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codenameellie's review against another edition
1.0
This book was part of a reading challenge, or I'm not sure I'd have picked it up. It was a DNF for me, and I am reconsidering who I do reading challenges with and my life choices.
I'm sure this book is great. The reviews say it's wonderful. However, I have absolutely zero interest in the history of quantum physics. I don't even care about the current state of quantum physics. Not even a little. I took physics in high school and dropped it before the first quarter ended. Seriously, who are the people reading books like this one?
I'm sure this book is great. The reviews say it's wonderful. However, I have absolutely zero interest in the history of quantum physics. I don't even care about the current state of quantum physics. Not even a little. I took physics in high school and dropped it before the first quarter ended. Seriously, who are the people reading books like this one?
eyesofcrows's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.75
I listened to this on a road trip. It was interesting though I didn’t understand some stuff. The main focus is quantum mechanics but it is also a story about people. I learned that the physics community has a lot of drama. A lot of alternative ideas were suppressed and ignored with so much scorn.
anilkbhat's review against another edition
4.0
The title of this book should have been “A history quantum physics” or “Copenhagen Interpretation”. It was good to get into the brain of the physicists and understand their thought processes in coming up with the quantum theory. The only minus point of this book was that there were too many characters to keep track of.
statori's review against another edition
4.0
An entertaining and interesting overview of some of the issues surrounding the interpretation of quantum mechanics. The author has a strong opinion that the Copenhagen interpretation (to the extent that such a thing exists) involving wavefunction collapse is bankrupt, although he's not certain which of the competing interpretations are correct.
The book lingers more on the story of the people behind the science and how various interpretations were formulated and debated than on the technical or philosophical issues associated with each interpretation, although these are also briefly discussed.
Overall I think that this is a great book for a layman (such as myself) who wants a brisk, readable introduction to some of the history and controversy surrounding the science. I also think that the book is interesting enough that readers might be inspired to explore the subject more deeply than this book allows after reading it.
The book lingers more on the story of the people behind the science and how various interpretations were formulated and debated than on the technical or philosophical issues associated with each interpretation, although these are also briefly discussed.
Overall I think that this is a great book for a layman (such as myself) who wants a brisk, readable introduction to some of the history and controversy surrounding the science. I also think that the book is interesting enough that readers might be inspired to explore the subject more deeply than this book allows after reading it.