Book Description
In this groundbreaking book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that physics—the basis for all other science—has lost its way. The problem is string theory, an ambitious attempt to formulate "a theory of everything" that explains all the forces and particles of nature and how the universe came to be. With its exotic new particles and parallel universes, string theory has captured the public"s imagination and seduced many physicists. But as Smolin reveals, there"s a deep flaw in the theory: no part of it has been proven, and no one knows how to prove it. As a scientific theory, it has been a colossal failure. And because it has soaked up the lion's share of funding, attracted some of the best minds, and penalized young physicists for pursuing other avenues, it is dragging the rest of physics down with it. With clarity, passion, and authority, Smolin charts the rise and fall of string theory and takes a fascinating look at what will replace it. A group of young theorists has begun to develop exciting new ideas that are, unlike string theory, testable. Smolin tells us who and what to watch for in the coming years and how we can find the next Einstein. This is a wake-up call, and Lee Smolin—a former string theorist himself— is the perfect person to deliver it.
Customer Reviews:
Scientific progress is never cut and dried.......2007-10-08
Lee Smolin presents a harsh critique of the last 30 years in theoretical physics, written by one of its practitioners. He makes the excellent point that science is a human activity like anything else. Progress is always hard to predict; scientists can and do get caught up in dead ends. Smolin thinks string theory is one such dead end, and makes a good case for it.
I think that, if anything, Smolin is a little too gentle on the field. The development of the atomic and hydrogen bombs left a tremendous impression that big money put into physics would bring big results. In recent years that hasn't happened. There are so many unanswered questions out there in science, so many important fields where solutions are desperately needed. When I consider the construction and operation of particle accelerators and other high-tech equipment, I can't help but think of the huge cost. The same amount of cash invested elsewhere might have brought much more in the way of useful results.
I am the mother of a 10-year-old boy attending public school. His instruction sometimes seems to me like a mishmash of well-meaning educational reforms that have been implemented with little or no testing to see if they worked or not. I am frankly disgusted by the quality of most research in the area of education--sample sizes too small, no proper controls, subjects followed for too short a time, etc. The cost of operating a single particle accelerator for six weeks probably exceeds all the funding for educational research around the world for the entire year. Yet which has the most potential for making major progress? Maybe it's time to back off on funding big physics projects for a while.
I would also like to point out that the building and use of instrumentation for high-energy physics is highly dependent on cheap fossil fuels. The future supply of such fuels is by no means guaranteed. The peak oil problem appears to be largely ignored by high-energy physicists today, but has the potential to significantly affect their ability to conduct experiments.
I really enjoyed Smolin's chapters on looking for seers rather than technicians in science. I especially liked his description of how unconventional scientists have built a career without a university job. Smolin points out that a typical professor spends a majority of his week on teaching, grant proposals, administrative tasks, and the like, leaving a surprisingly small amount of time available for actual research. Having a day job outside the field is not as big a hurdle as it might seem.
I tend to agree with Smolin that the big advances of the future are likely to come from completely unexpected directions. I can't wait to see what they are.
physics from many angles.......2007-10-05
This book provided several discussions pf physics and quantum theory. its good because the author speaks of the history the the originators of physics theory and the current champions of thought.
A mixed bag.......2007-10-04
At the moment, string theory appears to have many (possibly an infinite number) of "metastable vacua", each of which would allow for a universe with its own laws of physics. (For a brief, comic, yet essentially correct summary of the history of this idea, see Peter Shor's review here. For those who don't know, Shor is a celebrated quantum-information theorist.) According to the (far from established) inflationary model of cosmology, there is a vast collection of universes (the "multiverse") with diverse laws of physics. Which universe we find ourselves in is a matter of random selection, but of course we must be in a "biofriendly" universe, one whose laws of physics allow for the appearance of intelligent life.
The core argument of this book is presented on page 164-165 (US hardcover edition), where Smolin writes, "when it comes to the biofriendliness of our universe, we have at least three possibilities:
"1. Ours is one of a vast collection of universes with random laws.
"2. There was an intelligent designer.
"3. There is a so-far-unknown mechanism that will both explain the biofriendliness of our universe and make testable predictions by which it can be confirmed or falsified.
"Given that the first two possibilities are untestable in principle, it is most rational to hold out for the third possibility. Indeed, that is the only possibility we should consider as scientists, because accepting either of the first two would mean the end of our field."
I find this to be an astonishing argument. First of all, I don't know what "most rational" is supposed to mean. More importantly, to reject a scientific hypothesis for purely personal reasons (it "would mean the end of our field") is at best novel, and at worst absurd.
Very few string theorists are happy that #1 seems, at this point, to be the most likely outcome of string theory, and many hope that #3 will somehow eventually emerge. But to throw out the whole framework, simply because we don't like the result, cannot be said to be a scientific attitude.
One thing you won't learn in this book (unless you read it very carefully, and between the lines) is that the other approaches to quantum gravity advocated by Smolin have not come any closer to predicting specific experimental results than string theory has. Smolin talks about possible violations of special relativity, but these are not (as he admits on page 237) a definite prediction of loop quantum gravity. He has said (on Peter Woit's blog) that any quantum field theory in any number of dimensions is compatible with loop quantum gravity. If true, this would make loop quantum gravity even less capable than string theory of picking out our particular laws of physics.
