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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
A beautifully written account of quantum gravity from the point of view of a rival theory to string theory. I found the ideas and evidence quite persuasive while feeling that the author made his case in the true spirit of science - stating evidence and stating explicitly that this was an explanation of one theory among many. There were also some very eloquently written passages on the very nature of science itself.
DNF at page 192. This was a fascinating book but as it went on, I was having a harder time understanding the concepts. After 3 renewals at the library, it felt like time to let it go, at least for now.
Absolutely brilliant.
Deep and overwhelming ways of thinking about the universe told through history and current research, but most importantly, an almost calming revelation about the very nature of science and discovery itself.
Deep and overwhelming ways of thinking about the universe told through history and current research, but most importantly, an almost calming revelation about the very nature of science and discovery itself.
Reality is not what it seems is a good book on physics. But like the author himself mentioned, seven brief lessons on physics is a more concise and direct treatment of the topics covered in the book. I would agree and direct readers to 7 Brief instead of this one.
Rovelli has a way of making me feel simultaneously smarter and less important. I loved this book, but I may need to read it again to understand. Then again, I may never fully understand.
"Before being technical, science is visionary."
- Carol Rovelli, Reality is Not What it Seems
(5 stars for poetry; 3 stars for precision)
When one discusses matters celestial or theoretical or cosmological it best translates when done in math or poetry. Rovelli has an amazing talent for singing the esoteric, theoretical language of Quantum Gravity. He finds meter with its loops and rhyme in the paradoxes. He is able to fluidly convert the edges of theoretical physics into a language that amateur scientists, the untrained, or even the casually curious can enjoy.
I'd write more today, but I'm heading tomorrow to a land where I can observe better the eclipse next week. May the sun shine, the clouds part, and the predictive abilities of cosmologists continue, at least for another week. I'll pick this review up again in a week+ with some notes and comments about the eclipse and the non-infinite universe.
**** (x) ****
Post eclipse Baily's beads. So, one of the people I met at the eclipse totality (she stayed at my sister-in-law's house in Rigby, Idaho) was [a:Lisa Randall|38333|Lisa Randall|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1366492712p2/38333.jpg], Harvard professor of particle physics and dark matter expert. I teased her about how it must be tough to hear an Italian physicist proclaim the death of String Theory and that Loop Theory is where it is at. She sniffed and said he was a great writer, but she couldn't take seriously someone who got the basics of quantum mechanics and the date of the discovery of the Higgs particle wrong*. The many errors, and general sloppiness of physics in the book drove her nuts.
I can see Randall's point, but also still love the way that Rovelli translates, even with a certain looseness, Quantum Gravity and the history of physics for layman like myself. It highlights one of the tensions that have existed for years in science. Often, fame follows not just who is RIGHT, but who WRITES well.
As my NOW favorite LIVING theoretical physicist Lisa Randall suggests in her New York Times review :
"The beauty of physics lies in its precise statements, and that is what is essential to convey. Many readers won’t have the background required to distinguish fact from speculation. Words can turn equations into poetry, but elegant language shouldn’t come at the expense of understanding."
* On page 129 Rovelli says "A recent confirmation was the discovery of the Higgs particle, which caused a sensation in 2013." (4 July 2012 was the date of discovery; on December 10, 2013, Peter Higgs and François Englert were awarded Nobel prizes for predicting this discovery). Randall also told me she had an issue with the metaphors Rovelli used. "Metaphors are supposed to make things more clear, not more confusing."
- Carol Rovelli, Reality is Not What it Seems
(5 stars for poetry; 3 stars for precision)
When one discusses matters celestial or theoretical or cosmological it best translates when done in math or poetry. Rovelli has an amazing talent for singing the esoteric, theoretical language of Quantum Gravity. He finds meter with its loops and rhyme in the paradoxes. He is able to fluidly convert the edges of theoretical physics into a language that amateur scientists, the untrained, or even the casually curious can enjoy.
I'd write more today, but I'm heading tomorrow to a land where I can observe better the eclipse next week. May the sun shine, the clouds part, and the predictive abilities of cosmologists continue, at least for another week. I'll pick this review up again in a week+ with some notes and comments about the eclipse and the non-infinite universe.
