The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics (Mass Market Paperback)

by Gary Zukav (Author) "When I tell my friends that I study physics, they move their heads from side to side, they shake their hands at the wrist, and..." (more)
Key Phrases: contrafactual definiteness, diagonal polarizer, classical transformation laws, Copenhagen Interpretation, Albert Einstein, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
At an Esalen Institute meeting in 1976, tai chi master Al Huang said that the Chinese word for physics is Wu Li, "patterns of organic energy." Journalist Gary Zukav and the others present developed the idea of physics as the dance of the Wu Li Masters--the teachers of physical essence. Zukav explains the concept further:

The Wu Li Master dances with his student. The Wu Li Master does not teach, but the student learns. The Wu Li Master always begins at the center, the heart of the matter.... This book deals not with knowledge, which is always past tense anyway, but with imagination, which is physics come alive, which is Wu Li.... Most people believe that physicists are explaining the world. Some physicists even believe that, but the Wu Li Masters know that they are only dancing with it.

The "new physics" of Zukav's 1979 book comprises quantum theory, particle physics, and relativity. Even as these theories age they haven't percolated all that far into the collective consciousness; they're too far removed from mundane human experience not to need introduction. The Dancing Wu Li Masters remains an engaging, accessible way to meet the most profound and mind-altering insights of 20th-century science. --Mary Ellen Curtin

Review
"'Stripped of mathematics, physics becomes pure enchantment'...I don't care how dumb you are at science; you'll come away from this book feeling like a Wu Li master yourself."
--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

"Zukav is such a skillful expositor, with such amiable style, that it is hard to imagine a layman who would not find this book enjoyable and informative."
--Martin Gardner, staff writer, Scientific American -- Review

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 339 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (September 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 055326382X
• ISBN-13: 978-0553263824
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (117 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #109,082 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very clear explanation of physics for the layman, June 16, 2000

By	Joseph H Pierre "Joe Pierre" (Salem, OR USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Unfortunately, the first book by Gary Zukav that I read was 'Seat of the Soul.' That was a mistake. I was disappointed because he offered no background, or justification, or source for his ideas. he simply laid them out pedantically, as fait accompli.

This book is much better. I can see why it achieved critical acclaim. It is a clear attempt to explain physics to the layman in terms that he will understand. It still has some faults, but generally he does an excellent job.

Well, maybe not faults--just misplaced emphasis. For example, he goes on at great length explaining the connection between wavelength and frequency and amplitude, charting them and talking them to death, although they are very simple, easy to understand concepts. He does the same thing with three-dimensional coordinates. But, when he comes to difficult material to grasp, he often slides into incomprehensible language, for example:

"In a quantum mechanical experiment, the observed system, traveling undisturbed between the region of preparation and the region of measurement, develops according to the Schrodinger wave equation. During this time, all of the allowed things that could happen to it unfold as a developing wave function. However, as soon as it interacts with a measuring device (the observing system), one of those possibilities actualizes and the rest cease to exist. The quantum leap is from a multifaceted potentiality to a single actuality." (Page 75).

Pretty turgid prose. What he is talking about is the firing of a photon through a shield with two slits in it, at a wall where the hits were registered. Much of the book could have been written in far simpler terminology, while approximating the activity discussed in more intelligible terms for the layman.

However, that said, Zukav does a good job of explaining some very difficult material. Probably the scientists whom he ran the manuscript by contributed to the confusion by insisting on language more precise than was needed in order to get the ideas across.

He does manage to express the mysteries uncovered by high-energy physicists, and the tendency of quantum mechanics, more and more, to resemble statements made hundreds of years ago by the Eastern mystics.

I recommend this book, and have no difficulty assigning it five stars.

Joseph Pierre,
Author of The Road to Damascus: Our Journey Through Eternity

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Join the dance, February 3, 2007

By	S. J. Bockett (Wellington New Zealand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics (Paperback)

What a pity the two responses to "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" chosen as "spotlight" reviews are both cynical and derogatory. I hope they don't deter others from reading further. Neither reviewer seemed to grasp the fact that Gary Zukav was not writing about physics: He was writing about mental mastery in the *context* of physics, going to great lengths to explain the implications of "Wu Li." The whole book, in fact, is based on five of the many representations of "Wu Li." Zukav even says in the introduction, "This is not a book about physics or eastern philosophies."

All the same, Zukav checked his facts out with "five of the finest physicists in the world" and footnotes their comments where they "punctuate, illustrate, annotate and jab at everything in the text." What more can you want? Those physicists even allowed themselves to be named, surely professional suicide if Zukav is substantially incorrect - as some reviewers maintain. Zukav also warns the reader that knowledge in physics at the time of writing was set to progress rapidly. What was accepted then would soon be made redundant as more information arose.

I feel really sorry for those who get no joy out of this book. I, for one, will go back to it again and again out of sheer delight. Zukav puts it this way: "Most people believe that physicists are explaining the world. Some physicists even believe that, but the Wu Li masters know they are only dancing with it."

All I can say is that, with this book, I danced too.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction to the New Physics, May 8, 2000

By	William M. Rand (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics (Paperback)

This is one of the most accessible and most fascinating introductions to the new physics that I have ever read. I took a class in Thermodynamics and Modern Physics last summer at a local university and I did not learn a tenth as much as I did from this book. Granted I learned more mathematical details from the class, but this book taught me why what I was learning and doing made sense, which at least for me is far more important. I feel if I went back and took that class over again it would be extremely easy now.

The other wonderful aspect of this book is its constant ties to Eastern Philosophy. This is something that seems to be becoming more and more prevalent in recent years in the sciences. The whole world is becoming more and more interdisciplinary and this book is a fine example of what cross-fertilization can do to inspire new ideas and concepts.

I would highly reccomend this book for any one interested in science even if they are not interested in physics per se. This book provides and excellent analysis of how scientific ideas and conceptions change and incorporate new ideas and new experience. This book is also very relevant from the aspects of philosophy, history, and sociology of science as well since it delves into all three of these aspects at times. Overall an extremely enjoyable and accessible read.