At first glance, the disciplines of science and philosophy would seem to be mostly distinct. To put it simply, science is about considering how the world works, while philosophy is about considering why the world works the way it does. Again, an oversimplified explanation, but close enough.

What the two share, however, is that deep-seated desire to unpack the secrets of the universe. And in some cases, the line of demarcation can become considerably more difficult to find.

In “The Dream Universe: How Fundamental Physics Lost Its Way” (Doubleday, $26.95), author David Lindley posits that in the bleeding edge world of theoretical physics, that line is all but erased. He walks the reader through a quick-hit history of science and how our conception of what “science” even is has evolved from the philosophical beginnings of the Greeks, growing into something observationally and experimentally based over the centuries, only to relatively recently push so far into the theoretical realm as to circle back round to its thought-driven underpinnings.

That might sound a bit heavy, but Lindley has a real gift for narrative; it’s rare for science writing – even pop science aimed at a broad audience – to be this readable and engaging. Lindley pushes us through the history of science via a handful of touchstone figures, giving us a crash course of sorts. From the early work of Galileo up through the pure-math musings of today’s physics giants, we’re along for the ride.

There are a lot of city builder games out there, but they are all more or less the same. However, if you are a fan of cars, this game might be for you.

“Overdrive City” tasks you with building a town entirely dedicated to cars. In this city you manufacture cars, you drive cars, you even race cars. Everything is just about automobiles and it’s a lot of fun. It’s almost like if you took the Pixar movie “Cars” and built a city that you know all the characters would dream of living in (though the cars driving around your created town are stripped of any anthropomorphic qualities).

“Overdrive City” has you manufacture over 50 real licensed cars all the way from Porsche and BMW to Ford and Chevrolet. In your manufacturing process, you have full creative control of what goes into them. One of the goals is to manufacture one of every car, and stuff your personal garage with one of each, that you can drive around the city you’ve built or race within a career mode. You must also build buildings that manufacture or trade car parts, such as bolts, transmissions, and even engines.

You are the mayor of this town and you want to make this town the Silicon Valley of automobiles. This game is a great celebration of car culture, which goes beyond just racing. Buying, collecting and tuning cars are massive parts of the culture; it’s a great pairing between that and building a city dedicated to cars themselves.

“Overdrive City” is free to download on the Android and IOS stores!