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mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
3.0
Quantum physics is an exceptionally successful theory, predicting experimental results with great accuracy and having many applications. But there are widely different interpretations (or explanations) of what that theory means, of what happens in the quantum world. The interpretations all produce the same predictions, but propose different underlying strangenesses, e.g. that that there are many universes, or that the future affects the past. This brief book begins by discussing seminal experiments that demonstrate the weirdness of the quantum world, then describes six of the interpretations.
The brevity of the book is impressive, a mere hundred pages. The clarity of the book is less impressive. I had recently read about the first four interpretations in Adam Becker's considerably longer book "What Is Real?" (a fabulous book), yet, if anything, "Six Impossible Things" made me more unsure of them. The last two interpretations were new to me, and my understanding of them after reading Gribbin's account is pretty muddled. That said, those sections did mention fascinating things that I hadn't known about, including the "watched pot" experiment, and that Maxwell's equations have solutions that go both forwards and backwards in time.
Gribbin ends by quoting Richard Feynmann, "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics..." Maybe so. This book certainly convinced me that I do not, though I wish I did.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
The brevity of the book is impressive, a mere hundred pages. The clarity of the book is less impressive. I had recently read about the first four interpretations in Adam Becker's considerably longer book "What Is Real?" (a fabulous book), yet, if anything, "Six Impossible Things" made me more unsure of them. The last two interpretations were new to me, and my understanding of them after reading Gribbin's account is pretty muddled. That said, those sections did mention fascinating things that I hadn't known about, including the "watched pot" experiment, and that Maxwell's equations have solutions that go both forwards and backwards in time.
Gribbin ends by quoting Richard Feynmann, "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics..." Maybe so. This book certainly convinced me that I do not, though I wish I did.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
emilyreadsdetroit's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
olityr's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Great summery of the six main interpretations of Quantum Mechanics.
isabellesbooks's review against another edition
I feel like I can’t justify actually rating this book because I hardly understood any of it. But I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt and say I would have LOVED this one if I were a physicist. 5/5 theoretical stars
ashleylm's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a relief! I'd recently tossed Deutsch's "The Fabric of Reality" because he was insisting on what I thought was a really crazed explanation of the results quantum investigators routinely get. I thought to myself "surely there's a more rational explanation that scientists simply haven't thought of yet," and sure enough, John Gribbin has come along to offer 5 other explanations, and the consoling thought that scientists actually don't agree on which (if any) is a correct explanation, and even goes so far as to share my hope that someday someone will think of someone that works, and doesn't violate our common sense quite so much.
(Although I'm already mostly on board with explanation #5. That one I can live with).
He's a good enough science writer that I also understood, all the way through. Often with sciency books, especially tricky ones about quantum or infinity or big bangs, etc., I feel a bit thick near the 70% mark, and am not entirely certain I grasped most of the conclusions. Here, I was right with him. I got it all.
And for anyone who thinks "why do you have to understand why something happens? Isn't it enough to know what happens?" I would argue the opposite is more important. As lovely as it is to be able to predict, or to calculate (Math is in the same boat for me), the understanding is far more essential to me. I recall Eugenia Cheng citing a parent who boasted something like "my tiny child can count to 20," while another parent retorted with "mine can count to 3, but they understand what that means."
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
(Although I'm already mostly on board with explanation #5. That one I can live with).
He's a good enough science writer that I also understood, all the way through. Often with sciency books, especially tricky ones about quantum or infinity or big bangs, etc., I feel a bit thick near the 70% mark, and am not entirely certain I grasped most of the conclusions. Here, I was right with him. I got it all.
And for anyone who thinks "why do you have to understand why something happens? Isn't it enough to know what happens?" I would argue the opposite is more important. As lovely as it is to be able to predict, or to calculate (Math is in the same boat for me), the understanding is far more essential to me. I recall Eugenia Cheng citing a parent who boasted something like "my tiny child can count to 20," while another parent retorted with "mine can count to 3, but they understand what that means."
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
bakudreamer's review against another edition
4.0
I hadn't heard about Lee Smollin and ' beables ' before