A review by theomnivorescientist
The Quantum Astrologer's Handbook by Michael Brooks

adventurous challenging funny informative inspiring medium-paced

3.75

Gerolamo Cardano or simply Jerome Cardano was an Italian Renaissance polymath whose interests ranged from mathematics, astrology, biology, medicine, philosophy, to gambling. His gambling habits led him to devise the foundations of probability. Moreover, Cardano accepted the role of imaginary numbers making him a great influencer for quantum physics. Michael Brooks gives this science biography a twist when he himself visits Cardano in a cell ( the premise is that some unknown nature of physical laws provides Brooks with the means to visit Cardano in flesh ) where he has been imprisoned for sexual impropriety. They discuss Jerome's life, from poverty to his years of medical studies, to his influence in Italian city-states, his tumultuous family life, his gambling addiction, and his feud with Tartaglia ( another great mathematician ) over the solutions to cubic equations. It is quite a romp to read about public math contests where mathematicians provide problems to their rivals, challenge them publicly, and if one could not solve them in a given time were publicly chastised and humiliated. Oh, 16th century Italy was a scientist's paradise. The delicious historical snippets alternate with quantum physics concepts. For the uninitiated, this might need several trips to Wikipedia or introductory undergrad physics course books. Before I read this book I had no idea about Cardano or 16th-century mathematicians and the concepts they were struggling with. A bit wiser now.