Doubt And Certainty

by Tony Rothman, George Sudarshan

When scientists and philosophers construct models to explain the phenomena and laws of nature, do those models simulate what's really out there in the world, or do they only represent the languages we use to describe the world? In this far-reaching, thought-provoking book, two world-class physicists from different worlds—one born and raised in the West, the other in the East—examines some of the most profound questions ever to be investigated by science.Against the background of one of the most imaginative settings ever devised for a science book—a fictional modern-day version of Plato's Academy—Tony Rothman and George Sudarshan, along with an eclectic assortment of students and academics, delve deep into modern physics and Eastern philosophy, and come up with startling insights on the structure of the physical world. To gain these insights, the Academy members must tackle questions such as, How much of the millennium synthesis of science and philosophy is meaningful and how much is pure nonsense? Which New Age trends are compatible with physics? Can we learn anything from parallels between physics and Eastern philosophy?The common thread that runs through the debates is the tension between the seemingly opposite, but really complementary, notions of doubt and certainty: doubt that certain fields of science really succeed in describing the world versus the rock-solid certainty in the predictions of theories like Newton's mechanics and Einstein's relativity.In these intriguing, often funny, sometimes violent, but always stimulating debates, Rothman and Sudarshan cover a wide range of subjects, including cosmology, quantum mechanics, theology, mathematics, complexity, synchronicity, and the past and future.

Genres: Philosophy, Science, Nonfiction, Psychology

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 1998

Reviews

[Anand · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most profound book I have ever read (and understood :) ).. a perfect mix of physics and philosophy.. George Sudarshan has become one of my favorite authors..

[Morgan S · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of this book reads, “Debates on science, mysticism, reality, in general on the knowable and unknowable, with particular forays into such esoteric matters as the mind fluid, the behavior of the stock market, and the disposition of a quantum mechanical SPHINX, to name a few.” Written by Authors, Tony Rotman, and George Sudarshan, I present to you my book review of “Doubt and Certainty”

This book covered most of my deep rooted, really uncommon, shouldn't have been answered questions about theology, cosmology, quantum mechanics, mathematics,complexity, synchronicity, sciences of nature, and the list goes on. Sudarshan was dealt a beautiful hand as an author, he has a fluid and personal way of writing, he incorporated his own perspectives on very general questions about the universe itself. Somehow, he explained how the same experience can be taught through a different way of life, a different eye, making the experience a conceptual theory, not a definitive way. I highly recommend this book, I didn’t know much about any of these topics, but prior to reading I had been noticing synchronicities throughout our education systems and ways of life. This book covered all of those questions, in every area of life.

[Victor Manuel Lázaro Cortés · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se trata de un libro sobre temas que estaban de actualidad en el mundo de la Física hace 20 años, lo que no significa, que no pueda leerse ahora.
El inconveniente principal del libro es que necesitas tener conocimientos entre básicos e intermedios para no tener que consultar la wikipedia con asiduidad. Los estudiantes de Física, o los muy aficionados a la ciencia en particular, encontrarán en este libro un buen material para plantearse cuestiones sobre Física avanzada y no tan avanzada. Todo ellos mezclado con filosofía y destellos de teología.
Un acierto el hecho de tratar de hacerlo más ameno con la narración al estilo "falsa novela".

Un libro interesante . 6/10.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time reading this book. There were some interesting parts, but in general I felt like I was missing a lot of inside jokes about philosophy and physics. I thought that it was aimed towards laypeople who had an interest in these fields, but it didn't work for this layperson.

[Alterstuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind blowing, and brilliantly written.