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277 reviews for:
El universo elegante: Supercuerdas, dimensiones ocultas y la búsqueda de una teoría final
Brian Greene
4.03 AVERAGE
277 reviews for:
El universo elegante: Supercuerdas, dimensiones ocultas y la búsqueda de una teoría final
Brian Greene
4.03 AVERAGE
At times fascinating, at times arduous, and at times humbling (my brain, it hurts), this book provides an elegant and readable (as readable as it gets, I imagine) tour of modern physics.
The first few chapters pulled me in quick, recounting the evolution of physics from Newtonian to quantum to string. My interest started to wane midway through, when, with the basics of string theory on the table, the author dove into more theoretical work that I struggled to keep up with and/or stay interested in for long periods. I ended up reading a chapter at a time, in between other, lighter books - this kept my interest up and prevented me feeling like I was cramming for a test (one which I would certainly fail), but unfortunately spreading out the reading made it harder to keep up with the physics (we covered what last chapter?). Ultimately, it was those middle 3-4 chapters that pull this down to a 3-star rating. The remaining parts of this book sparked my imagination and awe enough times to warrant a 4- or 5-star rating.
I should also note that, with string theory so new, it was interesting to have the chance to read some of the author's first-hand accounts of physics research, which are interspersed in the second half of the book. The subtitle doesn't lie - this book isn't only about string theory, it's also about the people and the work behind it and that "quest for the ultimate theory". Through it all, it's clear the author has a great passion for physics, and he shows definite skill in translating that to the general reader (even if the highly theoretical subject matter isn't always sexy).
The first few chapters pulled me in quick, recounting the evolution of physics from Newtonian to quantum to string. My interest started to wane midway through, when, with the basics of string theory on the table, the author dove into more theoretical work that I struggled to keep up with and/or stay interested in for long periods. I ended up reading a chapter at a time, in between other, lighter books - this kept my interest up and prevented me feeling like I was cramming for a test (one which I would certainly fail), but unfortunately spreading out the reading made it harder to keep up with the physics (we covered what last chapter?). Ultimately, it was those middle 3-4 chapters that pull this down to a 3-star rating. The remaining parts of this book sparked my imagination and awe enough times to warrant a 4- or 5-star rating.
I should also note that, with string theory so new, it was interesting to have the chance to read some of the author's first-hand accounts of physics research, which are interspersed in the second half of the book. The subtitle doesn't lie - this book isn't only about string theory, it's also about the people and the work behind it and that "quest for the ultimate theory". Through it all, it's clear the author has a great passion for physics, and he shows definite skill in translating that to the general reader (even if the highly theoretical subject matter isn't always sexy).
Fascinating but the structuring of the book made it hard to read.
After reading this book, I have a whole new appreciation for the universe that surrounds us. Brian Greene is able to distill highly complex theories to a more palatable level for us non-physicists. Fortunately, Greene manages to do this without dumbing it down, leaving the ideas intact, but without all the required knowledge of advanced mathematics. While I have read quite a few books on quantum theory and physics, I had never really understood the principles at work as well as I do now. This is a great book for both the amateur, as well as the more advanced reader of sting theory alike. I may not have exactly understood everything presented, but will likely synthesize more of it on repeated readings.
The 2003 PBS NOVA adaptation of this book is something I remember watching once as a child, once as an adolescent, and once as a college student. In the same way that many people describe Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” as being the jumping off point that made them interested in astronomy, watching “The Elegant Universe” was the first time I became really interested in physics.
Following my third viewing, as an undergraduate in my intro to physics course, I went to a book store and bought this book, and read the first chapter. Since then it has sat on my shelf for six years, and I finally got around to finishing it. It is a good thing I waited.
What I remember of the adaptation was very accessible, but only covers about half of the material in the book. I ran out of familiar content a bit earlier than I expected, so I was eager to keep going.
Well.
The book becomes increasingly inaccessible, and since this is the cutting edge of physics (or at least it was 25-30 years ago) I kind of expected that it would be. However, even with the benefit of having a physics degree, and substantial progress towards a graduate degree in math, I found Greene’s explanations to be a bit unsatisfying in that they were too vague to give a real sense of the underlying mathematics, but not simple enough for the uninitiated reader (i.e. me), at least on the first pass.
The book is certainly interesting, and I think that Greene wants to contribute to the Sagan/Hawking/Weinberg tradition of writing physics for the layperson, which I believe is a fantastic goal! But I think that the second half of this book just got too far off into the weeds.
I am a little disappointed that it didn’t live up to the expectation that I had built up for it in my mind, but if I assess it on its own merits, it’s an excellent attempt to explain something that’s very very complicated in a way that can be broadly understood.
Following my third viewing, as an undergraduate in my intro to physics course, I went to a book store and bought this book, and read the first chapter. Since then it has sat on my shelf for six years, and I finally got around to finishing it. It is a good thing I waited.
