What's Gotten Into You

Levitt traces the atoms in a human body backwards — through last night’s dinner, the biosphere, the formation of the Earth, supernovae, the first three minutes — and tells the story of the scientists who worked each step out.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the “how the world really works” thread. Literally an answer to how the world works, assembled as a chain of discoveries rather than a list of facts.

Where I saw it: In Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note, recovered from the reply thread to @SpencrGreenberg asking “What non-fiction book taught you the most about how the world (or how humanity or society) really works?” (June 5, 2025). The full recovered list lives on A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet).

Connections

• A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Science — the subject.