anyway. It’s depressing but compulsive reading.
More from Â鶹´«Ã½
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Advertorial
The defence sector can’t adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to AI
Advertising
Advertorial
Why the future of defence is drone tech and distributed edge computing
Advertising
Advertorial
The future of defence lies in transatlantic industrial partnerships
Advertising
Advertorial
The biggest defence risk is a lack of integration, not technology
Advertising
Popular articles
Trending Â鶹´«Ã½ articles
1
A quantum state that lasts forever may finally be within our grasp
2
Sperm have been made magnetic to allow IVF inside the body
3
Faecal transplant makes the brains of old mice act young again
4
Autism may have two distinct subtypes that vary by brain activity
5
Almost the whole of Japan moved eastward after 2011 earthquake
6
We've found a mysterious substance on Titan and Pluto
7
How I used psychology to come back from the worst year of my life
8
Has the answer to life's origins been hiding in our cells all along?
9
We may have finally solved cosmology's chicken-or-the-egg problem
10
Oldest known plague outbreak killed hunter-gatherer children
