Scan barcode
abrown508's review
challenging
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
These are literally the biggest ideas in the universe, that define physics and mathematics and the output of the greatest minds of our history. Big swing to dumb them down but it tryouts to build and relate them in a measured way. The pacing is good and it touches lightly on some really interesting topics.
giovannic's review
5.0
I had to listen to most chapters twice, and to follow on the kindle book, but it was worth it!
ineffablebob's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Sean Carroll's The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion is both an introduction to the underlying laws of physics as we understand them today, and a deeper dive for those who know the basics. Space, time, geometry, laws of motion and conservation - these and more are presented in a descriptive, high-level overview first, then expanded upon with the underlying mathematical definitions (and often the history of how those were developed). There's a good amount of technical notation present, but Carroll always explains what he means, and the presentation of the math is done in support of the narrative, without getting into the detail of how it was derived (though some of that is in the appendices).
I consider myself a fairly educated layman around the basics of the laws of physics, and most of the early part of the book was pretty easy for me to understand. I knew those concepts, but the book gave me another layer of understanding in terms of different ways to view the same concepts, as well as a good reminder of the history behind the discoveries. Later on in the book, as the subjects moved into spacetime and black holes and relativity, it was slower going as those are concepts I had a much shakier grasp on to start with! Carroll does a fine job of both making those concepts understandable and providing a pathway to step from one to another. I'm still no expert on those things, but I definitely feel that I have a better understanding now, and a better chance to follow along when I run across expert discussion of the subject.
I consider myself a fairly educated layman around the basics of the laws of physics, and most of the early part of the book was pretty easy for me to understand. I knew those concepts, but the book gave me another layer of understanding in terms of different ways to view the same concepts, as well as a good reminder of the history behind the discoveries. Later on in the book, as the subjects moved into spacetime and black holes and relativity, it was slower going as those are concepts I had a much shakier grasp on to start with! Carroll does a fine job of both making those concepts understandable and providing a pathway to step from one to another. I'm still no expert on those things, but I definitely feel that I have a better understanding now, and a better chance to follow along when I run across expert discussion of the subject.
elizabetholsson's review
5.0
→ 5 stars (★★★★★)
starting off 2023 with an amazing read!
this book is nonfiction and explores key physics concepts in both an expert and accessible manner; Sean Carroll provides more scientific depth than merely a philosophical discussion of physics concepts, but he does an excellent job of explaining the main ideas and equations without it reading like an academic textbook. his writing is eloquent, amusing, and unpretentious, despite the obvious extent of his knowledge and intelligence.
as a third-year university student studying engineering and physics, i found some of the simpler content to be an enjoyable review and the more complex content to be a mentally-stimulating challenge. overall, i feel that anyone who is interested in physics (particularly space, time, and motion) would enjoy this book, regardless of whether they have multiple STEM degrees or only some high school math/science courses under their belt.
i tabbed so many fascinating passages in this book as i read it, and i will definitely be rereading it in the future!
starting off 2023 with an amazing read!
this book is nonfiction and explores key physics concepts in both an expert and accessible manner; Sean Carroll provides more scientific depth than merely a philosophical discussion of physics concepts, but he does an excellent job of explaining the main ideas and equations without it reading like an academic textbook. his writing is eloquent, amusing, and unpretentious, despite the obvious extent of his knowledge and intelligence.
as a third-year university student studying engineering and physics, i found some of the simpler content to be an enjoyable review and the more complex content to be a mentally-stimulating challenge. overall, i feel that anyone who is interested in physics (particularly space, time, and motion) would enjoy this book, regardless of whether they have multiple STEM degrees or only some high school math/science courses under their belt.
i tabbed so many fascinating passages in this book as i read it, and i will definitely be rereading it in the future!
bosermoki's review
informative
slow-paced
5.0
Exactly the level of science I'm looking for in pop-sci book. This book perfectly scratched my interest as someone who is extremely interested in physics, and wants a more in-depth explanation than pop-sci metaphor "think of space-time as a flat sheet of paper" etc etc, but whose last calculus class was 15+ years ago
Right in the intro, Carroll talks about the challenges of being interested in physics as a non-physicist. There's a big gap between the layman who may have a basic grasp of physics concepts largely through metaphor and the physics professional who has a firm grasp of physics via proficiency in higher mathematics. This book aims to bridge the gap between the two and really sticks the landing which is exactly what I was hoping for. This isn't a book for people who despise math, but is highly accessible for anyone who likes math but, like me, can be intimidated fast when you realize just how much trig, algebra, and calculus you've forgotten.
Right in the intro, Carroll talks about the challenges of being interested in physics as a non-physicist. There's a big gap between the layman who may have a basic grasp of physics concepts largely through metaphor and the physics professional who has a firm grasp of physics via proficiency in higher mathematics. This book aims to bridge the gap between the two and really sticks the landing which is exactly what I was hoping for. This isn't a book for people who despise math, but is highly accessible for anyone who likes math but, like me, can be intimidated fast when you realize just how much trig, algebra, and calculus you've forgotten.
iceeckos12's review
2.0
This falls closer to a 2.5/5, but I'm rounding down for reasons I'll explain below.
I want to preface this by saying that I'm currently in Calc II, and I've read a few surface-level astrophysics books, the kind of which was described in the intro by Carroll. That is to say that I'd like to think I'm not completely ignorant to this particular subject, and was in fact very excited by the concept of this book.
However the reason I gave a 2.5 and rounded down was because I believe that this book failed to deliver on its whole premise, which was again outlined in the intro.
Like I said, I'm currently in Calc II and have taken basic physics before. In the intro, Carroll stated that you didn't need more than basic high school algebra to understand this book - which in my opinion was just flat-out untrue (or I'm more of a blockhead when it comes to math than I realized). Despite reading and rereading passages, I found myself bewildered for the majority of this book. Carroll would outline some complicated mathematical concept, and then go "so OBVIOUSLY based on /this/ we can make /that/ assumption - " when, no! It really isn't that obvious! (I STILL have no idea what a metric tensor is.)
I really wanted to like this book, but I simply couldn't get into it. I learned a lot of interesting terms, and the final few sections about black holes were absolutely fascinating, but I can already tell that none of the more complicated underlying concepts are going to stick.
I guess the bottom line is - Carroll assumed too much of his reader's ability to understand his technical jargon.
I want to preface this by saying that I'm currently in Calc II, and I've read a few surface-level astrophysics books, the kind of which was described in the intro by Carroll. That is to say that I'd like to think I'm not completely ignorant to this particular subject, and was in fact very excited by the concept of this book.
However the reason I gave a 2.5 and rounded down was because I believe that this book failed to deliver on its whole premise, which was again outlined in the intro.
Like I said, I'm currently in Calc II and have taken basic physics before. In the intro, Carroll stated that you didn't need more than basic high school algebra to understand this book - which in my opinion was just flat-out untrue (or I'm more of a blockhead when it comes to math than I realized). Despite reading and rereading passages, I found myself bewildered for the majority of this book. Carroll would outline some complicated mathematical concept, and then go "so OBVIOUSLY based on /this/ we can make /that/ assumption - " when, no! It really isn't that obvious! (I STILL have no idea what a metric tensor is.)
I really wanted to like this book, but I simply couldn't get into it. I learned a lot of interesting terms, and the final few sections about black holes were absolutely fascinating, but I can already tell that none of the more complicated underlying concepts are going to stick.
I guess the bottom line is - Carroll assumed too much of his reader's ability to understand his technical jargon.