“Just beyond the lived the great mathematician Hermann Weyl. His extraordinary mind was matched by a nobility of character, and I treasured our friendship. As a nineteen-year-old sitting in a Vermont meadow working my way through his opus, Theory of Groups and Quantum Mechanics, in the original German, I could hardly have imagined that he would one day be my neighbor and friend. Like me, he learned by teaching.’’
( . . . learned by teaching . . . )
“He told me once that he liked to teach the history of mathematics, because only by ranging over the whole subject and its historical development could he clearly see the gaps and the places where new work would pay off in new understanding.’’
‘History finds gaps’! So true!
Good biography, like this excellent work, shines a light — both on one famous scientist — and twentieth century science itself. This is my favorite type of history — to find the ‘gaps’ in my understanding.
Wheeler finds a nice balance between describing his scientific work, his explaining his personal life and his portraits of the numerous famous men and women he knew. For example . . .
“For twenty-eight years, in Europe and in America, Bohr and Einstein debated the meaning of quantum mechanics. These two giants, full of admiration for each other, never came to agreement. Einstein refused to believe that quantum mechanics provides an acceptable view of reality, yet he could never find an inconsistency in the theory. Bohr defended the theory, yet he could never escape being troubled by its strangeness. Reportedly, once when Einstein remarked, as he liked to do, that he could not believe that God played dice, Bohr said,
“Einstein, stop telling God what to do.”
Great! Many, many more humorous, touching, insightful stories.
Also, of course, fascinating scientific revelations . . .
“I want to tell the story of my work with Dick Feynman on action at a distance because it shows the remarkable—indeed almost miraculous—power of mathematics in physics.’’
( . . . mathematics as miracle . . . )
“The great unifying theories of physics—the mature ones, at least—can be expressed very economically with just a few, deceptively simple equations. What flows from these equations can be quite startling, more than their discoverers imagined. One square inch of paper comfortably holds the equations of general relativity, set down by Einstein in 1915. As I write, eighty years later, new insights are still flowing from these equations. Einstein did not recognize when he first wrote them down that they predicted an expanding universe, black holes, and gravitational radiation. Yet he was quite convinced of the correctness of these equations, based as much on their elegance as their application.’’
This astounding power of mathematical physics dominates modern thought. Historians, economists, psychologists and politicians all want to borrow some of Newton’s and Einstein’s glory. Too bad people have free-will while atoms don’t.
1 “Hurry Up!”
2 The Manhattan Project
3. Growing Up
4. I Become a Physicist
5. I Try My Wings
6. An International Family
7. Settling Down
8. Physics after Fission
9. From Joe 1 to Mike
10. The Force of Gravity
11. Quantum Foam
12. Nature and Nation
13. The Black Hole
14. Texas and the Universe
15. It from Bit
16. The End of Time
Another highlight . . .
“I also remember from the first grade in wartime Washington the requirement to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. My parents didn’t like the idea; they thought it came too close to religion in the school. They were liberal Protestants, with no strong church affiliation at that time. It was I who later led them to Unitarianism, when I chose to attend the Unitarian Sunday School in Youngstown. But as a first-grader, I was not one to carry my parents’ convictions into the classroom. I recited the Pledge.’’
Interesting. Another. . .
“Eventually, Janette and I did find a compatible worship group in Leiden, the Waldensians, tottering along on the verge of extinction. Two pastors conducted Sunday morning services, one in French and one in Dutch. Our presence swelled the congregation by a significant percentage.’’
I didn’t know Waldensian churches were still existing. Fascinating. Even more so that Wheeler sought them out.
Wheeler wrote this when 86. Marvelous job. Clear, touching, smooth and pleasant.
The reader desiring deeper understanding of science and scientists in the twentieth century will be happy. Also, someone wanting a brief explanation of the major ideas of twentieth century physics will find them, and very well done!
Additionally, the concise portraits of dozens of notable persons adds color. In fact, dozens of b/w photographs included.
Wonderful!
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