or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
Sorry!
More Buying Choices
41 used & new from $11.83

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Quantum Mechanics and Experience
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Quantum Mechanics and Experience (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Here's an unsettling story (the most unsettling story, perhaps, to have emerged from any of the physical sciences since the seventeenth century) about something that..." (more)
Key Phrases: hardness box, event that the electron, overall quantum state, Number of Landings (more...)
3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

List Price: $24.50
Price: $20.83 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $3.67 (15%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Only 4 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Friday, November 13? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
18 new from $20.20 23 used from $11.83

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Hardcover -- $4.75 $0.66
  Paperback $20.83 $20.20 $11.83

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity: Metaphysical Intimations of Modern Physics (Aristotelian Society Monographs) by Tim Maudlin

Quantum Mechanics and Experience + Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity: Metaphysical Intimations of Modern Physics (Aristotelian Society Monographs)

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Structure and Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

The Structure and Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

by R. I. G. Hughes
4.4 out of 5 stars (9)  $26.56
It's About Time: Understanding Einstein's Relativity

It's About Time: Understanding Einstein's Relativity

by N. David Mermin
4.5 out of 5 stars (4)  $16.20
Time and Chance

Time and Chance

by David Z. Albert
2.2 out of 5 stars (8)  $20.94
The Shaky Game (Science and Its Conceptual Foundations series)

The Shaky Game (Science and Its Conceptual Foundations series)

by Arthur Fine
3.5 out of 5 stars (2)  $25.00
Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics: Collected Papers on Quantum Philosophy

Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics: Collected Papers on Quantum Philosophy

by J. S. Bell
4.8 out of 5 stars (6)  $42.30
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Review

Over the past two decades, philosophers of physics have worked long and hard...to extract the philosophical pith from the theoretical physics. There are now a number of excellent books which explain the issues at a reasonably advanced level to non-physicists. Albert's is among the best of the bunch. -- David Papineau "Times Literary Supplement" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Review

Over the past two decades, philosophers of physics have worked long and hard...to extract the philosophical pith from the theoretical physics. There are now a number of excellent books which explain the issues at a reasonably advanced level to non-physicists. Albert's is among the best of the bunch.
--David Papineau (Times Literary Supplement )

A lively, lucid, elementary, yet deeply challenging account. The layperson and seasoned philosopher and scientist alike could do no better in their attempts to get out of the quantum muddle than to read this book.
--Frank Arntzenius, University of Southern California

This is a wholly original, engaging, and provocative work on the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics, written in David Albert's inimitable style.
--Jeffrey Bub, University of Maryland

Product Details

  • Paperback: 222 pages
  • Publisher: Harvard University Press (March 15, 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0674741137
  • ISBN-13: 978-0674741133
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #110,692 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #36 in  Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Mechanics
    #38 in  Books > Science > Physics > Mechanics
    #86 in  Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Quantum Theory

More About the Author

David Z. Albert
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's David Z. Albert Page

Inside This Book (learn more)





Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (7)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Almost what I wanted, but not quite, September 27, 2003
By Bruce R. Gilson (Wheaton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This book is unusual in that the author's interpretation of quantum mechanics is at variance from the one that is popular today. And since it seems to be close to my own preference in this regard, I wanted to give the book a high rating. But it misses for two reasons.

The mathematics is done using a notation that is sometimes a bit difficult to follow. (And I say this as a holder of a Ph. D. in theoretical chemistry, i. e., one thoroughly familiar with the kind of mathematics that is presented in the book!) And the writing is hard to follow in some places (especially because he'll make lists of points as A, B, C, D and then refer to them by those letters, making the reader go back to find out what he's talking about!)

Another reviewer stated that what this book really needs is some editing by someone else. With that judgment I concur. The _material_ in the book is first-rate. The _presentation_ could use some improvement.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely worth the effort, January 22, 2004
By lo3 (Leuven, Belgium) - See all my reviews
This book was a revelation to me. It covers exactly the middle-ground I was looking for, between no-math lay books and dense PhD-level math texts.

