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Brian Greene is a well known and revered physicist and his ability to explain some of the more complex underpinnings of physics in relatively simple ways is well appreciated. In this book, however, even as he maintains his customary brilliance with explaining concepts of classical physics, Einsteinian general relativity and the world of subatomic particles, he fails to deliver a clear picture of the strings that are the primordial constituents of the superstring universe. Part of the problem is that the principles of string theory seem to be rooted in the mathematics, which in itself is described as daunting and complex, which if you are not studying at a detailed level, you may not grasp the import of. But the other part of the problem is that Dr. Greene makes several attempts to explain why point particles fail to unite the concepts of general relativity with quantum mechanics and how the concept of superstrings solves this problem elegantly.
Due allowance is to be made to the fact that some of the concepts presented in the book such as curled up dimensions and Calabi-Yau spaces are very hard for our brains evolved to perceive our three-dimensional world, to comprehend. Analogs are used where possible to use alternate well known mechanisms to explain the movement of strings and their peculiarities and distinguishing attributes from point particles. However, no compelling argument is made as to why these characteristics should offer a better solution to the problem of unifying all fundamental forces into a grand theory of everything that harmonizes general relativity and quantum mechanics. For now, the reader is asked to be content with the assertion that the math works out and this may well be true, but it tends to be a little dissatisfying to the reader who wants to hear the arguments and make up their own mind. In spite of all that, this is a very interesting read to get some bearings around all the work that has been done and is being done in the space of superstring, the M theory and much more that is fundamental to a strong understanding of physics and a laundry list of things that we do not understand yet but are working hard to decipher.
Due allowance is to be made to the fact that some of the concepts presented in the book such as curled up dimensions and Calabi-Yau spaces are very hard for our brains evolved to perceive our three-dimensional world, to comprehend. Analogs are used where possible to use alternate well known mechanisms to explain the movement of strings and their peculiarities and distinguishing attributes from point particles. However, no compelling argument is made as to why these characteristics should offer a better solution to the problem of unifying all fundamental forces into a grand theory of everything that harmonizes general relativity and quantum mechanics. For now, the reader is asked to be content with the assertion that the math works out and this may well be true, but it tends to be a little dissatisfying to the reader who wants to hear the arguments and make up their own mind. In spite of all that, this is a very interesting read to get some bearings around all the work that has been done and is being done in the space of superstring, the M theory and much more that is fundamental to a strong understanding of physics and a laundry list of things that we do not understand yet but are working hard to decipher.