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pcastleton's review against another edition
5.0
Stunning! Rovelli is compared to Hawking, Sagan, and Greene, but he's the only one who so beautifully links the topic of quantum physics with the humanities. His knowledge of the branches of philosophy, the history of scientific thinking, and how our way of seeing the world has grown, through art, literature, and even politics and the institutions we build is unparalleled.
All of Robelli's books have a place on the shelf of those who're curious about the world.
All of Robelli's books have a place on the shelf of those who're curious about the world.
americalovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Carlo Rovelli is one of the world's most renowned theoretical physicists. He has done it again with his new book ‘Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution.’ I was excited to read this since I loved his other book ‘The Order of Time.’
Helgoland is a poetic argument that reality is relative. The world is fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness.
Does a chair exist if nobody sits on it? What if things only exist in their interactions with one another?
Expecting objects to have their own independent existence – independent of us, and any other objects – is actually a deep-seated assumption we make about the world. He claims the objects of quantum theory, such as a photon, electron, or other fundamental particles, are nothing more than the properties they exhibit when interacting with – in relation to – other objects.
According to Rovelli’s relational interpretation, these properties are all there is to the object: there is no underlying individual substance that “has” the properties.
On this view, the world is an intricate web of interrelations, such that objects no longer have their own individual existence independent from other objects – like an endless game of quantum mirrors. Moreover, there may well be no independent “metaphysical” substance constituting our reality that underlies this web.
The title of the book references a treeless island in the North Sea where Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution.
In the end:
“We are nothing but images of images. Reality, including ourselves, is nothing but a thin and fragile veil, beyond which … there is nothing.”
Helgoland is a poetic argument that reality is relative. The world is fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness.
Does a chair exist if nobody sits on it? What if things only exist in their interactions with one another?
Expecting objects to have their own independent existence – independent of us, and any other objects – is actually a deep-seated assumption we make about the world. He claims the objects of quantum theory, such as a photon, electron, or other fundamental particles, are nothing more than the properties they exhibit when interacting with – in relation to – other objects.
According to Rovelli’s relational interpretation, these properties are all there is to the object: there is no underlying individual substance that “has” the properties.
On this view, the world is an intricate web of interrelations, such that objects no longer have their own individual existence independent from other objects – like an endless game of quantum mirrors. Moreover, there may well be no independent “metaphysical” substance constituting our reality that underlies this web.
The title of the book references a treeless island in the North Sea where Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution.
In the end:
“We are nothing but images of images. Reality, including ourselves, is nothing but a thin and fragile veil, beyond which … there is nothing.”
_persephone19_'s review against another edition
5.0
A volte non ci rendiamo conto di tutto ciò che ci circonda. Ma quando leggo un libro del professore Rovelli riesco ad aprire gli occhi su aspetti che prima nemmeno consideravo. Facendomi sentire molto più partecipe e più consapevole del divenire.
È un saggio sulla meccanica quantistica, si percorrono anni, decenni di storia della fisica, ma anche secoli, millenni, accompagnati di pari passo dai pensieri di grandissimi filosofi. In 200 pagine è come se ci fosse stato qualcuno accanto a me, che ha cercato di accompagnarmi in un viaggio articolato, complesso, con strade non sempre rettilinee, a volte con tratti anche un po’ pericolosi e curve da percorre con grande cautela. Ma alla fine mi è stato aperto come uno spiraglio di possibilità, dove adesso conosco una nuova interpretazione della realtà che vedo con i miei occhi. E come viene detto nel libro stesso: “tutto dipende dalla prospettiva, non c’è un visione assoluta”. Penso sia anche questa la bellezza, la visione di una realtà che ci unisce, ma che ognuno di noi vede con occhi diversi.
