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Quantum Leaps, by Jeremy Bernstein
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In 1953, reflecting on early ventures in quantum theory, J. Robert Oppenheimer spoke of terror and exaltation, of history happening in a realm so remote from common experience that it was “unlikely to be known to any poet or historian.” Yet now, anyone can Google “quantum theory” and find more than 34 million entries―from poets and historians, certainly, as well as film critics and Buddhist monks. How―and how pervasively―quantum mechanics has entered the general culture is the subject of this book, an engaging, eclectic, and thought-provoking look at the curious, boundlessly fertile intersection of scientific thought and everyday life.
Including recollections of encounters with the theory and the people responsible for it, Jeremy Bernstein’s account ranges from the cross-pollination of quantum mechanics with Marxist ideology and Christian and Buddhist mysticism to its influence on theater, film, and fiction. Along the way, Bernstein focuses on those―such as Niels Bohr, the Dalai Lama, W. H. Auden, and Tom Stoppard―who have made quantum physics; who have argued over it, pondered it, or taken literary inspiration from it, and who have misunderstood, misconstrued, or misapplied it. One person in particular supplies a narrative thread: John Bell, a notable yet underappreciated physicist who did groundbreaking research in quantum physics. In Bell’s story, Bernstein provides a uniquely readable account of what physicists call the “measurement problem.”
Quantum Leaps is a lively, erudite book on a subject that Bernstein has lived with for most of its history. His experience and deep understanding are apparent on every page.
- Sales Rank: #1922072 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
- Published on: 2011-05-15
- Released on: 2011-04-25
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 6.83" h x .68" w x 4.18" l, .50 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 240 pages
Features
- Used Book in Good Condition
From Publishers Weekly
Bernstein, a former New Yorker staff writer and prolific popular-science author (Plutonium), embarks on an almost quixotic attempt to explain the mysteries of quantum mechanics. It's a daunting topic. The legendary nuclear physicist Niels Bohr once said, Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it. Bernstein seamlessly interweaves the story of his own growing fascination with quantum theory and the people who were influential in nurturing his career with the theoretical conundrums that abound in quantum theory. He also is very eclectic in the sources he draws on to explain some of the more remarkable aspects of quantum theory: the Dalai Lama, W.H. Auden and the plays of Tom Stoppard all provide relevant points of interest. The scientific explanations that comprise much of the book—the problems of measurement and entanglement, how particles of energy and matter can become predictably correlated over great distances—are earnest and, because of the nature of the topic, unavoidably difficult for the uninitiated. But this is a labor of love, and serious science readers will find it worthwhile. (Oct.)
Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Jeremy Bernstein is as good a writer as you can find among scientists. (Steven Weinberg)
Bernstein, a former New Yorker staff writer and prolific popular-science author, embarks on an almost quixotic attempt to explain the mysteries of quantum mechanics. It's a daunting topic. The legendary nuclear physicist Niels Bohr once said, "Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it." Bernstein seamlessly interweaves the story of his own growing fascination with quantum theory and the people who were influential in nurturing his career with the theoretical conundrums that abound in quantum theory. He also is very eclectic in the sources he draws on to explain some of the more remarkable aspects of quantum theory: the Dalai Lama, W. H. Auden and the plays of Tom Stoppard all provide relevant points of interest. The scientific explanations that comprise much of the book--the problems of measurement and entanglement, how particles of energy and matter can become predictably correlated over great distances--are earnest and, because of the nature of the topic, unavoidably difficult for the uninitiated. But this is a labor of love, and serious science readers will find it worthwhile. (Publishers Weekly 2009-08-03)
Former New Yorker science writer Jeremy Bernstein revisits his own encounters with the quantum world, first as a student at Harvard and then throughout his storied career, which features a cast of characters including W. H. Auden, J. Robert Oppenheimer and Tom Stoppard. Along the way, he discusses the strange intersections of quantum mechanics with Marxism and mysticism. This is an eclectic book by someone who understands the physics and has observed its cultural consequences first-hand. (Saswato R. Das New Scientist 2009-10-10)
No subject in recent memory has generated as much nonsense as the weird realm of quantum mechanics...The great science-writer Jeremy Bernstein provides a wonderful antidote in this lucid, witty book, which draws on his firsthand acquaintance with many of the principal players in the development of quantum theory. (John Wilson Christianity Today 2009-09-01)
[Bernstein's] exposition of the quantum conundrums is clear and bracing, and a stimulating challenge. Quantum Leaps is an intellectual curiosity, redolent of the strange mental landscape inhabited by the world's greatest intellects. (Peter Forbes The Independent 2010-01-07)
A physicist-turned-prolific-writer, [Bernstein] is among the most engaging and thoughtful of quantum explainers, and Quantum Leaps provides one of the best concise guides available to what the fuss is all about. (Tom Siegfried Science News 2009-12-05)
An engaging little book by a unique figure in science writing. (Robert Fulford National Post 2010-08-03)
About the Author
Jeremy Bernstein is the author of many books on science for the general reader, including Plutonium: A History of the World’s Most Dangerous Element and Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma. He is a former staff writer for the New Yorker.
