Customer Reviews

Faster Than the Speed of Light: The Story of a Scientific Speculation

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It may be poor form to start off a review with a sentence that immediately establishes a tone, but this book could have been subtitled "A Self-Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Turk". The science is by no means secondary, but the constant reminders that Magueijo has a very decided young-mavericks-vs.-old-fogeys world view of institutional cosmology often becomes intrusive.
The author is a cosmologist in England and his book is the story of his development of an idea, that the velocity of light (the `c' in E = mc-squared) is not constant but has varied during the history of the Universe. His contention is that if the value of c had been enormously greater in the extremely early universe (trillionths of a trillionth, etc., of a second after the start of the Big Bang), that may account for numerous curious attributes of the observable universe, including the so-called "flatness" and "horizon" problems as well as the origin of matter and the nature of Einstein's cosmological constant and the "dark energy" of the universe. Suggesting that the speed of light has not been an eternal constant is such anathema in physics that it is difficult to convey the magnitude of the heresy. It would be comparable to asserting to the Church that Jesus was not divine
I can't comment on the validity of the science or the theory that Magueijo espouses (I don't think that anyone at this point in history can do more than just comment) except to guess that this book will become an eventual classic if VSL becomes widely accepted. Like many of the best writings about scientific progress, this is a first-person view from one of the central participants--THE central participant, if Magueijo's account is accurate. As such, and in its iconclastic, highly personal, and not always flattering second-person references to other participants and peripheral characters, it calls to mind James Watson's "The Double Helix" (and I'm guessing this is no coincidence). If VSL grows to repectable adulthood, the book will be a valuable record of its gestation, and this is where it really shines. Whether the reader really understands the basic science, or even whether VSL is correct or even well regarded, or not is almost irrelevant. The science is intriguing, especially if correct, but the unambiguously valuable, and enduring, content is the insight into the inspiration, the realizations, the excitement, the grinding intellectual labor and sweat, the reconsiderations and reworkings, the value of collaboration, the disappointments, the satisfaction of seeing one's young theory go from strength to strength--and the challenges and frustrations: of trying to air radical ideas without risking losing priority, of maintaining professional respectability while pursuing an idea utterly at odds with one of the nearly absolute and unassailable pillars of modern physics--and of trying to get into print with it. And contending all the while with the requirements of holding a post in academia.
However, the next reminder that the author holds himself aloof from the mundane world which provides him with a nurturing cocoon in which to develop his ideas is never far ahead. This is manifested in numerous ways. One of the most obvious is the gratuitous use of "hard" four-letter expletives (only one of which is in the context of a direct quote), where more ordinary expressions would have been better suited to a mass-market book. Another is the blatant criticism he liberally dishes out to those whose role in life he considers to be to thwart him and his efforts. Some of this seems to me to border on the libelous. For example, the identity of the editor of a named physics journal in a particular year is virtually a matter of public record, and I can't imagine that that individual can be pleased with the characterizations made in repeated references to "the editor of PRD". Several journal referees accused of "idiocy" and worse are referred to in contexts that will probably render them identifiable, even if only to insiders. And the continuing references to the fossilized natures of the administrative echelons of academic departments and university leaderships rapidly grow old and distracting. Come on! We all know how young scientists feel about academic departmental dinosaurs. But Magueijo carries this past the point of necessity; a much more economical brief description would suffice to let the reader know that the author, too, experienced this common perception. In particular, the especially vitriolic criticism of the senior leadership at his own institution (Imperial College London) seem not only carping but downright ungracious. Tenure should not be regarded as license to kill.
There are other curious habits; for example, a recurring character to whom Magueijo refers as his "girlfriend", and of whom a snapshot is printed, is identified only by her first name. Their informal and indefinite relationship would have made a reference without name or picture more appropriate for a published work. Cosmic strings are likened to pubic hairs. Also, the values of several physical/astronomical quantities are spectacularly incorrect as stated.
I suppose much of this is what passes for courageous, tell-it-like-it-is honesty and intellectual brashness, but in a popular science book it just looks puerile. Some of the quirks can be attributed to the fact that the author is not a product of American/English culture and, to judge from a subtle (and engaging) "feel" to the structure and cadence of his narrative language, probably not a native speaker of English (Magueijo is Portuguese). Better editing would have solved much of the irritating details. One wonders whether the overall tone of the non-science aspects of Magueijo's story accounts for the fact that this book's publisher was not one of the major science-book houses. All in all a worthwhile book, a look at a work in progress and a vivid portrait of the personal process, but I think this is a dish that could have been served without the whine.