Perché alla fine guardiamo ciò che più ci appartiene, la realtà che meglio calza ad ognuno
È un saggio sulla meccanica quantistica, si percorrono anni, decenni di storia della fisica, ma anche secoli, millenni, accompagnati di pari passo dai pensieri di grandissimi filosofi. In 200 pagine è come se ci fosse stato qualcuno accanto a me, che ha cercato di accompagnarmi in un viaggio articolato, complesso, con strade non sempre rettilinee, a volte con tratti anche un po’ pericolosi e curve da percorre con grande cautela. Ma alla fine mi è stato aperto come uno spiraglio di possibilità, dove adesso conosco una nuova interpretazione della realtà che vedo con i miei occhi. E come viene detto nel libro stesso: “tutto dipende dalla prospettiva, non c’è un visione assoluta”. Penso sia anche questa la bellezza, la visione di una realtà che ci unisce, ma che ognuno di noi vede con occhi diversi.
Perché alla fine guardiamo ciò che più ci appartiene, la realtà che meglio calza ad ognuno
triptofun's review against another edition
4.0
Uno dei migliori pregi della buona letteratura è incuriosire verso ambiti del sapere che mai avremmo pensato di esplorare. Così è stato per "Quando abbiamo smesso di capire il mondo". La storia di Heisenberg a Helgoland mi ha entusiasmato a tal punto da farmi venire voglia di affrontare un testo che avrei giudicato troppo ostico e distante dalla mia comfort zone come questo di Rovelli. In realtà è stato un libro fulminante: mi ha aperto spiragli sul mondo e sul nostro modo di percepire la realtà che mai avrei immaginato. Questo finché sono riuscita a seguirlo, cioè poco più di metà, poi la fisica ha iniziato a intrecciarsi con la filosofia e la teologia e le teorie a farsi più tecniche. Ho capito l'entanglement? Non di certo al punto di saperlo spiegare a qualcuno, ma ne ho ritenuto qualcosa a livello subconscio. Insomma è stato bello per qualche ora, muovere passi in un universo sconosciuto.
hornista's review against another edition
4.0
Mostly over my head, but I enjoyed the parts that I understood! Worth rereading later.
_tourist's review
like much of modern theoretical physics, this book borders on the mystical. a physical intervention in some of the philosophical questions i have long had. marvelous.
theaurochs's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting meditation and rumination on Quantum Mechanics. I have to call it that because it is too brief to be an explanation, too high-concept to really be an introduction, and far too frilly to be a serious examination. It falls into this mysterious popular science quality that is less like a lecture and more like being stuck on a train journey with a very passionate professor and listening to them ramble. They are certainly very erudite, and well-informed, and clearly enthusiastic about their topic but, is there any overall point to the book? Or are we simply talking about cool science stuff?
Which is pretty fine, as the cool science stuff of QM is fascinating enough to hold your attention in this case at least. As alluded to in the previous paragraph though, I do not think this would serve well as a first introduction to QM- the introductory section laying out the problems and the motivations for approaching these problems is handled a little too swiftly, despite the title seeming to suggest a premise of examining how these breakthroughs came about. What the bulk of the book is actually interested in is attempting to lay out some of the ramifications of QM, as well as various philosophical interpretations of what these world-shattering equations “really mean”. It will happily work for someone who has a vague familiarity with the core concepts of QM and wants a deeper examination. Not an attempt at an explanation though- as Rovelli is keen to point out; we do not have a consistent and coherent explanation for what quantum mechanics actually means or how it operates. This fact has baffled and frustrated scientists for the last century. “If you think you understand QM”, says Rovelli “please read that paragraph again”.
After brief looks at the “many worlds” and “hidden variable” interpretations, more attention is giben to the view that Rovelli works on, the “relational” interpretation. This is unsurprising, it being a large part of their work, and it’s also unsurprisingly the most interesting and well-developed section of the book. It has a certain beauty to it as a reflection of special relativity and is at least as plausible as other interpretations. Further to that we get some interesting but definitely tangential detours into philosophy, examining particularly the influence of Ernst Mach on early 20th century physicists and therefore QM. These historical aspects are more well developed than the attempts at metaphysical interpretations.