Smolin also discusses issues of sociology in physics. On page 335-336, he asserts that the all the truly negative characterizations of job candidates that he has ever heard have had a component of racism and/or sexism. I am on the faculty of the physics department of a research university, and I can only say that my experience has been entirely different. I have simply never heard a racist or sexist denigration of one scientist by another, nor have I ever felt that anyone was being evaluated by criteria other than merit. I think that there are definitely issues of culture and how we can construct scientific communities that have broader appeal, and that there are physicists who are not as sensitive to these issues as they might be, but I cannot accept Smolin's claim that the relatively small percentage of women and blacks in physics is due to "blatant prejudice".
Finally, Smolin discusses the issues of "seers" vs "craftspeople" in science, and argues that we should be supporting more "seers". Among the existing seers, he lists some (such as Roger Penrose and Gerard 't Hooft) who made their reputations primarily as craftspeople ('t Hooft received the Nobel Prize for his work on the renormalization of gauge theories, and Penrose did celebrated work on the singularity theorems of general relativity). Their record as seers has been less successful; none of their recent ideas on modifications of quantum mechanics have panned out as yet. Smolin laments the fact that more attention is not paid to these forays into alternatives to quantum mechanics. But 't Hooft and Penrose do not agree on what modifications are needed. Other seers identified by Smolin propose violations of special relativity, rather than (or in addition to) violations of quantum mechanics. Perhaps this is all deep thought, but there is little to decide, at this point, which if any of these avenues should be pursued. Most physicists have therefore sensibly adopted a "wait and see" attitude.
Even if we accept Smolin's argument that we need new seers, how are we to find them? Smolin writes (page 353) that in order to discover "the visionaries who ignore the mainstream and follow their own ambitious programs", we should "find at least one accomplished person in the candidate's field who is deeply excited about what the candidate is trying to do". So, the candidate's program had better not be *too* far off the mainstream; there has to be at least one "accomplished person" who is "deeply excited" about it. But if one deeply excited professional is good, wouldn't more be better? Wouldn't that up the odds that the program was, indeed, worthwhile? Oh wait, that would be just what we have now ... a system where there is constant debate, emergent consensus on the most promising approaches, and distribution of research funds primarily (but by no means exclusively!) to those approaches that appear, in the consensus view, to be most promising. To paraphrase Winston Churchill on democracy, this system for distributing funds for science may be the worst ever devised, except for all the others.
So, should you buy the book? I feel that it gives a distorted picture, by emphasizing the weak points of string theory while ignoring the (many more, in my view) weak points of the alternatives. It seems to me that the essence of the book's argument against string theory is captured by the excerpts above, and by Shor's review. Then there is a lot of discussion of groupthink in scientific culture. For me, it doesn't add up to an appealing package, but your mileage may vary.
The Endless Quest Continues .......2007-10-04
I like Lee Smolin and this is a good exposition of the current quandary in Physics. When the mathematicians "hijacked" physics in the 1920's, they created ever-so elegant formulas and abstraction upon abstraction upon abstraction. "Just give me a formula!" was their mantra, and what it all really "means" was not their concern. This is the essence of Bohr's position (no pun intended), and Einstein was not able to answer, even though he knew something was missing.
String theory has many intriguing ideas, and it's supporters should not be easily dismissed. Again and again, we come back to the basic question...particle or wave? Wavicle? Partiwave? String?
Outstanding piece of writing, A must-read for any science enthusiast........2007-09-22
I found this book to be superbly written and full of fascinating insights. I really loved reading it. Many of the longer reviews here do a great job of reviewing the content of the book, so I'll stick to offering my opinion.
I will no doubt read this book again in the future as much of the content was way over my head. However, as with any great book on any subject, this did not prevent me from thoroughly enjoying it and learning a lot. What makes it so great is that each time I read it I will learn more.
I want to thank Lee Smolin for putting the current state of his field in some perspective. I highly, highly recommend this book!
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Amazon.com
In American Prometheus, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin delve deep into J. Robert Oppenheimer's life and deliver a thorough and devastatingly sad biography of the man whose very name has come to represent the culmination of 20th century physics and the irrevocable soiling of science by governments eager to exploit its products. Rich in historical detail and personal narratives, the book paints a picture of Oppenheimer as both a controlling force and victim of the mechanisms of power.
By the time the story reaches Oppenheimer's fateful Manhattan Project work, readers have been swept along much as the project's young physicists were by fate and enormous pressure. The authors allow the scientists to speak for themselves about their reactions to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, avoiding any sort of preacherly tone while revealing the utter, horrible ambiguity of the situation. For instance, Oppenheimer wrote in a letter to a friend, "The thing had to be done," then, "Circumstances are heavy with misgiving."
Many biographies of Oppenheimer end here, with the seeds of his later pacifism sown and the dangers of mixing science with politics clearly outlined. But Bird and Sherwin devote the second half of this hefty book to what happened to Oppenheimer after the bomb. For a short time, he was lionized as the ultimate patriot by a victorious nation, but things soured as the Cold War crept forward and anti-communist witchhunts focused paranoia and anti-Semitism onto Oppenheimer, destroying his career and disillusioning him about his life's work. Devastated by the atom bomb's legacy of fear, he became a vocal and passionate opponent of the Strangelovian madness that gripped the world because of the weapons he helped develop.
Twenty-five years of research went into creating American Prometheus, and there has never been a more honest and complete biography of this tragic scientific giant. The many great ironies of Oppenheimer's life are revealed through the careful reconstruction of a wealth of records, conversations, and ideas, leaving the clearest picture yet of his life. --Therese Littleton
Book Description
J. Robert Oppenheimer is one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress. In this magisterial, acclaimed biography twenty-five years in the making, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin capture Oppenheimer’s life and times, from his early career to his central role in the Cold War. This is biography and history at its finest, riveting and deeply informative.
