Customer Reviews

Who's Afraid of Schrödinger's Cat? An A-to-Z Guide to All the New Science Ideas You Need to Keep Up with the New Thinking

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

--This book gives a brief topic-by-topic discussion of several dozen subjects in what may loosely be called "New Physics" or "New Consciousness."
--Superb books on quantum physics and neuroscience already exist, but I know of no other book arranged topically. The authors briefly discuss topics ranging from pedestrian things like DNA to more exotic ones like Quantum Consciousness, and based on topics I am familiar with, the authors appear reasonably accurate (I have a doctorate, keep up with the literature, and am reasonably comfortable with science). The authors have a bias towards the holistic relational (or synchronic) interpretation of quantum theory, which gives a new age-y feel, but this book nevertheless seems pretty good and it's a lot of fun to read a few paragraphs on an interesting topic (in my biased opinion, few things are more interesting than science).
--Problems? There's no bibliography or footnotes for further research and it generally only gives one view, which is often stated as fact even though most "cutting edge" topics are controversial ("the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but an inaccurate belief that we know something").

--In short, this is (as far as I know) a unique book because of its topic-by-topic organization. It makes a delightful "soft" read although it only gives an introductory view and much of what the authors assert as factual may actually be controversial. Hope this review helps.

I recieved this book on a Tuesday. I couldn't stop picking it up until Friday. Even now I still have it out on my desk. This isn't the type of book that you'll want to read from front to back at one sitting. Its a good reference book and an outstanding introductory book to not only the new style of physics, but physics in general.

The meat of the book does exactly what it says, it introduces the reader to the most advanced scientific principles of today. However, what I became even more interested in, (although I was plenty interested in the new ideas) was the epistimological difference between newtonian physics and quantum physics. In sparked in me an interest into the philosophy of science.

The length of the definitions of the ideas range from a half a page to three and a half pages. There is somewhere around 200 different "new ideas" of science that it introduces. All the definitions are written well with exceptional clarity, (which I was glad to see because I would of been lost otherwise.)

This is a great science book for the non-scientific type. It makes very obtuse theories and concepts crystal clear for the lay reader, and brings science to the masses *without dumbing it down.* It reminds me a lot of Charles Osgood's marvelous series "A Science Odyssey" that aired on PBS a few years back, and worth tracking down on VHS. (See my separate review on that for even more raves about science for the layperson without dumbing it down.)

Entries are brief, and sometimes I wish there were more detail. As another reviewer points out, references for further reading would be nice as well. However, if you're puzzled but intrigued by such topics as "String Theory," "Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle" and "Chaos Theory," and all you know about this stuff comes from Star Trek-type shows, this is a great book for you. It also demonstrates, as the late Carl Sagan used to say, that science is far stranger, far more mysterious and far more subtle than science fiction. So much of the material covered simply seems unbelievable, but it has been tested. The quantum world in particular is a strange place, where Lewis Carroll would have been right at home. The triumph of this book is that it explains so many obtuse theories so clearly, without resorting to silly graphics or baby analogies. You *can* make this stuff accessible to the lay public without dumbing it down. It just takes work.

Highly recommended, for us non-science types especially.

This book marvelously accomplishes its objective: providing in easily digested bites a concise reference to major recent (past couple of decades) developments in mathematics and science that are significantly affecting technology and society, frequently across multiple disciplines. In addition, a 30-page introductory section describes the mosaic of which the individual entries are pieces.

Unfortunately, it lacks a bibliography or list of suggested further reading. With on average a 1.5 page description devoted to roughly 200 topics with lots of internal cross-references, this book would make an ideal web site. On paper, it is organized alphabetically by topic, which is convenient for looking things up, but not necessarily for browsing, which is what the curious will find themselves doing compulsively.

Like with a good encyclopedia, you might open the book expecting to read just one or two entries, and then find yourself following the plentiful cross-references or just what catches your eye, till you've read half the book. If you've been hearing terms like game theory, nano-machines, super-strings, sociobiology, quarks, chaos and complexity theory tossed around but were too embarrassed to ask for an explanation, this book will help build your confidence.