Interesting for those looking for a deeper look at the problems of quantum mechanics and some interpretations of what they might mean. Prose that could be argued as beautiful or overly flowery, and some somewhat lacking philosophical arguments, although definitely enough to give you a jumping off point if you were interested. I don’t know that I’d classify it as accessible generally, and it definitely has an air of self-indulgence around it. Still, engaging reading with enough cool science stuff to keep me going.
Which is pretty fine, as the cool science stuff of QM is fascinating enough to hold your attention in this case at least. As alluded to in the previous paragraph though, I do not think this would serve well as a first introduction to QM- the introductory section laying out the problems and the motivations for approaching these problems is handled a little too swiftly, despite the title seeming to suggest a premise of examining how these breakthroughs came about. What the bulk of the book is actually interested in is attempting to lay out some of the ramifications of QM, as well as various philosophical interpretations of what these world-shattering equations “really mean”. It will happily work for someone who has a vague familiarity with the core concepts of QM and wants a deeper examination. Not an attempt at an explanation though- as Rovelli is keen to point out; we do not have a consistent and coherent explanation for what quantum mechanics actually means or how it operates. This fact has baffled and frustrated scientists for the last century. “If you think you understand QM”, says Rovelli “please read that paragraph again”.
After brief looks at the “many worlds” and “hidden variable” interpretations, more attention is giben to the view that Rovelli works on, the “relational” interpretation. This is unsurprising, it being a large part of their work, and it’s also unsurprisingly the most interesting and well-developed section of the book. It has a certain beauty to it as a reflection of special relativity and is at least as plausible as other interpretations. Further to that we get some interesting but definitely tangential detours into philosophy, examining particularly the influence of Ernst Mach on early 20th century physicists and therefore QM. These historical aspects are more well developed than the attempts at metaphysical interpretations.
Interesting for those looking for a deeper look at the problems of quantum mechanics and some interpretations of what they might mean. Prose that could be argued as beautiful or overly flowery, and some somewhat lacking philosophical arguments, although definitely enough to give you a jumping off point if you were interested. I don’t know that I’d classify it as accessible generally, and it definitely has an air of self-indulgence around it. Still, engaging reading with enough cool science stuff to keep me going.
mattbgold's review against another edition
2.0
I rank Rovelli's previous two books among my all-time favorites, each of them were powerhouses of conceptual abstraction and communication, expertly bridging the gap between the esoteric frontiers of contemporary theoretical physics and human intuition. This one though added nothing new to the conversation - the "relational interpretation" of quantum mechanics put forth here is barely given more than a single sentence description, I actually think this interpretation is better described in his 2014 book on quantum gravity: Reality is Not What it Seems. I also felt that the writing itself was awkward in places, particularly where he explains the "weirdness" of quantum mechanics (why not use the double-slit example?).
Perhaps the focus of the book was less on physics and more on philosophy, but the philosophy felt like scarcely more than a series of namedrops. Competing interpretations of quantum mechanics, such as the popular "many worlds" theory, were unfairly dismissed without dedicating more time to exploring exactly how quantum phenomena such as wave-function collapse are described from the perspective of the relational interpretation.
When compared to the author's earlier works this book seems rushed and a bit shallow. If Rovelli ever does write a serious book-length exploration/defense of the relational interpretation, like Sean Carrol did for many-worlds, I would be first in line to dive in.
Perhaps the focus of the book was less on physics and more on philosophy, but the philosophy felt like scarcely more than a series of namedrops. Competing interpretations of quantum mechanics, such as the popular "many worlds" theory, were unfairly dismissed without dedicating more time to exploring exactly how quantum phenomena such as wave-function collapse are described from the perspective of the relational interpretation.
When compared to the author's earlier works this book seems rushed and a bit shallow. If Rovelli ever does write a serious book-length exploration/defense of the relational interpretation, like Sean Carrol did for many-worlds, I would be first in line to dive in.