Reviews

Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science by David Lindley

thovsepian's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

1.0

Maybe a better title for the book would’ve been “physics and philosophy of the Copenhagen interpretation,” but even that is really too narrow. Lindley covers a broad range of topics at a very surface level. It’s hardly sufficient to discuss the science of physicists without including any of the actual science. If this was meant to be a history of their personal lives, fine, but it wasn’t. It was a history of the science and including none. Not a single equation was written besides Einstein’s, and even that wasn’t explained. It read as pop-sci even though Lindley has a PhD in astrophysics, but then I guess it makes sense that he won’t go deep into the theory. I was very excited for this book, but it truly read as an elongated high school essay on the topic. I’m not sure who the intended audience was, but I’m confident it would be well received by eighth grade students. There were many sections that were completely unnecessary for the plot, and all-in-all it seems that Lindley is not the man to cover this topic. 

nutfreenerd's review against another edition

Not as enjoyable as the other physics book I recently read, but I was pleasantly surprised by the discussion of literary criticism towards the end.

khinners's review

4.0

I picked up this book because I have been interested in learning more about quantum mechanics (or physics, if you prefer). I was specifically looking to fill in the gaps of my understanding of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. I was disappointed in the book's lack of hard science. However, for as much as I wanted to stop reading, I found something else. Where the book teased with revelations just out of reach, it surprised with its "cast of characters." Here were the greatest minds of their time rallying support for their theories, enduring the dynamics of World War II, and dealing with each other's surprisingly irrational behavior. A little scientific soap opera! In the end, a thoroughly enjoyable read.