What I remember of the adaptation was very accessible, but only covers about half of the material in the book. I ran out of familiar content a bit earlier than I expected, so I was eager to keep going.
Well.
The book becomes increasingly inaccessible, and since this is the cutting edge of physics (or at least it was 25-30 years ago) I kind of expected that it would be. However, even with the benefit of having a physics degree, and substantial progress towards a graduate degree in math, I found Greene’s explanations to be a bit unsatisfying in that they were too vague to give a real sense of the underlying mathematics, but not simple enough for the uninitiated reader (i.e. me), at least on the first pass.
The book is certainly interesting, and I think that Greene wants to contribute to the Sagan/Hawking/Weinberg tradition of writing physics for the layperson, which I believe is a fantastic goal! But I think that the second half of this book just got too far off into the weeds.
I am a little disappointed that it didn’t live up to the expectation that I had built up for it in my mind, but if I assess it on its own merits, it’s an excellent attempt to explain something that’s very very complicated in a way that can be broadly understood.
This book lost me, and I’m very sad about that. It started out great, I learnt things about the universe and physics which hadn’t known, and updated my understanding of things I thought I knew. It was inspiring, interesting, and challenging, all of which I was happy about, until I stopped understanding. At some point the ideas required more time than I had, for wrapping my head around. That on its own would have been fine, I’m okay with conceding that I won’t understand everything in a book like this.
But too much of it relied on the parts that I didn’t get. Perhaps the topic is too hard to dumb down to my level, but I think a different writer could have made it more accessible.
But too much of it relied on the parts that I didn’t get. Perhaps the topic is too hard to dumb down to my level, but I think a different writer could have made it more accessible.
There were parts when I was like “ohhhhh I’m so smart” and then other parts were I was like “huh?”. So, I think this is a book that I will have to read a second time and I’m okay with that.
I enjoyed this book and feel like I have found a glimpse into the amazing universe we live in. Did I understand all of it? No. I don't think I could completely comprehend all of the concepts no matter how closely I studied the book. Is the book accessible to those without a science background? Yes. Even if not all of it is completely understood it was worth the read. I figure I would get a firmer grasp on the concepts if I read the book a few more times but it took me long enough to get through I think just once is enough.
Whenever I try to read popular science books like this it feels like every sentence is an important idea, and when one enters my brain, two others get ejected and I end up dumber than when I started. Maybe there's a law of physics that will explain that. Too bad I won't remember it!
Finally finished! A great book for the non-science-y who want some understanding of string theory without the math. It was slow reading and I had to take notes to remember things, but still enjoyable reading. Greene explains everything so clearly, uses great analogies, and has a wonderful way with words to boot.
Finally finished! A great book for the non-science-y who want some understanding of string theory without the math. It was slow reading and I had to take notes to remember things, but still enjoyable reading. Greene explains everything so clearly, uses great analogies, and has a wonderful way with words to boot.
Even though string theory is perhaps a little unsteady or doesn’t quite have a strong hold in the current age, this book still has a lot to contribute.
Admittedly, this book is not for the beginner and anyone reading this will benefit from some previous foundation or experience in physics, quantum mechanics as well as the subject matter. I’ve read a fair bit around this topic and did found myself lost a few times however the author does have a great way of explaining certain scenarios and fundamentals in easier to understand ways which did really help.
Also it was interesting to see the hurdles and difficulties faced for string theorists and those on the sides of this corner of physics and I loved reading about the history and the evolution that string theory has gone through as well as the research that has been done and hopeful directions for the future.
The book also explained and laid down the foundations to further help you understand the topic such as special and general relativity as well as E=MC2 and classical, quantum and Newtonian mechanics. There is a lot of information in this book and I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the Big Bang Theory and the possibility of M-theory.
This book certain does paint the picture of The Elegant Universe and I’m glad I read it which has somewhat expanded my horizons on learning about the universe. I’ve enjoyed other Brian Greene books as well as this one and he has a very logical smooth flow of writing which can also be found within this book. A very elegant universe indeed!
Admittedly, this book is not for the beginner and anyone reading this will benefit from some previous foundation or experience in physics, quantum mechanics as well as the subject matter. I’ve read a fair bit around this topic and did found myself lost a few times however the author does have a great way of explaining certain scenarios and fundamentals in easier to understand ways which did really help.
Also it was interesting to see the hurdles and difficulties faced for string theorists and those on the sides of this corner of physics and I loved reading about the history and the evolution that string theory has gone through as well as the research that has been done and hopeful directions for the future.
The book also explained and laid down the foundations to further help you understand the topic such as special and general relativity as well as E=MC2 and classical, quantum and Newtonian mechanics. There is a lot of information in this book and I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the Big Bang Theory and the possibility of M-theory.
This book certain does paint the picture of The Elegant Universe and I’m glad I read it which has somewhat expanded my horizons on learning about the universe. I’ve enjoyed other Brian Greene books as well as this one and he has a very logical smooth flow of writing which can also be found within this book. A very elegant universe indeed!
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced