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A review by theaurochs
Helgoland by Carlo Rovelli
3.0
An interesting meditation and rumination on Quantum Mechanics. I have to call it that because it is too brief to be an explanation, too high-concept to really be an introduction, and far too frilly to be a serious examination. It falls into this mysterious popular science quality that is less like a lecture and more like being stuck on a train journey with a very passionate professor and listening to them ramble. They are certainly very erudite, and well-informed, and clearly enthusiastic about their topic but, is there any overall point to the book? Or are we simply talking about cool science stuff?
Which is pretty fine, as the cool science stuff of QM is fascinating enough to hold your attention in this case at least. As alluded to in the previous paragraph though, I do not think this would serve well as a first introduction to QM- the introductory section laying out the problems and the motivations for approaching these problems is handled a little too swiftly, despite the title seeming to suggest a premise of examining how these breakthroughs came about. What the bulk of the book is actually interested in is attempting to lay out some of the ramifications of QM, as well as various philosophical interpretations of what these world-shattering equations “really mean”. It will happily work for someone who has a vague familiarity with the core concepts of QM and wants a deeper examination. Not an attempt at an explanation though- as Rovelli is keen to point out; we do not have a consistent and coherent explanation for what quantum mechanics actually means or how it operates. This fact has baffled and frustrated scientists for the last century. “If you think you understand QM”, says Rovelli “please read that paragraph again”.
After brief looks at the “many worlds” and “hidden variable” interpretations, more attention is giben to the view that Rovelli works on, the “relational” interpretation. This is unsurprising, it being a large part of their work, and it’s also unsurprisingly the most interesting and well-developed section of the book. It has a certain beauty to it as a reflection of special relativity and is at least as plausible as other interpretations. Further to that we get some interesting but definitely tangential detours into philosophy, examining particularly the influence of Ernst Mach on early 20th century physicists and therefore QM. These historical aspects are more well developed than the attempts at metaphysical interpretations.
Interesting for those looking for a deeper look at the problems of quantum mechanics and some interpretations of what they might mean. Prose that could be argued as beautiful or overly flowery, and some somewhat lacking philosophical arguments, although definitely enough to give you a jumping off point if you were interested. I don’t know that I’d classify it as accessible generally, and it definitely has an air of self-indulgence around it. Still, engaging reading with enough cool science stuff to keep me going.
Which is pretty fine, as the cool science stuff of QM is fascinating enough to hold your attention in this case at least. As alluded to in the previous paragraph though, I do not think this would serve well as a first introduction to QM- the introductory section laying out the problems and the motivations for approaching these problems is handled a little too swiftly, despite the title seeming to suggest a premise of examining how these breakthroughs came about. What the bulk of the book is actually interested in is attempting to lay out some of the ramifications of QM, as well as various philosophical interpretations of what these world-shattering equations “really mean”. It will happily work for someone who has a vague familiarity with the core concepts of QM and wants a deeper examination. Not an attempt at an explanation though- as Rovelli is keen to point out; we do not have a consistent and coherent explanation for what quantum mechanics actually means or how it operates. This fact has baffled and frustrated scientists for the last century. “If you think you understand QM”, says Rovelli “please read that paragraph again”.
After brief looks at the “many worlds” and “hidden variable” interpretations, more attention is giben to the view that Rovelli works on, the “relational” interpretation. This is unsurprising, it being a large part of their work, and it’s also unsurprisingly the most interesting and well-developed section of the book. It has a certain beauty to it as a reflection of special relativity and is at least as plausible as other interpretations. Further to that we get some interesting but definitely tangential detours into philosophy, examining particularly the influence of Ernst Mach on early 20th century physicists and therefore QM. These historical aspects are more well developed than the attempts at metaphysical interpretations.
Interesting for those looking for a deeper look at the problems of quantum mechanics and some interpretations of what they might mean. Prose that could be argued as beautiful or overly flowery, and some somewhat lacking philosophical arguments, although definitely enough to give you a jumping off point if you were interested. I don’t know that I’d classify it as accessible generally, and it definitely has an air of self-indulgence around it. Still, engaging reading with enough cool science stuff to keep me going.