Black holes. Global warming. The Hadron Collider. Ever had that sinking feeling that you really should know about these things, but somehow never quite grasped them? Don't worry - you're not alone. Before Ben Miller was a comedian, he used to be a physicist, working towards a PhD in Novel Quantum Effects in Quasi-Zero-Dimensional Electron Systems. But then he woke up twenty years later and realized he didn't know any of this stuff either. And so he set out on a mission. He worked out the ten most vital things in science - the things you really need to know. He talked to experts, he visited research labs, he went to see the Hadron Collider in action... And then he wrote this book.