Customer Reviews:
A Superb Biography.......2007-09-30
This book merited its Pulitzer Prize: the subject, Oppenheimer and the bomb, is fascinating; the scholarship is thorough; and the writing is so clear that one forgets one is reading--one sees the events of history.
I will never forget the authors' analysis of why we dropped the bombs on those two unlucky Japanese cities. Was it to save the lives of our troops and of those who would defend Japan? No, the Japanese wanted to surrender in July of 1945, and the invasion of Japan was scheduled to occur after 1 November 1945. Truman wanted to end the war before 15 August, the date Stalin had promised to declare war on Japan. Decoded diplomatic cables revealed that the Japanese were willing to surrender in July if the US relaxed its condition of "unconditional surrender." But Secretary of State James F. Byrnes of South Carolina advised Truman that the Democrats would do better in the elections of 1946 and 1948 if Truman insisted on unconditional surrender. So he dropped the two atomic bombs on Japan to win those elections.
The authors' description of Lewis Strauss's hearings was excellent.
Even the biographers are leftist.......2007-09-05
This book was engaging and well written and full of insights about the life of J Robert Oppenheimer. However, it was clear to this reader that the sympathies of the authors are far to the left. Although one could easily agree that the 1954 Oppenheimer security hearing was something of a kangaroo court, the authors treated the issue of Oppenheimer's security status as if it were a primary right (such as the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) rather than a status granted by the government at its discretion. After all, why would the US Government appoint someone to be intimately associated with the development of the H-bomb who publicly and forcefully disdained the effort--whether or not the man was at the time or had been in the past a fellow-traveler? Also, all of the "nasty" characters who happened to be Republican were repeated and clearly identified as Republican but the "nasty" Democrats were simply identified by their names.
This leftist tendency by the authors is a blemish on what otherwise would have been one of the most enjoyable books I have read in years and certainly one of the best I have read on this remarkable period in American history. But, then, I guess it is difficult for authors not to identify and sympathize with their subject, especially since most who came in contact with Oppenheimer during his life seemed also to have succumbed to his spell.
The Incredible Life of a Nearly Forgotten Hero.......2007-08-31
Before my grandfather handed me this book I had no idea Oppenheimer ever existed. Nothing from school, other books, or TV. Now, I feel as though I've met him. As I read this book I felt his anger, sadness, pain, and joy.
I had no knowledge of this man, and I don't think any is needed before reading this book. It's also about much more than Oppenheimer. Knowing about his life gave me a VERY different view of the American Communists of the thirties, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, McCarthism, the Cold War, and the US government as a whole.
Within this book America isn't that sparkly clean America I thought it was. America makes mistakes just like all of us and I believe it's incredibly important the citizens are told more than just the nice version of history. When Oppenheimer challenged this nice version, the backlash nearly destroyed him.
Buy this book, borrow it, just read it. This book contains forgotten history every American needs to know.
A Splendid Enigma.......2007-08-09
There was a time when scientists where revered in the same way that athletes, entertainers, and celebrities are today. The first half of the 20th century was a time of great scientific and technological development and achievement. Despite global struggles with depression, war and ideological strife, the promise of a bright future delivered by brilliant men in universities and laboratories, offered a vision of a brave new world. The dark side of this lay in man's own capacity for self-destruction if ethics and morals failed to keep pace with scientific advancement. Would the new frontiers of science create a new Eden, or would it destroy the fruits of civilization? Specifically, would the unleashed power of the atom bring peace and abundance, or would it foster terror among the nations of the world?
AMERICAN PROMOTHEUS: THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER chronicles the life and times of the splendid enigma - Oppie - the brilliant physicist who became a shepherd of geniuses. These were the members of the team at Los Alamos who created the atomic bomb - the weapon that ended World War II and brought "peace" to the world in a blinding flash of radioactivity.
The authors, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin have collaborated in this Pulitzer Prize winning exploration of "Oppie" in a level of detail not previously seen in previous biographies. From Oppenheimer's early life to his years as a student and prodigy, internationally renowned academic to the Los Alamos Atomic Bomb Project and its cold war aftermath, the authors provide a telling multi-textural portrait of a man both loved and hated by fellow scientists, politicians, and ethicists. The consequences of his intellectual curiosity and affinity of communistic ideals in the early years of the Cold War amidst the shameful paranoia of McCarthyism provide an insight into the man's human frailties as well as his intellectual strengths. The revocation of Oppenheimer's security clearance amidst such political turmoil sheds light on a controversial period in American history.
The book is well researched and documented. The narrative flows well, despite some repetition in chapters devoted to Oppenheimer's 1930s political activities. It is a compelling and comprehensive biography of one of the most elusive personalities in American and World History.
Complex, but very approachable.......2007-06-30
This is an extremely well-written, engaging, and engrossing tale of an equally complex and brilliant man. The degree of his humanness -- unapologetically raw; the degree of his metal abilities -- virtually unmatched. A great read for any fan of science, mathematics, or the history of science. You won't be able to put it down once you start it.
Book Description
It is a widely known but insufficiently appreciated fact that Albert Einstein and Kurt Goedel were best friends for the last decade and a half of Einstein's life. They walked home together from Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study every day; they shared ideas about physics, philosophy, politics, and the lost world of German-Austrian science in which they had grown up. What is not widely known is that in 1949 Goedel made a remarkable discovery: there exist possible worlds described by the theory of relativity in which time, as we ordinarily understand it, does not exist. He added a philosophical argument that demonstrates, by Goedel's lights, that as a consequence, time does not exist in our world either. If Goedel is right, Einstein has not just explained time; he has explained it away.