Most helpful customer reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
A rollicking romp through quantum connections
By Ash Jogalekar
Very few physicists have emphasized the human side of physics as well as Jeremy Bernstein. A veteran physicist and writer who has known many famous physicists of the twentieth century, Bernstein has penned highly readable portraits of Oppenheimer, Bethe and Einstein among others and has written books about nuclear weapons, quants on Wall Street, Bell Laboratories and the German atomic bomb project. In this book he explores the several ramifications of the strange proliferation of concepts from quantum mechanics into popular culture, theater, art, philosophy and cinema. Perhaps this proliferation is not surprising considering the bizarre implications of the actual meaning of quantum theory, but as Bernstein indicates, non-physicists have extended the reach of quantum concepts far beyond what the scientific creators of the theory would have intended.
Bernstein takes us through a diverse variety of topics and characters. He describes the Dalai Lama's writings in which he draws parallels between Buddhism and quantum theory, and this gives him an opportunity to talk about two central characters in the book, physicists John Bell and David Bohm who the Dalai Lama knew and who played crucial roles in the development of the interpretative parts of the discipline. Bernstein describes the famous conflict between Einstein and Bohr about the meaning of quantum theory and explains Bell's groundbreaking contributions that argued against Einstein's belief that quantum mechanics might be governed by some kind of "hidden variables" which we have to discover; Bell showed that any such hidden variable theory would have to involve superluminal communication and would be at odds with the theory of relativity. Later many remarkably precise experiments verified Bell's ideas, and Bell would almost certainly have received a Nobel Prize had he not died untimely of a stroke.
Bernstein also discusses the extension of quantum theory into non-scientific realms and describes the plays of the playwright Tom Stoppard (writer of "Hapgood" and "Arcadia"), who seems to have incorporated some concepts into his writing. Along the way Bernstein discusses the famous double slit experiment of quantum theory (best discussed in the Feynman Lectures on Physics) which inspired Stoppard and other writers including Princeton philosopher Rebecca Goldstein (author of "Incompleteness", a fascinating book about Kurt Godel) whose work Bernstein also describes. Bernstein also uses these narrative threads to talk about his own background at Harvard and Princeton where he came in contact with many of the key figures in the development of quantum physics. He has a clear and readable discussion of Bell's theorem and its background.
The last chapters in Bernstein's book talk about New Age-type expositions of quantum theory discussed by writers like Gary Zhukov and Fritjof Capra who seemingly find many parallels between the philosophical parts of the discipline and Eastern philosophy and mysticism. Bernstein is admittedly not very impressed with these interpretations as many of them sound rather fuzzy and devoid of concrete meaning. Perhaps Bernstein should have also taken a well-deserved jab at the New Age guru Deepak Chopra, whose use of quantum concepts seems to have been divined from thin air.
Readers might be forgiven for Bernstein's digressions which usually constitute a common part of his writings. For instance his first chapter is about his encounter with poet W H Auden and the philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr which seems to have little bearing on the rest of the book. A chapter on Niels Bohr's protege, the physicist Leon Rosenfeld, suddenly digresses into how quantum mechanics came in conflict with Soviet Marxism and dialectical materialism, and how Soviet physicists struggled to reconcile physics with their political ideology. A lot of this has to do with Bernstein's own background and it usually makes for interesting reading, but as in some of his other books, one cannot help shake off the feeling that Bernstein is trying to pack too much into the book and jumping from one topic to another with alacrity. However, I personally enjoy such digressions, and while some others may not, there is still enough interesting material in this slim book to keep most readers with a variety of interests hooked.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
A Most Appropriate Title
By George Poirier
If one had to identify the basic theme of this book, one could say that it deals with the thoughts of people from varying backgrounds/professions on quantum theory and its implications. The author takes "quantum leaps" from one quantum sub-topic to another, all centering on these people's views on quantum theory: playwrights, authors (of novels, of new age books, etc.), artists, religious leaders (e.g., Dalai Lama), as well as the views of eminent physicists. The scientific explanations that are given throughout are generally quite clear, often including useful analogies. But, despite the fact that the book contains several discussions on various quantum phenomena, someone wanting to learn the basics of quantum theory should really look elsewhere. In addition to the science, the book also contains a fascinating agglomeration of snippets from the life of the author, including his interactions with some of the greatest luminaries in this field, as well as others. The writing style is clear, friendly, authoritative, relatively accessible and often quite captivating. Although anyone can read this book and learn quite a bit, it would likely be enjoyed the most by science buffs, especially those with a physics background, as well as those interested in the history of science.
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
Quantum Leaps
By Amazon Customer
This is a personal walk through the early days of the Quantum Physics pioneers, so for those interested in the history of QP it is interesting but for those of us trying to grasp the incredible implications of QP, it is dry going.
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