The beginning sections of this book, in which relativity is covered, were kind of interesting (although the material is covered in many other books). But when the subject turned to the author's own theories and the in's and out's of getting it published, the book really got tedious. If you are a total physics junky and want to know intricate details of how it's decided which papers get published, you might enjoy this book more than I did. But if you are looking for a meaty book on the cutting-edge of real physics, this is not it.

The most striking thing about Magueijo's book is how unpleasantly opinionated Magueijo seems. It's not surprising that he's opinionated: it fits the profile of someone who would propose the sorts of audacious theories he proposes. Being opinionated is in itself not a bad thing, since it can make a book a lot more interesting and thought-provoking. However, Magueijo seems determined to offend everyone he can: a large fraction of the book is devoted to calling the cosmology editor of the prestigious journal Nature scientifically incompetent, asserting that administrators are always failed researchers who try due to jealousy to make things difficult for practicing scientists, questioning the dedication and decisions of his coauthors (and supposed friends!), making childishly insulting comments about other branches of physics (e.g., comparing superstrings to pubic hair), etc. I would have had more fun reading this book if Magueijo had dropped his "Oh, look how refreshingly honest I am in telling you these things" pose. Even if they are true, I'd respect Magueijo more if he could make his case civilly.

Aside from that, this book could be worse. It combines a certain amount of standard background with a very detailed account of Magueijo's work on VSL ("Varying Speed of Light") models in cosmology. This is the book to read if for some reason you want to know exactly where and when he came up with each idea, which things he worked out and which his coauthors did, where the papers were submitted and how the referees from each journal responded, etc. Like most scientists, I'm quite skeptical of VSL, but it can't be entirely ruled out. If it turns out to be true, then we'll all be glad Magueijo documented the early years. If not, then his book will be forgotten.

It is interesting to wonder whether theoretical physicist Joćo Magueijo risks his career and reputation more by asserting his varying speed of light (VSL) theory-which goes against the fundamental law of physics that the speed of light is constant-or by revealing the unpleasantness of the academia field.

The book is divided into two parts: the first half gives a run-through of the history of cosmological physics from Einstein to present (purposely excluding quantum mechanics). The problem with this half is that this information has been rehashed in layman terms a million times over. Magueijo is very lucid and the first 125 pages serve as a great refresher to those who haven't picked up a physics book in awhile. But you get the feeling that this half is to set the stage to better explain his controversial VSL theory, and it seems he shifted gears midway. Instead of explaining his theory and work in detail, the second half is used to describe the battle between him and the establishment in getting his ideas heard, if not accepted.

That's not the problem-the second half is interesting and funny, if often whiny and catty (he insults editors of science journals that rejected his papers, collaborators that got cold feet on him, and university bureaucrats that demanded more "practical" research). The problem is that I read 125 pages of Physics 101, only to never really hear about his ideas or be given the chance to understand how VSL, as he asserts, helps solve the Big Bang problems that have been plaguing cosmologists since Einstein.

It seems that midway Magueijo decided that ranting against the fools he had to suffer from made a more interesting book than his theories. Maybe he's right-the second half is a fun read, and it's amusing to hear him curse and bash other academics (science always seemed like a genteel field...). But the drastic change in direction from an academic work to personal accounts is a bit weird and disappointing, and it doesn't help him in getting his theories heard and understood by the mainstream if he doesn't bother explaining them.

I've read many a good book on cosmology (Lee Smolin's excellent works, for example) and string theory (Brian Greene's superb works), and Magueijo's work is also superb (though he does not, as others have pointed out, discuss in any detail quantum physics).

His explanation of relativity is one of the most clear I've seen (Einstein's boyhood dream about cows). Beyond that, however, his prescient and courageous insights into the petty world of academe and the so-called peer-review process is priceless. What some reviewers have dismissed as "rant" is what I see as one of this excellent book's most important contribution; titles and position -- in science, as in law (my field), or medicine, or government -- often have little to do with either accomplishment or ability.

Significantly, as Magueijo points out, the web will transform knowledge bases in science (as it has for news) so that ideas will rise or fall on their merit, rather than some gatekeeper's pride (jealousy) or prejudice stemming from their premature cognitive commitments.

As for the science, which some reviewers have said is short-changed, well when the calculations take years to perfect, using mathematics developed on-the-go, the full landscape can only be seen by reading closely the full mathematical discourse. Magueijo's tour lets us taste the vigor of his discipline and sample the high points of his theories. He has written a superb book!

No doubt, details about publishing papers in the world of physics is of interest to those in the field. But to a general reader such as myself, the long discussions of fighting with this editor and being enraged at that referee, was quite boring. The science is basic and, except for the author's own fringe theory, covered better in many other popular accounts. Save your money.