Without committing himself to Goedel's philosophical interpretation of his discovery, Einstein acknowledged that his friend had made an important contribution to the theory of relativity, a contribution that he admitted raised new and disturbing questions about what remains of time in his own theory. Physicists since Einstein have tried without success to find an error in Goedel's physics or a missing element in relativity itself that would rule out the applicability of Goedel's results. Philosophers, for the most part, have been silent.
_A World Without Time_, addressed to experts and non experts alike, brings to life the sheer intellectual drama of the companionship of Goedel and Einstein, and places their discoveries -- which can only be measured on a millennial scale -- in the context of the great and disturbing intellectual movements of the twentieth century -- in physics, mathematics, logic, philosophy, and the arts. It contains, as well, a poignant and intimate account of the friendship between these two thinkers, each put on the shelf by the scientific fashions of their day -- and ours -- and attempts to rescue from undeserved obscurity the work Goedel did, inspired by Einstein, which made clear for the first time the truly revolutionary nature of the theory of relativity, which to this day is hardly recognized.
Customer Reviews:
more about philosophy than about physics or math.......2007-02-27
A World Without Time is a book about the friendship between Einstein and Godel that occurred toward the end of their lives. The friendship was fruitful in that Godel used Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to prove the existence of what are now called Godel Universes. Godel Universes are universes where time loops back on itself so, if you go sufficiently fast, you would end up back where you started in time. This is interesting but perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book for me was it's philosophical aspect. The author mentions the Vienna Circle and some concepts of philosophy such as positivism and ontology and epistemology which I found very interesting. I found the explanations of Godel's theories hard to follow but got the basic idea. I recommend this book for it's philosophical content. If you want to learn about Godel's Incompleteness theorem I recommend reading Godel, Escher Bach, An Eternal Golden Braid.
Should we dispense with clocks ?.......2007-02-12
The title of the book suggests time does not exist. The justification is a certain solution to Einstein cosmological equation, where the universe is rotating and time travel is possible. A path could reach into the past going around the universe.It is the Godel solution.
Modern cosmology is based on the Robertson Walker metric , or model,where there is a universal time. It fits the obseved universal expansion.The universe was born in a big bang fifteen billions years ago.
Goodel gave too much importance to his solution. After all any equation can allow many mathematical solutions which bear no relation to physical reality or fact.
The book is good reading with old and rare photos.It compelled me to reread "The Godel Solution" in Adler ,Bazin and Schiffer General Relativity.
Early in the century,Kurt Godel had laid a golden egg with his incompleteness theorem, pertaining to pure mathematics, causing some stir among Hilbert and Russell.But his attempt to abolish time, much later in 1949, felt in deaf ears among physicists and cosmologists.This is not about to change any time soon.
Yourgrau does an elegant work in rescuing an old story.It takes us through Europe and the beginnings of the Princeton Advanced Study Institute.
A World Without Time.......2007-01-23
Great book about Godel & Einstein. It tells much about their human side & their friendship. Does good job explaining some of their work.
Very bad book: a waste of your money.......2007-01-17
It is a heap op philosophy, not science. No formula, math, explanation, working examples whatsoever. Just small-talk to fill up the pages. This is NOT a physics book. I was lured into buying it thinking to get a complete textbook on Gödel's explanation of time. Forget it, this book is not worth your money. Go check the internet for PDF's or webpages containing the original publications of Gödel, they are there allright.
A World Without Time.......2007-01-04
I bought this book because I loved the cover. Everyone knows Einstein but it is amazing how few know the equally revolutionary Godel and still fewer know of their freindship. This is an invaluable book for those that (somehow) don't know about Godel's work. I didn't expect much from this book because I know of Godel's revolving universe time paradox. However, I found this book to be extremely interesting. The author's minimalist definition of Godel's theorm (syntax does not equal semantics) was worth the price alone. Unfortunatley the last chapter of the book is muddled in philosophic musings, since I am a Physicist I am less appreciative of pure philosophy.
Amazon.com
If the first 270 pages of this book had been published separately, they would have made up a lively, insightful, beautifully written history of theoretical physics and the men and women who plumbed the mysteries of the atom. Along with the following 600 pages, they become a sweeping epic, filled with terror and pity, of the ultimate scientific quest: the development of the ultimate weapon. Rhodes is a peerless explainer of difficult concepts; he is even better at chronicling the personalities who made the discoveries that led to the Bomb. Niels Bohr dominates the first half of the book as J. Robert Oppenheimer does the second; both men were gifted philosophers of science as well as brilliant physicists. The central irony of this book, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award, is that the greatest minds of the century contributed to the greatest destructive force in history.
Book Description
Here for the first time, in rich, human, political, and scientific detail, is the complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan.
Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly -- or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity there was a span of hardly more than twenty-five years. What began as merely an interesting speculative problem in physics grew into the Manhattan Project, and then into the Bomb with frightening rapidity, while scientists known only to their peers -- Szilard, Teller, Oppenheimer, Bohr, Meitner, Fermi, Lawrence, and yon Neumann -- stepped from their ivory towers into the limelight.
Richard Rhodes takes us on that journey step by step, minute by minute, and gives us the definitive story of man's most awesome discovery and invention. The Making of the Atomic Bomb has been compared in its sweep and importance to William L. Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. It is at once a narrative tour de force and a document as powerful as its subject.