Got this book on a whim. Turned out to be an outstanding book that for those steeped in the sciences, will find it nice to read from cover to cover. For others, it is an invaluable refernce guide.

The authors have done a great job of writing the introductory pieces that fit beautifully. Initially, I put the book down after these essays, content in understanding thier thoughts on various aspects of the sciences. Later, I delved into the various terms that they have elaborated upon and found them immensely useful.

Coming from the biomedical side, I'd have preferred a bit more information on biotechnology and medicine than what it covers, (hence the 4 stars).

I highly recommend it to anyone with more than a mild curiosity in what is going on in the current sciences.

This is a clear, consise, encyclopedia which exibits simple, yet accurate dipictions of the main theories and factors of Quantum Physics. I have found this volume invaluable in my occupation as your average junior high school genius and, I assume that any intelligent and curious readers will find this book enlightening and informative.

"Who's Afraid of Schrodinger's Cat?" contains an attractive assortment of information dealing with various diverse but interconnected subjects. Although there have been some advances in some of these subjects since the time that this book was published, there is definitely a target audience for this, as it presents a very nice broad overview of the new thought processes that underlie the research of current physical sciences and sciences of consciousness.

The format of the book is convenient for readers that have particular interests in certain subjects that are presented. Following the prologue, which uses Erwin Schrodinger's thought experiment to contrast the old and new paradigms of scientific methodology and understanding, an overview is presented that introduces many of the various subjects that are described later in the book. Following the introduction is a group of four essays that contain reference links to most of the topics that are described individually in the remaining sections of the book.

The format is not as convenient for readers who may be unfamiliar with many of the topics, so I will attempt to recommend an order in which to read the different sections of the book with the objective of presenting the information so that it builds on the knowledge gained after the reading of each subsequent topic.

Since each of the different topics contain references to several other topics in the book, there will often be links for subject matter that has not yet been presented, especially when reading some of the topics that are covered during the earlier part of the listed order. However, each of those earlier topics were chosen for their positions because they are generally clear as they are.

Here is my recommendation for the order in which to read the different sections of this book:

