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jellison's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
2.0
in my opinion, the logic of this book is circular and not very convincing; I’m not even sure the author believes what they’re writing (but it makes for a better book this way).
But the book is worth a read if you’re in to quantum mechanics of science. The author’s writing style and depth make it easy to follow with only a freshman-level physics/math understanding.
But the book is worth a read if you’re in to quantum mechanics of science. The author’s writing style and depth make it easy to follow with only a freshman-level physics/math understanding.
dalefu's review against another edition
5.0
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. So many books about quantum mechanics take the Copenhagen approach, where the predictive power of theory is all that matters, with little regard to an understanding of what is actually happening. I understand that the foundations of quantum mechanics are mysterious by their very nature, but I still think science is (or at least should be) primarily driven by curiosity, not utility, so I have a deep respect to Carroll's commitment to understanding the underlying foundations of quantum physics.
It was this focus on the true underpinnings of quantum theory that made even retreading old ground so novel. Things like the Uncertainty Principle makes so much more sense in the Everettian interpretation of quantum physics. Commiting to explaining the universe as a universal wave function, and only referring to particles and matter as an explicit illusion really helped me visualize a deterministic quantum universe with a single wave function just being further subdivided with every probabilistic interaction. I was especially blown away by the theory that space and time are not fundamental elements of the universe, but emerge from quantum entanglement between degrees of freedom, and related static universal states. That one really blew my mind.
Does that mean I agree with the conclusions he comes to? A true multiverse which grows exponentially every moment is a hard pill to swallow. It goes against all intuition to imagine that I am being split into multiple versions of myself, along with the rest of the universe, every single moment... But historically intuition has been nothing but a hindrance to quantum theory, and the fact that avoiding this conclusion actually takes MORE unfounded assumptions does give it weight. I can't say I'm a full believer, but I also don't discount it. I'm no particle physicist, just an armchair enthusiast, but this book has definitely convinced me of the legitimacy of the theory, even if it hasn't outright converted me.
It was this focus on the true underpinnings of quantum theory that made even retreading old ground so novel. Things like the Uncertainty Principle makes so much more sense in the Everettian interpretation of quantum physics. Commiting to explaining the universe as a universal wave function, and only referring to particles and matter as an explicit illusion really helped me visualize a deterministic quantum universe with a single wave function just being further subdivided with every probabilistic interaction. I was especially blown away by the theory that space and time are not fundamental elements of the universe, but emerge from quantum entanglement between degrees of freedom, and related static universal states. That one really blew my mind.
Does that mean I agree with the conclusions he comes to? A true multiverse which grows exponentially every moment is a hard pill to swallow. It goes against all intuition to imagine that I am being split into multiple versions of myself, along with the rest of the universe, every single moment... But historically intuition has been nothing but a hindrance to quantum theory, and the fact that avoiding this conclusion actually takes MORE unfounded assumptions does give it weight. I can't say I'm a full believer, but I also don't discount it. I'm no particle physicist, just an armchair enthusiast, but this book has definitely convinced me of the legitimacy of the theory, even if it hasn't outright converted me.
yates9's review
4.0
Good overview of some alternative interpretations of QM - at moments the book is hard to follow at others involves unnecessary metaphors, but in other places it is spot on.
Given how hard it is to understand QM foundations I think the effort is of great value.
Given how hard it is to understand QM foundations I think the effort is of great value.
mythie's review
4.0
My goal in reading the book was to become more familiar with the topic and accepted that I would not understand it. I found it fairly easy to follow along with the explanations.
branch_c's review
4.0
Sean Carroll is my new favorite scientist, although this is the first book of his that I’ve read. However, I’ve been listening to his Mindscape podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sean-carrolls-mindscape-science-society-philosophy/id1406534739) for a while, and he has a fantastic conversational style and clarity of expression, which is evident in this book as well.
One interesting thing about this book is that he’s not just trying to explain something that’s generally accepted, as in a textbook, but he’s presenting his point of view and giving evidence for why he thinks it’s the correct one. But of course he also has to explain a lot in order to do this, and he makes a valiant effort to help the reader understand quantum mechanics in general, as well as his favorite version of it, the so-called Many-Worlds theory.
As well-written as it is, it nevertheless takes a fairly close reading in order to follow along, assuming you’re not a physicist. I can’t claim that I grasped every part of the explanation, but I learned a lot, and he does a great job convincing the reader that his preferred theory is reasonable, in spite of the aspects that are decidedly non-intuitive.
So I recommend the book, and I was inspired to read it by Carroll’s introduction to it in one of his podcast episodes, so that’s recommended as well if you want a taste of what the book is about:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sean-carrolls-mindscape-science-society-philosophy/id1406534739?i=1000449115502
One interesting thing about this book is that he’s not just trying to explain something that’s generally accepted, as in a textbook, but he’s presenting his point of view and giving evidence for why he thinks it’s the correct one. But of course he also has to explain a lot in order to do this, and he makes a valiant effort to help the reader understand quantum mechanics in general, as well as his favorite version of it, the so-called Many-Worlds theory.
As well-written as it is, it nevertheless takes a fairly close reading in order to follow along, assuming you’re not a physicist. I can’t claim that I grasped every part of the explanation, but I learned a lot, and he does a great job convincing the reader that his preferred theory is reasonable, in spite of the aspects that are decidedly non-intuitive.
So I recommend the book, and I was inspired to read it by Carroll’s introduction to it in one of his podcast episodes, so that’s recommended as well if you want a taste of what the book is about:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sean-carrolls-mindscape-science-society-philosophy/id1406534739?i=1000449115502
kaisan's review
4.0
I appreciated this book for its clear introduction of complicated material. Long-term listeners of Sean Carroll's Mindscape podcast will of course recognize many of the arguments, yet I still found it well worth the read and enjoyed seeing things in written form. Especially Part One does a good job of laying a foundation that is accessible yet seems relatively sensible. Other parts sometimes seem more verbose than necessary, and I personally believe the author could have included slightly more formalisms and equations for those wishing to go beyond without becoming too obtuse, yet overall, it is written in a welcoming and engaging style. After reading, I personally am convinced that this approach to quantum mechanics deserves more credence than it is often given!
travisbenton's review
3.0
The book covered some pretty fascinating topics, but often went from being completely understandable for a highschool dropout/never-taken-a-physics-class-before person like myself to being completely indecipherable within a matter of a sentence or two. Often, once that pivot took place, I'd be lost throughout most of the remainder of the chapter, since Carrol is building on the ideas as he goes. So if you're hopelessly lost at any point in a chapter, I'd almost recommend starting it over or skipping to the next one and trying again.
I did some extra credit research for some of the more fascinating ideas, like Bell's inequality, and now that I (mostly) understand it (thanks youtube!) I think what was missing from Carroll's explanation was the use of more visual aides. It's hard to visualize something as complex as probability as defined by quantum physics vs hidden variable probability using only words. That said, I'm a fairly visual learner so maybe the fault lies with my brain ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I did some extra credit research for some of the more fascinating ideas, like Bell's inequality, and now that I (mostly) understand it (thanks youtube!) I think what was missing from Carroll's explanation was the use of more visual aides. It's hard to visualize something as complex as probability as defined by quantum physics vs hidden variable probability using only words. That said, I'm a fairly visual learner so maybe the fault lies with my brain ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
kb_208's review
3.0
I really loved "The Big Picture", which had a lot more thoughts on philosophy and meaning in the universe. This book is much more technical in the realm of quantum mechanics (obviously), and many worlds theory. A lot of the information went over my head, but I still found it very informative and interesting. I would like to explore some of his other works.