Customer Reviews:
Is this the best non-fiction book ever written?.......2007-08-03
Read this one. It has that wonderful and rare convergence of a fantastic story, great science, and distinguished writing and storytelling. Richard Rhodes learned a lot for this, then distilled it down, synthesized the information, and made it fascinating. I don't have a single complaint, it's just great. Just read it again for the first time in twenty years. Only "tickling the dragon's tail" came back, which is dropping a slug of U235 thru a hole in another similar mass, an early experiment.
From soup to nuts.......2007-04-21
I had been looking for a complete history of the making of the atomic bomb for many years. Imagine my pleasure at discovering this Pulitzer Prize winning tome on the budget rack at my local book store. Most books on this subject focus on only one aspect, the scientists, the science, Groves but this book brilliantly covers all aspects of the making of the bomb. Even more fascinating was the development of the theories and discoveries which led the leading scientists of the day to the understanding that the splitting of the atom and the awesome release of power that this would engender, was even possible. At over 900 pages you might think that this read would be tedious, but it is impossible to put this book down.
How do you define "Making"?.......2007-03-21
It's not what I thought it would be but I'm struggling to come up with a suitable title. "Fusion - Epiphany to Actuality - The Lead-Up to the Atomic Bomb" is about the best I can do. It should have stopped at the first critical mass.
The actual 'Making' happened after the theory/experimentation, which is this book's primary focus. The actual 'making' was what I was primarily interested in learning about - Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, etc., where the gadget was actually 'made'. Incredibly very short-shrift is given to this despite the length of the book.
"The Making of the Atomic Bomb" is remarkable in it's own right. But while we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover I thought we might at least have a reasonable chance at judging the topic by its title. Apparently not.
atomic bomb.......2007-01-17
The Atomic Bomb
By Dakota Moxon
Why did Japan surrender? If you guessed that it was when the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan you are right. Do you know why we decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan? I chose the atomic bomb because it brought the biggest war to an end.
I think World War 2 was the biggest war in the world. I thought this was the scariest war when the United States dropped the atomic bombs. World War 2 had claimed many lives on both sides before Germany surrendered. President Truman now wanted to end the war in Japan. Before the start of World War 2 Albert Einstein contacted President Franklin D. Roosevelt and made him aware that a great bomb could be made. After much thought and prayer, President Truman made the decision to use an atomic bomb instead of invading. President Truman knew that many more Americans and Japanese would die if we invaded. American war planners thought that about one million Japanese soldiers and people would be killed and about 500,000 Americans would be killed.
President Truman had airplanes drop little pieces of paper warning the people to get out of the city. He contacted the Japanese and asked them to surrender so we would not have to drop the atomic bomb. They did not surrender. On August 2nd, 1945 the first atomic bomb named "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima. The Japanese would still not surrender so we dropped the second atomic bomb named "Fat Man" on Nagasaki on August 9th. Finally, on August 14th, Japan announced its surrender.
I think it was sad because many people died when we dropped the atomic bombs. Even though many people died, many people were saved because we did not invade. Many more people would have died if we did. I hope we do not have to drop another atomic bomb again. If I had to be in war I would hope that it would be the last war in history.
interesting, thorough history.......2007-01-12
awesome read! though it is many pages long, it is pretty easy to read, and it is very detailed. the pictures in the book do an excellent job showing the damage. the personal accounts of the survivors of the bombs are so moving and really make you think.
Amazon.com
Science is inextricably linked with mathematics. Statistician David Salsburg examines the development of ever-more-powerful statistical methods for determining scientific truth in The Lady Tasting Tea, a series of historical and biographical sketches that illuminate without alienating the mathematically timid. Salsburg, who has worked in academia and industry and has met many of the major players he writes about, shares his subjects' enthusiasm for problem solving and deep thinking. His sense of excitement drives the prose, but never at the expense of the reader; if anything, the author has taken pains to eliminate esoterica and ephemera from his stories. This might frustrate a few number-head readers, but the abundant notes and references should keep them happy in the library for weeks after reading the book.
Ultimately, the various tales herein are unified in a single theme: the conversion of science from observational natural history into rigorously defined statistical models of data collection and analysis. This process, usually only implicit in studies of scientific methods and history, is especially important now that we seem to be reaching the point of diminishing returns and are looking for new paradigms of scientific investigation. The Lady Tasting Tea will appeal to a broad audience of scientifically literate readers, reminding them of the humanity underlying the work. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
At a summer tea party in Cambridge, England, a guest states that tea poured into milk tastes different from milk poured into tea. Her notion is shouted down by the scientific minds of the group. But one man, Ronald Fisher, proposes to scientifically test the hypothesis. There is no better person to conduct such an experiment, for Fisher is a pioneer in the field of statistics. The Lady Tasting Tea spotlights not only Fishers theories but also the revolutionary ideas of dozens of men and women which affect our modern everyday lives. Writing with verve and wit, David Salsburg traces breakthroughs ranging from the rise and fall of Karl Pearsons theories to the methods of quality control that rebuilt postwar Japans economy, including a pivotal early study on the capacity of a small beer cask at the Guinness brewing factory. Brimming with intriguing tidbits and colorful characters, The Lady Tasting Tea salutes the spirit of those who dared to look at the world in a new way.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding for a narrow audience............2007-07-04
I have given several copies of this book away to my statistician colleagues, as it is an outstanding overview of the development of statistics in the twentieth century.
