Customer Reviews

Phase Change: The Computer Revolution in Science and Mathematics (Computer Sciences)

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The author generalizes the meaning of "phase
change" to describe any event for which it is nearly
impossible to forecast the behavior of a system after
the event from a knowledge of the behavior of a system
before the event. He points out that such events in
science and mathematics frequently involve the
invention of a technology that allows us to observe
something that could not be observed before. He
further argues that "phase changes" cause paradigm
shifts. Examples of inventions that have caused phase
changes are the telescope in astronomy, the microscope
in biology, and the computer in every field. His
arguments are very good, and although I was skeptical,
I was convinced.

Even if you are not convinced by his
arguments, the book is enormously interesting for the
history and overview it gives of mathematics,
astronomy, physics, biology, and other sciences. I
was very impressed that one person could grasp the
essential features of so many different fields. In
addition, he expresses the ideas and history so well
that I found it enormously interesting, even in the
fields I am already familiar with.

Chapter 8 is more controversial, and although
I did not agree with everything he says, I was
fascinated to read his views. I found my mind being
stretched in enjoyable ways.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has
even the slightest interest in science, and also to
anyone who is interested in learning more about the
computer revolution.

Don't let the low sales rank fool you. This is one of the most important books in recent years.

Robertson presents an important new perspective on the history of science in this book. We all know that computers have vastly increased our ability to study the universe around us, as well as the universe of mathematics, but Robertson puts this revolution into a wider context, as part of an ongoing process that occurs whenever our ability to observe the universe increases significantly. The invention of the telescope, for example, brought about a large quantitative change in our ability to see. However, the result in astronomy is more than just quantitative, more than just the ability to see more things in the sky, but a fundamental change in the insights that are available to us in that field.

Robertson's great insight in this book is that the telescope is only one example of this phenomenon in the history of science.