This is a very interesting book for several reasons. Einstein's ideas, just like the man himself, have become mythic in their influence and popularity. This book puts forward an important post-Einsteinian theory of the nature of the universe and so challenges one of the most significant and well-known ideas of the 20th century. As if that wasn't courageous enough, Magueijo writes the book about his unconventional idea in an unconventional way - he also critiques the organisations and processes of science itself which produce new ideas, from the structure of present day universities to the process of scientific publication and peer-review. While some readers may see his critique of the institutions of science as irrelevant to his new ideas in physics, this ignores the real influence that the institutional status quo have on the development and acceptance of scientific innovation. The promotion of a revolutionary idea not only requires the challenging of existing theory, it also requires the challenging of the scientific institutions which currently hold that idea. This second battle is usually done silently behind the scenes, but Magueijo drops the pretence and writes about both in his book - and its about time science got this particular skeleton out of the closet! Magueijo is no crank - the Royal Society have given him a 10 year Fellowship - very very few get one of those. I for one, commend his gutsy swipe at both established theory and the establishments of theory. This book is a breath of fresh air and just what universities and research institutes need more of to keep them useful.

This book is a mix of complex science simplified enough for the layperson and a biography. Perhaps due to the simplification for the layperson, (such as myself) the focus of the book is on the story telling rather than VSL itself. This was fine for me and if you look at the books title you will indeed see that it was `The Story of A Speculation.' On that basis it is a good read but if you just want VSL then go elsewhere, although I think you would be missing out. Interestingly one theme that pervades the book is how the establishment within education is stifling free and new science and thinking. I knew that already from my school days when daring to question theories that are taught as fact, evolution for example. This book challenges the idea that you must conform to what is popular or mainstream. There is one thing about this book one should note however. The author makes mention in his acknowledgements thanks to the people who helped him to learn English so well. While he does have a fine command of the language he terms as `beautiful' he does also use some quite ugly words occasionally. All in all, a book worth reading on a few different levels, buy it!

Radical breakthroughs in scientific thinking are becoming more and more difficult to achieve, not least because any new theories are increasingly concerned with what is at or beyond the limits of measurement and therefore are difficult to ground in the usual way. Consequently, the notion of a variable light speed, seemingly at odds with the basic tenets of special relativity, is highly speculative since such variability could only be detected in an early universe, near or in black holes, or at planck scales of measurement. While theoretical therefore, it is not entirely metaphysical.
Unfortunately, very little time in this book is spent on exploring these speculations in any depth, and could probably account for about fifty of its pages. The larger bulk of the work is dedicated to the task of pouring scorn on the peer review system, the administrative structure of scientific institutions and the semi-political and ego-oriented nature of research. One imagines that the pursuit of knowledge was akin to the pursuit of sports, and that a budding scientist had a useful life of only a handful of years before being put out to grass.
The problem is that the book seems to have been written with this as its main driving force, and it reads like an adolescent's list of grievances against his parents. The book is liberally peppered with four letter words, and it is written in a manner which suggests that the author, after years of insults and ill-treatment, is finally getting his own back.
The author has miscalculated very badly in thinking that the general public are at all bothered by this, and hoodwinks them into purchasing a book about such things under the guise of being concerned with VSL. It may come as a shock to him to discover that most people in the world outside science are not at all interested in this because, frankly, whatever walk of life they may be travelling on, it is not an uncommon experience, and not limited to science institutions. It is part of the fabric of living in the modern world and not a situation peculiar to science alone. But in this respect, he shoots himself in the foot, for he has unwittingly presented the world of science as a modern day priesthood serving the church of knowledge in terms which confirm the views of it by philosophers such as Feyerabend. But it is a church recreating the dogmatic form of religion in which the author aspires to become a kind of rebel bishop, having a say in the creation of new dogmas. It is precisely because he thinks of his professional situation as though it is unique that he presents science in that ironic position of being cut off from reality, by virtue of being concerned with its nature. This was precisely the position of the medieval church that existed in fear for its own survival. Indeed, much of the backbiting and professional theft that passes for the pursuit of knowledge reads more like a psychopathic neurosis, and the writer suffers from it in very large measure. It is a pity, because the subject itself is made to suffer for it, and whether or not VSL ever becomes orthodox thinking, it will not carry this author's grievances as part of its heritage.

Over and above this books sometimes perturbing brattiness toward institutions which probably deserve it, winds a smoothly flowing and jocular style that makes difficult concepts reasonably lucid to a non-mathematician such as myself. Before Joao can dazzle you with his theories, he must give you a working primary education in Einsteinian Relativity sufficient to grasp what he will be challenging. This book does that job better than any of the many such popular science books I've read to date.