It is not particularly technical but it probably would appeal only to statisticians, students of statistics, and others interested in the impact of statistics on the advancement of science.
Story of the statistical revolution of the 20th century.......2007-05-19
Salsburg writes a selective account of the history of statistics in the 20th century. In so doing, he tackles the philosophical issue of a scientific revolution from deterministic to stochastic thinking (he writes that this is a revolution in the Kuhnian sense). I haven't personally found another book which displays the big picture of what happened so clearly, and from that standpoint consider this book a must read on the topic. It is well written and appears to me to successfully communicate to a broad audience.
Insightful book.......2007-03-09
This is a very intriguing read about the history and the developments in the study of statistics throughout the twentieth century.
The Lady Tasting Tea.......2007-01-10
"The Lady Tasting Tea" is a valuable history of the evolution of statistical thinking. It presents a very good explanation of the meaning of "significance," "p-value" and other statistical concepts that are only dealt with as if gospel in statistics courses. It puts these concepts in context.
The book is an easy read. I found it particularly interesting because I have had the good fortune to have met, and/or worked on various committees with, several of those mentioned in the book. This includes the author. David Salsburg also provides the answer to a question that I thought for the last 35 years didn't have an answer. That is, can the lady really tell whether the milk or the tea was put in the cup first? This is the question posed in the second chapter of R. A. Fisher's classic book "The Design of Experiments."
I don't usually recommend books. However, this one I consider a "must read" for anyone who wishes to truly understand the application of statistics. It also gives us another reason to support the Guinness Brewing Company.
A gem.......2006-09-19
I personally have a deep admiration for statistical science. Probability is everywhere, from Heisenberg to quantum mechanics to common primary school science experiments. What constitutes a good experiment? What questions should we ask? How should we interpret the data? Indeed, what data should we be expecting? What if the data are contrary to our expectations? More directly, how did these methodologies come to be? What were their motivations? Statistics and probability presently provides some of the best tools science has to offer for exploring our world, and making sense of it. These are tools forged by individuals over the past centuries with real problems to solve, despite their own very human problems. This extremely readable book helps tell their fascinating stories and the history of the evolution of statistical methods now so prevalent in our sciences. I bought this book as a gift for a doctor friend of mine, and promptly borrowed it from her after thumbing through it. I couldn't put it down for 2 days, nor stop talking about it. Absolutely a must read for anyone with a realization of the importance statistics plays in modern society. 5 easy stars for this one.
Book Description
Fifteen years on from the highly praised The New Physics, new scientific advances have led to a dramatic reappraisal of our understanding of the world around us, and made a significant impact on our lifestyle. Underpinning all the other branches of science, physics affects the way we live our lives and ultimately how life itself functions. This fully rewritten new edition investigates key frontiers in modern physics. Exploring our universe, from the particles within atoms to the stars making up galaxies, it reveals the vital role invisible mechanisms play in the world around us, and explains new techniques, from nano-engineering and brain research to the latest advances in high-speed data networks and custom-built materials. Written by leading international experts in a lively and accessible style, each of the nineteen self-contained chapters will fascinate scientists of all disciplines, and anyone wanting to know more about the world of physics. • Lively and accessible account of the hottest topics in physics • Written by leading international experts including Nobel prize winners • Builds on the highly successful first edition, with a completely new range of subjects
Customer Reviews:
Nice extension of Davies' book.......2007-07-10
This book nicely extends Davies' 'New Physics'.
Here we have reviews of the leading physics topics of the last few years that are all well worth reading.
Advances in physics clearly explained.......2007-03-03
This is a great book on advances in physics that have occurred over the last few years that lies between overly simplistic popular science books and research papers where you become quickly lost in terse language and layers of equations. You do need to have some prior background in physics. Ideally you should have the background of a year of general university level physics and a course in modern physics, or the equivalent of that. Some knowledge of general chemistry would come in handy too. Otherwise, there are enough equations and an assumption of basic physics knowledge on the part of the reader that you'll get lost quickly.
Basically, the book shows you physics in action solving the problems of today using great illusrations and a clear and accessible writing style that holds your interest. The chapters don't build on one another and you can pick and choose what you're interested in. Remember that this is not a textbook, so there are no problem sets. The final strong point of the book is the price. At under forty dollars it's a very reasonable purchase for the casual learner. My favorite sections were part 1 on Matter and the Universe and part 4 on Calculation and Computation. I thought the chapter on superstring theory was particularly well done and clear. I highly recommend this book for getting a good big picture of physics at work.
The New Physics for the Twenty First Century.......2007-01-09
Very comprehensive coverage of the new world of Physics presenteted by the various leading practicioners in the field today. Difficult reading for anyone with no more than High School Physics.
The Latest Physics Information.......2006-11-20
This book is a great source for the latest developements in physics. I particularly found the info on quantum computers to be facinating.
Book Description
Power, Speed, and Form is the first accessible account of the engineering behind eight breakthrough innovations that transformed American life from 1876 to 1939--the telephone, electric power, oil refining, the automobile, the airplane, radio, the long-span steel bridge, and building with reinforced concrete. Beginning with Thomas Edison's system to generate and distribute electric power, the authors explain the Bell telephone, the oil refining processes of William Burton and Eugene Houdry, Henry Ford's Model T car and the response by General Motors, the Wright brothers' airplane, radio innovations from Marconi to Armstrong, Othmar Ammann's George Washington Bridge, the reinforced concrete structures of John Eastwood and Anton Tedesko, and in the 1930s, the Chrysler Airflow car and the Douglas DC-3 airplane.