Topic - - - - Page
----- - - - - ----
- PROLOGUE xiii
- INTRODUCTION xvii
1 - THE MIND-BODY PROBLEM 232
2 - INFORMATION 205
3 - ENTROPY 139
4 - THERMODYNAMICS 353
5 - THE FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS 148
6 - THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS 314
7 - ABSOLUTE ZERO 39
8 - STATISTICAL MECHANICS 331
9 - OPEN SYSTEMS 255
10 - THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT 77 (bottom)
11 - NONLINEARITY 247
12 - CATASTROPHE THEORY 79
13 - EQUILIBRIUM 142
14 - DISSIPATIVE STRUCTURES 129
15 - THE EDGE OF CHAOS 134
16 - ATTRACTORS 57
17 - COMPLEXITY 103
18 - FEEDBACK 145
19 - CYBERNETICS 122
20 - SOLITONS 318
21 - ITERATION 211
22 - FRACTALS 153
23 - THE MANDELBROT SET 219 (bottom)
24 - PREDATOR-PREY 271
25 - CHAOS AND SELF-ORGANIZATION 83
26 - INTERMITTENCY 210
27 - THE BLACK BOX 71
28 - SYSTEMS THEORY 346
29 - AUTOPOIETIC SYSTEMS 59
30 - THE ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE 43
31 - THE GAIA HYPOTHESIS 163
32 - BECOMING 60
33 - PROCESS 272
34 - IMPLICATE ORDER 197
35 - THE SPEED OF LIGHT 322
36 - TACHYONS 349
37 - INERTIAL FRAMES 202
38 - SPECIAL RELATIVITY 319
39 - THE TWINS PARADOX 371 (top)
40 - RELATIVITY AND RELATIVISM 311
41 - STRUCTURALISM 332 (bottom)
42 - SOCIALBIOLOGY 317 (bottom)
43 - SERIAL PROCESSING 317 (top)
44 - NEURAL NETWORKS 238
45 - THINKING 355
46 - BEHAVIORISM 62
47 - GESTALT AND COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 172
48 - THE GAME OF LIFE 166
49 - ARTIFICAIL LIFE 51
50 - FORMAL COMPUTATION 149
51 - THE CHINESE ROOM 89
52 - CONNECTIONISM 107
53 - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 49
54 - COMPUTATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 105
55 - GODEL'S THEORUM 175
56 - LANGUAGE 214
57 - TURING MACHINES 367
58 - THE CHURCH-TURING THESIS 91
59 - THE TURING TEST 369
60 - EXPERT SYSTEMS 144
61 - FUNCTIONALISM 159
62 - COGNITIVE SCIENCE 94 (bottom)
63 - PERCEPTION 261
64 - VISUAL PERCEPTION 376
65 - BLINDSIGHT 73
66 - THE BINDING PROBLEM 69
67 - OLFACTORY PERCEPTION 254
68 - MEMORY 225
69 - NEURAL DARWINISM 236
70 - METHODS OF STUDYING THE BRAIN 228
71 - ATTENTION 55
72 - NEURONS 241
73 - NEURAL MODULES 237
74 - NEUROSCIENCE 243
75 - CRICK'S HYPOTHESIS 120
76 - CONSTRUCTION COPIER MACHINES 110
77 - DNA 131
78 - THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT 188
79 - REDUCTIONISM 307
80 - DETERMINISM 127
81 - ATOMISM 52
82 - PLANCK'S CONSTANT 269
83 - QUANTUM 282
84 - QUANTUM PHYSICS 295
85 - THE WAVE FUNCTION AND SCHRODINGER'S EQUATION 381
86 - WAVE/PARTICLE DUALITY 384
87 - COMPLEMENTARITY 101
88 - CONTEXTUALISM 112
89 - A QUANTUM HUSSY 293
90 - COLLAPSE OF WAVE FUNCTION 99 (top)
91 - HEISENBERG'S UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE 181 (bottom)
92 - SUPERPOSITIONS 338
93 - FUZZY LOGIC 161
94 - THE MEASURMENT PROBLEM 221 (bottom)
95 - THE QUANTUM VACUUM 303
96 - GAMES, THEORY OF 167
97 - CAUSALITY 81
98 - TELEOLOGY 350
99 - DARWINIAN EVOLUTION 124
100 - COEVOLUTION 93
101 - PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM 281
102 - VITALISM 379
103 - LAMARCKISM 213
104 - RESONANCE 313
105 - THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM 357
106 - NONLOCALITY 249
107 - BELL'S THEORUM 64
108 - HOLISM 184
109 - EMERGENCE 137
110 - QUANTUM TUNNELING 301
111 - INDETERMINACY 199
112 - PSYCHIATRY 274
113 - PSYCHODYNAMICS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY 275
114 - SPLIT-BRAIN PHENOMENA 324
115 - HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY 191
116 - MEDITATION 224
117 - TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY 364
118 - PSYCHOLOGY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 278
119 - GENERAL RELATIVITY 170
120 - TIME TRAVEL 361
121 - INFLATION THEORY 203
122 - COSMIC BACKGROUND RADIATION 117
123 - WRINKLES IN THE MICROWAVE BACKGROUND 388
124 - THE GREAT ATTRACTOR 180
125 - THE COSMOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE 118
126 - THE PERFECT COSMOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE 263
127 - STARS 329
128 - GALAXIES 165
129 - THE MILKY WAY 230
130 - INTELLIGENCE IN THE UNIVERSE 208
131 - QUARKS 305
132 - HADRONS 181 (top)
133 - LEPTONS 219 (top)
134 - NEUTRINOS 245
135 - SUPERNOVAS 337
136 - QUASARS 306
137 - NEUTRON STARS 246
138 - BLACK HOLES 72
139 - OLBER'S PARADOX 253
140 - DISTANCE MEASUREMENTS IN ASTRONOMY 130
141 - THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE 143
142 - CHEMICAL ORGANIZATION 88
143 - CHEMICAL ABUNDANCES 87
144 - OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY 251
145 - DARK MATTER 123
146 - THE BIG BANG 68
147 - COSMOLOGY 119 (top)
148 - RELATIVISTIC COSMOLOGY 309
149 - COLOR - WHAT IS IT? 99 (bottom)
150 - FERMIONS 147
151 - BOSONS 77 (top)
152 - ANTIMATTER 45
153 - MESONS 227
154 - SPIN AND STATISTICS 323
155 - PHASE 265
156 - COHERENCE 96 (top)
157 - BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION 75
158 - LASERS 217
159 - SUPERCONDUCTORS 333
160 - SUPERFLUIDS 335
161 - FROHLICH SYSTEMS 158
162 - PHASE TRANSITIONS 266
163 - PLASMA 270
164 - COLD FUSION 96 (bottom)
165 - VIRTUAL PARTICLES 373
166 - CONTINUOUS SYMMETRIES 114
167 - SYMMETRY BREAKING 343 (bottom)
168 - CPT SYMMETRY 119 (bottom)
169 - PERSPECTIVE AND INTERACTACTION 264
170 - THE PARTICIPATORY UNIVERSE 257 (bottom)
171 - IDENTITY IN QUANTUM MECHANICS 193
172 - THE ARROW OF TIME 46
173 - TIME 360
174 - QUANTUM FIELD THEORY 287
175 - GAUGE FIELDS 169
176 - QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS 286
177 - SELF-ENERGY 316
178 - THE ELECTROWEAK FORCE 135
179 - QUANTUM CHROMODYNAMICS 284
180 - THE STANDARD MODEL 327
181 - VIRTUAL TRANSITITIONS 374
182 - ACTUALITY AND POTENTIALITY IN QUANTUM MECHANICS 40
183 - THE PLANCK ERA 267
184 - QUANTUM GRAVITY 290
185 - GRAND UNIFIED THEORIES 178
186 - TWISTORS 371 (bottom)
187 - NANOBIOLOGY 235
188 - CONSCIOUSNESS, TOWARD A SCIENCE OF 109
189 - QUANTUM THEORIES OF MIND 299
190 - PENROSE ON NONCOMPUTABILITY 260
191 - CHAOS THEORIES OF MIND 86
192 - SUPERSYMMETRY 341
193 - SUPERGRAVITY 336
194 - SUPERSTRINGS 339
195 - THEORIES OF EVERYTHING 351
- A. KINDS OF BEING 3
- B. ORDER IN SCIENCE AND THOUGHT 12
- C. THE NEW SCIENCES OF THE MIND 20
- D. THE COSMIC CANOPY 26

