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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
QUICK BITS
-Physics history
-Introspective conclusion
REVIEW
I truly didn't know what I was getting myself into when I picked this one up.
So let me tell you: this is a science heavy probe into the human condition and mind (extra heavy on the physics).
As a reader I wish there was just a little bit more of introspection early on in the book. There were some great takeaways in the last 1/6th of this book and I am happy I stuck it out.
Upon finishing I am left with a bit of a twist on how I look at life, specifically on the idea of ignorance, infinity, and heat.
I guess you could say it has me thinking a little more deeply about...reality. So in that I case I believe this book achieved what it set out to do.
RATING
3.00/5.00
-Physics history
-Introspective conclusion
REVIEW
I truly didn't know what I was getting myself into when I picked this one up.
So let me tell you: this is a science heavy probe into the human condition and mind (extra heavy on the physics).
As a reader I wish there was just a little bit more of introspection early on in the book. There were some great takeaways in the last 1/6th of this book and I am happy I stuck it out.
Upon finishing I am left with a bit of a twist on how I look at life, specifically on the idea of ignorance, infinity, and heat.
I guess you could say it has me thinking a little more deeply about...reality. So in that I case I believe this book achieved what it set out to do.
RATING
3.00/5.00
"The only truly infinite thing is our ignorance."
I have changed some habits since the end of 2016. I started reading more non-fiction books, initiated by Aziz Ansari's Modern Love and Dava Sobel's Longitude. My preferences lean toward science-related books, as it was my educational background. If anything, it is also because of the innocence and humbleness of science. And that is the impression I got from reading this Carlo Rovelli's book.
Rovelli does elaborate his ideas about quantum gravity. From scratch. He explains it in a very simple, yet elegant way, sometimes seasoned with intellectual jokes. He mixes scientific thought process and formulas with history and humanity in that beautiful narrative. That storytelling style of him reminds me of my advisor and his (vaguely) quote, "Basically, hard science is not about confusing things, it should be about us."
It made me regret my whole 5 university years, that I should have paid a very close attention to the subjects. It sparked a discussion with a dear friend, every little detail, though both of us are just laypeople. The book is impossible to put down, just as the quest of discovering the Truth.
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I am not a huge fan of the historical perspective (since it wasn't new to me) but once we got to the meat of this book, I love it. What I found particularly interesting and useful is building an understanding of how the different theories fit with one another. as his previous book, this one is beautifully written and leaves you pondering both physics and philosophy.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Rovelli's subtitle is apt, he does take us on a journey, one I enjoyed thoroughly. This is a journey in four parts. The first two bring the lay-reader up to speed with "what is known", so that the author can then dig into what he really lives for, to explain and open up what he has learned and suspects about the quantum reality. Parts three and four is where he takes us down this particular rabbit hole, and it is quite the ride.
I enjoyed the daily reading/thinking/struggle with trying to grasp, imagine and absorb what he was showing me. No math was required but imagination and willingness to go on this journey surely are required. Some of what he has to say will be difficult to understand and sometimes I was so aware that I was not getting it that I would get distracted with my own revealed ignorance, but really this is fine, this is not easy stuff and the fun of a roller coaster is the little feeling of panic as you look over the edge.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be introduced to the reality in which we live.
I enjoyed the daily reading/thinking/struggle with trying to grasp, imagine and absorb what he was showing me. No math was required but imagination and willingness to go on this journey surely are required. Some of what he has to say will be difficult to understand and sometimes I was so aware that I was not getting it that I would get distracted with my own revealed ignorance, but really this is fine, this is not easy stuff and the fun of a roller coaster is the little feeling of panic as you look over the edge.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be introduced to the reality in which we live.
This book gives an overview of an approach to quantum gravity known as 'loop quantum gravity LQG'. The first half of the book brings readers up to speed with the ideas that lead to LQG. This takes us from the ancient Greeks, through Galileo and Newton, onto Maxwell and finally General Relativity and quantum field theory. This covered about the right amount of detail and presented some alternative interpretations to quantum theory not covered in other popular books (or indeed university when I was studying).
The remainder of the book looks at LQG itself and some of its implications. It's good to read a book about quantum gravity that isn't just about String Theory and to finally get a popular account of (one of) the alternatives.
The reason it doesn't get 5 stars is that it felt a bit too brief to me. I'd have like to have seen a more detailed explanation of some of the ideas and I think it would have been interesting to compare/contrast to other approaches such as string theory.
Overall a good and interesting read though.
The remainder of the book looks at LQG itself and some of its implications. It's good to read a book about quantum gravity that isn't just about String Theory and to finally get a popular account of (one of) the alternatives.
The reason it doesn't get 5 stars is that it felt a bit too brief to me. I'd have like to have seen a more detailed explanation of some of the ideas and I think it would have been interesting to compare/contrast to other approaches such as string theory.
Overall a good and interesting read though.
Will get back to it, now just isn't the right moment. This needs full attention.