These innovations used simple numerical ideas, which the Billingtons integrate with short narrative accounts of each breakthrough--a unique and effective way to introduce engineering and how engineers think. The book shows how the best engineering exemplifies efficiency, economy and, where possible, elegance. With Power, Speed, and Form, educators, first-year engineering students, liberal arts students, and general readers now have, for the first time in one volume, an accessible and readable history of engineering achievements that were vital to America's development and that are still the foundations of modern life.
Customer Reviews:
Discussion of key 20th century engineering breakthroughs.......2007-05-07
In this case, you can judge a book by its cover, or at least its title. Billington takes a look at the technologies (created just before or after 1900) which shaped the 20th century. For each he identifies the engineers who made the key innovations that made the technologies successful.
The book is partially a history lesson, with mini-biographies of the people involved and a discussion of what the technology meant in the context of the time. But it also partially a simplified discussion of the engineering concepts, with useful sidebars and appendices that give about the same level of detail that you might find in a first year engineering lecture.
It is interesting to see how some of the technologies interconnect, such as the telephone being a necessary precursor to the radio (for an understanding of how to carry a human voice over an electromagnetic signal).
As an aeronautical engineer, I was mostly familiar with the history of the Wright brothers. Billington did a great job with that chapter, which gives me confidence that the other chapters are just as accurate and complete.
The text is not dry and academic, but it does assume at least a practical familiarity with physics and engineering. You don't need to be an engineer to understand the book, but it does help.
By the way, this book is not about computers or other things that we think of as "high tech" today. It's about the technologies that are so fundamental to our lives that we don't think of them, like the electrical power grid and the automobile. These had the same relationship to the world of 1900 that the internet has to the world of 2000.
Book Description
This volume provides a broad synthesis of conceptual developments of twentieth century field theories, from the general theory of relativity to quantum field theory and gauge theory. The book traces the foundations and evolution of these theories within a historio-critical context. Theoretical physicists and students of theoretical physics will find this a valuable account of the foundational problems of their discipline that will help them understand the internal logic and dynamics of theoretical physics. It will also provide professional historians and philosophers of science, particularly philosophers of physics, with a conceptual basis for further historical, cultural and sociological analysis of the theories discussed. Finally, the scientifically qualified general reader will find in this book a deeper analysis of contemporary conceptions of the physical world than can be found in popular accounts of the subject.
Customer Reviews:
Just over my head.......2007-01-09
On the basis of the publisher's review and those of other readers, I had hoped that I'd be able to follow the path of conceptual developments. True, as advertised, the mathematical rigor was not excessive. Nonetheless, maybe because the author divided the topic into a series of detailed "cuts" at multiple levels, I found myself unable to keep track. If someone replied that the problem was me, not the book, I wouldn't argue.
Thoughtful.......2002-10-25
Excellent (and virtually mathless, save for a few excurses) in-depth analysis of the way our physical thinking evolved. It covers thoroughly all conceptual signposts of the 20th century physics (stemming from distant past)- aether, space, time, space-time, field, gravitation, inertia, quantum concepts like quantization, anomalies and renormalizability. A gift of a bird's (better, eagle's) view for an undergraduate student (that's what you don't understand because you're busy solving the equations); a penetrating analysis for a patient layman (who can grasp circa 70% of the book). Highly recommended.
A rewarding challenge for the serious layman like myself.......2001-08-25
Following is a quote from the Preface: "The book is written primarily for students of theoretical physics who are interested in the foundational problems of their discipline and are struggling to grasp the internal logic and dynamics of their subject from a historical perspective. But I have also done my best to make the text accessible to general readers with a basic scientific education who feel that their cultural curiosity concerning the contemporary conception of nature cannot be satisfied by popular writings." I qualify as the "general reader" in the audience he addresses above who, "'cannot be satisfied by popular writings."
If you've been following my collection of physics books which I post at my 'Shared Purchases' and 'Listmania Lists' portion ..., then you can see that I tend to ambitiously bite off more than I can chew in my choice of intellectual reading. As I admitted in my profile, I am a guy with not much more than half a brain and a driving passion to know what the hell is really going on in this Universe. I have been eagerly searching for a book that will challenge me to grow beyond my comfort level of popular yet slightly technical introductory treatments of physics (specifically Quantum Electrodynamics). Well, I FINALLY FOUND IT! This is a special discovery! As I hope you can tell, I am very excited about my latest exposure to Tian Yu Cao's "Conceptual Developments of 20th Century Field Theories". Cao's wonderful book serves as a didactic bridge across the gapping void we serious laymen come up against when we've finished pussy-footing around with popular-introductory Quantum Physics books and are driven to explore further than our formal education (or lack thereof) will allow when delving deeper into the daunting world of QM. I'm trying to come up to a level where I can get some appreciation and comprehension of the principles in Quantum Field Theories. For example, I ambitiously procured my own copies of "Inward Bound" by Pais, "The Odd Quantum" by Treiman, Schweber's "QED and the Men Who Made it - Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga", and Mehera's, "The Beat of a Different Drummer - the life and science of Richard Feynman". I look at these books and think, "QM looks so beautiful! I want to get a comprehensive grip on this stuff'" Hopeless without University level courses in technical mathematics and physics right? I'm not convinced, I suppose I'll find out sooner or later. As it is, I just keep at it. Day after day, I immerse myself in QM literature with a passion driven by my obsessive curiosity of Nature and what we know of her physical reality. Light, Atoms, Electromagnetic Waves, Matter, Particles, and Fields; these are the things I feel compelled to investigate'
Cao's book is another stepping stone in my self-directed journey of intellectual adventure. The pedagogy of the book is at a relatively safe and sane level for the explorer who is moderately courageous and not afraid to be uncertain about his/her competency in the learning curve. As I said, Cao's book bridges the terrible gap between the easy stuff (i.e. non-technical/popular/introductory/historical level) across the abyss towards the tougher stuff (i.e. technical/rigorously mathematical University level Introduction QFT textbooks). This is a very technical book for someone at my level but I believe that if you are somewhat like me (scary thought!) you can benefit from the book's pages when armed with a serious sense curiosity and a sincere desire to grasp deep & fundamental principles of Quantum Field Theory.