It's a book for someone looking to take the next step, once you've understood enough of basic QM on the lay level to start asking deeper philosophical questions. The author's approach is unique in asking these philosophical questions about this utterly strange QM world, but yet doing it in a way that is formal enough to be credible, as opposed to many fuzzy lay texts that leave you in a rather more than less confused state.

Mind you, despite the first innocent-looking impression, it is not an easy read. But then the really interesting books seldom are. I read it once, then I studied it again, taking notes. But at that point I got rewarded by insights unavailable elsewhere.

As to the tone of the author, it is indeed unusual, but I personally like it. The parentheses, repetitions and footnotes other reviewers complained about actually helped me a lot, by providing multiple angles on difficult concepts constantly. I'd welcome more books written in this style. Also the math-level in the book is certainly within reach of most people, if you are willing to learn while reading the book. I have no significant math background myself and yet could understand almost everything.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Professor David Albert does not promote the occult, November 15, 2005
A previous reviewer expressed her dismay that Professor Albert has appeared in a "cult promotional video" called "What the Bleep Do We Know". I recommend that those concerned or interested by this claim do a search in the Wikipedia for the title of the film, and then search within that page for the phrase "David Albert". Within the paragraph containing his name is a link to an article in the on-line edition of Popular Science Magazine which explains that Prof. Albert does *NOT* and did *NOT* support the views of the filmmakers: the statements he made in his interview for the film were edited and cut such that he appears to support their ideas, when he actually considers them to be nonsense.

I have read this wonderful book by Prof. Albert. I give it four stars instead of five because of the writing style: while said style is occasionally refreshing, it can sometimes be a hindrance to the reader's understanding of the ideas presented by the good professor.

Prof. Albert uses a combination of intuitive and interesting thought experiments, coupled with a conceptual abstraction from the QM math, to engage the reader in a profound exploration of the *consequences* of the quantum reality that seems to encompass the microscopic world (and indeed the universe as a whole).
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an elegant piece of work.
This really is a wonderful book, directed at the interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Albert's elucidation of the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics is not... Read more
Published on September 5, 2007 by Luke Pease

4.0 out of 5 stars Cult film? Spare me.
What the Bleep is NOT "cult" film, and I wonder if the person who used that term even knows what it means or watched the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know"... Read more
Published on December 9, 2006 by Jonathan D. Meadows

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible Writing
This book is so horrifically flawed on so many levels. First, there is the erroneous uncritical thinking involved in dealing with the measurement problem, which despite David's... Read more
Published on May 5, 2006 by B. Greene

1.0 out of 5 stars Beaware: Dr. Albert Appears on Cult Promotional Videos

This author appears on the cult promotional video What the Bleep, which was produced by the Ramtha people who believe that a woman is channeling a 35,000 year old cromagnon... Read more
Published on September 23, 2005 by Alice

2.0 out of 5 stars Nearly Unreadable Half-Breed
I took his class, for which this book is required reading. Other reviewers are correct in saying the writing is pretty poor. Read more
Published on May 15, 2004 by R. Hahn

4.0 out of 5 stars One of several books for your QM library
This book will not please everyone (this much should be clear from the reviews). Those with a weak math background will find Albert's presentation of linear algebra hard to... Read more
Published on January 20, 2003 by James R. Henderson

2.0 out of 5 stars I am not sure who to blame: Albert or his editor
I purchased Albert's book in anticipation of a philosophy course that he was teaching. Fortunately, I didn't enroll in the course. Read more
Published on September 28, 2002 by Adam Schweber

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible writing style
I was very disappointed by this book. The worst part was the author's writing style. It was full of misplaced or useless parenthetical interjections, and he couldn't seem to get... Read more
Published on May 7, 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best discussions on the meaning of QM
This is one of the best discussions that I have read on what Quantum Mechanics really means. He goes through the conventional interpretations and explains what is wrong with them... Read more
Published on March 18, 2001 by David Marcus

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget the 1 stars - it's 5
In spite of some previous 1 star reviews (which I can't really agree with) this book is a great intro to QM - if ya have some Linear Algebra behind you. Read more
Published on July 29, 2000 by D. Harp

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.