**** (x) ****
Post eclipse Baily's beads. So, one of the people I met at the eclipse totality (she stayed at my sister-in-law's house in Rigby, Idaho) was [a:Lisa Randall|38333|Lisa Randall|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1366492712p2/38333.jpg], Harvard professor of particle physics and dark matter expert. I teased her about how it must be tough to hear an Italian physicist proclaim the death of String Theory and that Loop Theory is where it is at. She sniffed and said he was a great writer, but she couldn't take seriously someone who got the basics of quantum mechanics and the date of the discovery of the Higgs particle wrong*. The many errors, and general sloppiness of physics in the book drove her nuts.
I can see Randall's point, but also still love the way that Rovelli translates, even with a certain looseness, Quantum Gravity and the history of physics for layman like myself. It highlights one of the tensions that have existed for years in science. Often, fame follows not just who is RIGHT, but who WRITES well.
As my NOW favorite LIVING theoretical physicist Lisa Randall suggests in her New York Times review :
"The beauty of physics lies in its precise statements, and that is what is essential to convey. Many readers won’t have the background required to distinguish fact from speculation. Words can turn equations into poetry, but elegant language shouldn’t come at the expense of understanding."
* On page 129 Rovelli says "A recent confirmation was the discovery of the Higgs particle, which caused a sensation in 2013." (4 July 2012 was the date of discovery; on December 10, 2013, Peter Higgs and François Englert were awarded Nobel prizes for predicting this discovery). Randall also told me she had an issue with the metaphors Rovelli used. "Metaphors are supposed to make things more clear, not more confusing."
This is a nice introduction to what loop quantum gravity is all about. I might read this book again after learning Quantum Information, as I was a bit lost in the second last chapter.
I really like the accessibility that Rovelli brings to physics. I read his other book, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, and like that book, I found this one to be just as enjoyable and accessible. His writing is not technical but more philosophical ruminations on technical aspects of physics. This book was enjoyable and I will read again to gain more insight and understanding.
Really enjoyed it, though towards the end of the book the explanations didn't seem very clear. If you're into science in anyway, well worth the read.
This is the most disappointing book I've read by Rovelli, largely because of an excess of polemics in place of science. Rovelli chews up a lot of pages telling boogeyman stories about those dark
days prior to the scientific revolution and waxing eloquent on science as the best tool for understanding the world. He argues that science is possessed of true humility (in contrast to religion). Regardless of the strengths of this position, here it's largely set against strawman arguments, and more damningly, it's boring and repetitive. There are better books about the philosophy of science and epistemology. And that paean here is just a filibuster to run out the clock on already short pages laying out the actual physics that is promised in the title.
The section where Rovelli actually describes quantum gravity is extraordinarily short, and frankly not all that clear in its details. From the 40,000 foot view, it sounds like a very satisfying resolution of the tensions between general relativity and quantum physics. But Rovelli barely acknowledges that his view is far from established in the experimental evidence, and that the question of its triumph over competing theories is still wide open. If this were the first book I'd read by Rovelli, it would probably be the last. Luckily, I've read and been more impressed by some of his other efforts. Don't start here if you're looking to explore his work.
days prior to the scientific revolution and waxing eloquent on science as the best tool for understanding the world. He argues that science is possessed of true humility (in contrast to religion). Regardless of the strengths of this position, here it's largely set against strawman arguments, and more damningly, it's boring and repetitive. There are better books about the philosophy of science and epistemology. And that paean here is just a filibuster to run out the clock on already short pages laying out the actual physics that is promised in the title.
The section where Rovelli actually describes quantum gravity is extraordinarily short, and frankly not all that clear in its details. From the 40,000 foot view, it sounds like a very satisfying resolution of the tensions between general relativity and quantum physics. But Rovelli barely acknowledges that his view is far from established in the experimental evidence, and that the question of its triumph over competing theories is still wide open. If this were the first book I'd read by Rovelli, it would probably be the last. Luckily, I've read and been more impressed by some of his other efforts. Don't start here if you're looking to explore his work.