There are some scary looking mathematical formulas but if you're courageous you can breeze over them and let the copious qualitative text speak to your understanding. The only subjects in this book that I don't find of particularly immediate interest to me are his sections on General Relativity as I'm not a Gravity (field) enthusiast yet. I've skimmed over those sections and suspect that I'll be back later to visit it with more interest in the future.
Be sure to carefully read the what the other reviewers have to say about their opinions of this book, look at the book description and 'Table of Contents' link above. I suggest looking at some of the following books as a prerequisite to this book if you are anywhere near my level of intellect: "Strange Beauty" by Johnson, "The Force of Symmetry" by Icke, "The Quantum World" by Polkingthorne, "The Second Creation" by Crease & Mann, "The Quantum Universe" by Hey & Walters, "Why Things Are the Way They Are" by Chandrasekhar, "QED (The Strange Theory of Light and Matter)" by Feynman, "The Great Design (Particles, Fields, and Creation)" by Adair, "Paul Dirac (The Man and His Work)" by Pais, Jacob, Olive & Atiyah, "What Makes Nature Tick?" and also "Thinking About Physics" both by Roger Newton
I hope you will forgive my enthusiasm in this review if I seem overly zealous. I'm just a curious cat. ...
Time to leave high school physics behind.......2000-11-26
Even discounting the complexity of the mathematics involved, the motivated reader who has read a number of the listed physics references here, may find the transition to modern quantum field theory conceptually difficult. This reference, will greatly aid in the transition. Explanation of how physical actions such as gravity and electromagnetism are transmitted at a distance has provoked intense debates over the centuries. The electromagnetic field and continuous ether of Thomson and Maxwell, provided a cause for actions at a distance. In Einstein's special theory of relativity the ether was removed. In Einstein's general theory of relativity, spacetime is shown to depend on the gravitational fields. Gravitational fields are considered to be a geometrical programme of field theory, and are discussed in the first part of this reference. The middle part of this reference then considers the quantum field programme. The last part of this reference then considers the gauge field programme whereby gauge potentials can explain fundamental interactions. The motivated reader will also find this reference useful for introduction to many concepts omitted in most introductory physics texts. For example, in describing how Maxwell derived his wave equations, the ability to reformulate Newtonian mechanics in terms of a Lagrangian approach is noted.
Cao's volume on 20th Century Quantum Field Theories.......2000-03-29
If you are not an expert in quantum field theory, or if you are such an expert, you should read this book from cover to cover about a dozen times at least. Cao of Boston University does for quantum theory what investigative reporters do for political or social/behavioral problems. As a renowned philosopher and quantum physicist, he gives the whole picture and nothing but the whole picture. It is even doubtful if many theoretical physicists know the whole story as it is elaborated by Cao. M. Jammer's 1974 volume gave the story of quantum mechanics and its philosophical basis from the beginning until 1974, and Cao continues this from 1974 until 1997. The astonishing changes in quantum theory from the mechanistic to the geometric to the field theory to the gauge field theory to the effective gauge field theory, as largely inspired by and created by Steven Weinberg (the Nobel Laureate), pass before you in these pages, together with the arguments with other physicists and the experimental and theoretical problems, anomalies, and philosophical difficulties. Einstein's field theory is shown to now be incorporated into quantum field theory, and we see Weinberg's final disgust with the problems that plague quantum field theory (even though he invented effective gauge quantum field theory, the latest theory) and his abandonment of field theory for string theory. Weinberg may have overstepped his intuition here, since string theory has difficult philosophical foundations as Cao points out, and in my opinion string theory is at most an approximation to reality. But Weinberg was probably correct in being fed up with quantum field theory and seeking some other direction, as he usually has been correct about everything else. The prolific roles of P. Dirac and P. Jordan, often overlooked, are well documented by Cao (Dirac seems to be at the Weinberg level of creativity and intuition, although he has gone in so many different directions that he even arouses the ire of Cao). The collapse of complementarity is thoroughly documented as well by Cao.
Book Description
This little volume is chock-full of fun and intriguing quotes from everyone's favorite scientist: Einstein. Read what he has to say about life, morality, philosophy, art and music, science and mathematics, politics, religion, social issues, war and peace, and himself. His views on life, religion, philosophy, and many other issues are as relevant today as they were when he was living. Including a brief biography of the physicist and an amusing bit of doggerel by Einstein himself, Bite-Size Einstein reveals his brilliant perspective on the human condition.
Customer Reviews:
Wisdom and Wit.......1999-02-03
When one thinks of Einstein, wisdom and logic seem to prevail.. This book proves that he has a number of one-liners which will blow 
Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory And the Search for Unity in Physical Law
The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe
Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions
The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design
Many Worlds in One: The Search for Other Universes