Note that the topics are NOT necessarily listed chronologically according to when ideas were proclaimed or when discoveries were made. Instead, the intent was to list subjects in an order to promote understanding based on knowledge gained after reading about the previously listed topics. Order is restored by presenting the four essays last, since they provide a fitting summary of the book's contents.

This book provides a very good introduction to a variety of different aspects of the physical and mind sciences, highlighting contrasts between the Newtonian (and pre-Newtonian) classical and the modern eras of scientific thought and methods, and it is a good starting point for readers to discover specific areas of interest that they may want to pursue through further reading.

I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to understand concepts without having a scientific background or vocabulary. And, for those of us that do, it's a great review of areas of science outside our sphere.

I do not often read very popular books but came accross that one. It succeeds in explaining many things easily, however it is very inaccurate and unreliable, there is an average of one fatal, major mistake per page, both concerning the interpretation, or the history of the experimental sciences, etc. The book has also very strong New Age bias in its use of modern physics, etc. It may be recommandable for New Agers, but for other readers I would rather recommend searching another book, I assume there are some reliable introductory books on the market.

If on one hand as I was saddened by all the mistakes in the book, on the other hand I found some funny (e. g. that the medieval scientists believed that the planets and stars were alive or inhabited by gods, etc.)

This book does not attempt to deal with any of the concepts discussed in much detail, but rathers attempts to provide an understandable insight, through short essays, into important new scienific ideas - not just physics, but psychology, biology, etc. More than anything, this book provides the reader with a "what you didn't know" indication - excellent in giving a name to these 'foreign, new' concepts, although for more detail the reader needs to delve further on her own. A nice feature is the authors attempt to 'apply' the very specialised concepts to the more general functioning of the world.