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1 verk 349 medlemmar 9 recensioner

Verk av Adam Becker

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USA

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While 'What Is Real?' is marketed as a popular science book, it should be mandatory reading for professional physicists, as it is a critical history of their field first and foremost, trying to explain why a problematic theory like the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics has endured for so long.

It works both as a solid overview of the science and possible interpretations of quantum theory, and as a sociological history of the workings of the field – both from a European and American perspective. There is much to learn here: about quantum science, about science as a practice, and about philosophy of science as well.

(...)

Full review on Weighing A Pig Doesn't Fatten It
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
bormgans | 8 andra recensioner | Jun 23, 2021 |
Very engaging history of quantum physics. Personal backgrounds are presented but do not overshadow the issues that individuals raised and championed. The book retains its focus on the ideas.
 
Flaggad
Paul_S | 8 andra recensioner | Dec 23, 2020 |
I have a little extra time these days, and I am browsing my library of unread books. These are books I heard good reviews about, and have topics that interest me. Although I can't do the math, I am fascinated by quantum physics and cosmology, so this book immediately entered my library when published. It is very good, with interesting characters and difficult arguments, and a history of the 20th century of theoretical physics.

Some quotes that I marked while reading:

Page 28: [Einstein] "He was eternally suspicious of the status quo, both scientifically and elsewhere; he characterized common sense as the collection of prejudices accumulated by the age of eighteen"

Page 29: [quoting Einstein] "On principle, it is quite wrong to try founding a theory on observable magnitudes alone. In reality the very opposite happens. It is the theory which decides what we can observe."

Page 48: [quoting Wolfgang Pauli] "I do not mind if you think slowly, but I do object when you publish more quickly than you can think"

Page 123: "If a measurement only happens when someone looks at a system, who, in particular, has to look? Everett argued that this line of reasoning leads inevitably to solipsism - the idea that you are the only being in the universe, and everyone else is somehow illusory or secondary, existing in states of indeterminate reality until you, the High Arbiter of Wave Function Collapse deign to observe them"

Page 127: "These are the many worlds [entangled wave functions] of Everett’s interpretation. The may seem absurd on the face of it: there is, after all, only one world that we experience. But if that's your objection, Everett's reply is that your hardly alone: to each person in each branch of the universal wave function their world appears to be the only world, just as there appeared to be only one cat in the box and one you looking at it. This is the hallmark of the many worlds interpretation: the appearance of a single world, despite the true existence of many"

Page 148: "Particles, according to Bohm, always have positions - but those positions can be dramatically altered by small disturbances and changes in experimental setups."

Page 187: [quoting writings of J.J.C. Smart, a philosopher] "The great and compelling reason for refusing to regard the elementary particles as theoretical fictions is that unless something like what quantum mechanics tells us is true of some underlying reality, then [the fact] that the macroscopic laws are what they are ... [is] too much of a coincidence to be believed"

Page 264: "Pat answers to complex questions, like Popper's cry of "falsifiability" should always be suspicious: as H.L. Mencken once said, "There is always a well known solution to every human problem - neat, plausible and wrong."
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
neurodrew | 8 andra recensioner | Jul 4, 2020 |

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Statistik

Verk
1
Medlemmar
349
Popularitet
#68,500
Betyg
4.2
Recensioner
9
ISBN
14
Språk
2

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