Thoughtful and provocative essays about math and science and philosophy- and also very much about mathematicians and scientists and philosophers. A bit of redundancy because the essays were written for a variety of publications and a few bits were recycled. Very well written. ( )

تبدو بعض المفاهيم مثل ميكانيكا الكم، نظرية النسبية، والمنطق الرياضي مجردة لدرجة قد تخيف عوام القرّاء، إلا أنَّ للأفكار الكبيرة في الرياضيات والفيزياء عواقب حقيقية ودرامية على فهمنا للعالم. وغالباً ما كانت الحياة الخاصة للعباقرة الذين جاءوا بها لا تقل إثارة للاهتمام عن إنجازهم العلمي. لا تتناول مجموعة المقالات هذه أهم الأفكار العلمية في القرن الماضي فحسب، بل تعرفنا أيضاً على الشخصيات الغريبة العجيبة التي وقفت وراءها. ( )

The format necessarily creates a lot of repetitions and doesn't allow for any in-depth explanations of any but the most superficial elements of the science discussed but it contains a lot of interesting observations and historical notes. It also questions some common assumptions showing alternate views and is probably the first book I ever read that doesn't propagate the now tiresome myth of Ada Lovelace. ( )

Since I first read it a couple of years ago, I've returned more often to Jim Holt's excellent "Why Does the World Exist?" than any other book. His off-the-cuff conversations with a gaggle of famous philosophers, cosmologists, and astrophysicists let the lay reader grapple with enormously complex ideas related to a single world-class conundrum, and the commentaries that followed each chapter showed the strengths and weaknesses of each argument and highlighted how good the author is at making fantastically complex philosophical ideas accessible to non-PhD candidates.

"When Einstein Walked with Gödel isn't quite that good, but it's still a worthwhile read. Holt's ability to make mind-stretching ideas accessible is still evident on every page, but this one is basically a collections of essays, mostly short, that Holt's written over the years. There's a lot of interesting stuff here, of course. We hear about different views of infinity, about whether Einstein thought time actually existed, about string theory, and about people who equate numbers to Platonic forms. Holt takes the troubled, alluring Ada Lovelace down a peg and takes a potshot at Richard Dawkins. He considers the ultimate fate of the universe. Amazingly enough, I think that I sort of understand most of what's going on here, and I've never taken a college-level science course.

At the end of the day, though, I missed the aforementioned book's laser focus and found myself wishing that most of these chapters were longer. But who knows? I plan on reading more Holt in the future, of course. And "Why Does the World Exist?" seems to have gotten much more traction than you'd figure a book with that title would, so I'm hoping he'll have something new out soon. This book doesn't quite live up to it's snazzy title, and even its best moments are spoonful-sized, but you can still consider this review a recommendation. ( )

Very good collection of essays/articles about a wide range of topics in science, mathematics, philosophy and other disciplines. Was most enlightened by the articles on mathematicians (who apparently tend toward the slightly crazy). Thought the collection lagged a bit in the last third, but did enjoy the chapter on the philosophical feud related to naming and reference. Topics and people discussed definitely added to my reading list. ( )