These books will make you see everyday subjects and issues in a whole new light, so you can go on and share them with your friends and become the insufferable smart-arse of the group. You’re welcome.

4 Books That Will Make You A Smart-Arse

Another rapid-fire selection of short, stimulating and entertaining capsules of philosophy from the master of the genre. Baggini analyses old truisms, first telling you where they come from, and then deciding whether they are even true or not.

Nicholas Wade’s articles are a major reason why the science section has become the most popular, nationwide, in the New York Times. Before the dawn takes our understanding of prehistoric humans and uses the human genome to separate fact from guessing.

Why do we breathe? What is money? How does the brain work? Why did life invent sex? Does time really exist? How do computers work? How did humans get to dominate the Earth? Why is theresomething rather than nothing? Tackle the big-stuff and learn how to shut down any incoherent debate in seconds, with the knowledge in this book.

The math we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. Let acclaimed mathematician Ellenburg show you how math touches everything you do, and how you can use the rules to your advantage.