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Lake Views by Weinberg, Steven (2011) Paperback
Just as Henry David Thoreau “traveled a great deal in Concord,” Nobel Prize–winning physicist Steven Weinberg sees much of the world from the window of his study overlooking Lake Austin. In Lake Views Weinberg, considered by many to be the preeminent theoretical physicist alive today, continues the wide-ranging reflections that have also earned him a reputation as, in the words of New York Times reporter James Glanz, “a powerful writer of prose that can illuminate—and sting.”This collection presents Weinberg’s views on topics ranging from problems of cosmology to assorted world issues—military, political, and religious. Even as he moves beyond the bounds of science, each essay reflects his experience as a theoretical physicist. And as in the celebrated Facing Up, the essays express a viewpoint that is rationalist, reductionist, realist, and secular. A new introduction precedes each essay, explaining how it came to be written and bringing it up to date where necessary.As an essayist, Weinberg insists on seeing things as they are, without despair and with good humor. Sure to provoke his readers—postmodern cultural critics, enthusiasts for manned space flight or missile defense, economic conservatives, sociologists of science, anti-Zionists, and religious zealots—this book nonetheless offers the pleasure of a sustained encounter with one of the most interesting scientific minds of our time.(20091102)
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First published January 1, 2010
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About the author
Steven Weinberg
80 books592 followersSteven Weinberg (1933-2021) was an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles.
He held the Josey Regental Chair in Science at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of the Physics and Astronomy Departments. His research on elementary particles and physical cosmology was honored with numerous prizes and awards, including in 1979 the Nobel Prize in Physics and in 1991 the National Medal of Science. In 2004 he received the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical Society, with a citation that said he was "considered by many to be the preeminent theoretical physicist alive in the world today." He was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences and Britain's Royal Society, as well as to the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Weinberg's articles on various subjects occasionally appeared in The New York Review of Books and other periodicals. He served as consultant at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, President of the Philosophical Society of Texas, and member of the Board of Editors of Daedalus magazine, the Council of Scholars of the Library of Congress, the JASON group of defense consultants, and many other boards and committees.
He held the Josey Regental Chair in Science at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of the Physics and Astronomy Departments. His research on elementary particles and physical cosmology was honored with numerous prizes and awards, including in 1979 the Nobel Prize in Physics and in 1991 the National Medal of Science. In 2004 he received the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical Society, with a citation that said he was "considered by many to be the preeminent theoretical physicist alive in the world today." He was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences and Britain's Royal Society, as well as to the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Weinberg's articles on various subjects occasionally appeared in The New York Review of Books and other periodicals. He served as consultant at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, President of the Philosophical Society of Texas, and member of the Board of Editors of Daedalus magazine, the Council of Scholars of the Library of Congress, the JASON group of defense consultants, and many other boards and committees.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 6, 2010
A fine collection of smart, penetrating essays on everything from string theory and the final unification of physics to missile defense, the nature of knowledge, and the existence of God. Weinberg offers a rational, reductionist, skeptical view of the world that is bracing and perceptive (even if I had trouble following much of the physics essays). His short essay "Without God" is one of the clearest, least polemical portraits of how non-spiritual people can live happily in a universe that is ultimately meaningless. I mean, besides trying to phone Jessica Alba at all hours of the night.
Nonetheless, it's surprising to find a couple of furiously pro-Israel essays in the collection, essays that are as purely partisan as any press release from AIPAC. Apparently, when it comes to Israel, this atheistic, even-handed, rational observer of nature and humanity loses his cool neutrality. Unfortunately, this tends to call into question the distanced impartiality of his other essays--not to negate that impartiality, because Weinberg really is in most regards a dispassionate (but not passionless) analyst, they do make the reader reconsider the possibility of bias all throughout the book. In sum, though, Weinberg's essays form a complete whole that is a credit to the secular, skeptical, liberal worldview.
I would like more pictures of baby ducks.
Nonetheless, it's surprising to find a couple of furiously pro-Israel essays in the collection, essays that are as purely partisan as any press release from AIPAC. Apparently, when it comes to Israel, this atheistic, even-handed, rational observer of nature and humanity loses his cool neutrality. Unfortunately, this tends to call into question the distanced impartiality of his other essays--not to negate that impartiality, because Weinberg really is in most regards a dispassionate (but not passionless) analyst, they do make the reader reconsider the possibility of bias all throughout the book. In sum, though, Weinberg's essays form a complete whole that is a credit to the secular, skeptical, liberal worldview.
I would like more pictures of baby ducks.
February 4, 2017
Great book by a great scientist
Extremely well written pieces on science, history, philosophy, religion, science policy. Great illuminating world views! Much enjoyed reading it. Thank you Dr Weinberg. I've become a fan of your views and writing. Will definitely read your other books.
Extremely well written pieces on science, history, philosophy, religion, science policy. Great illuminating world views! Much enjoyed reading it. Thank you Dr Weinberg. I've become a fan of your views and writing. Will definitely read your other books.
January 12, 2020
Reading these essays is like returning home to a home I'd forgotten.
February 2, 2016
Most high-profile scientists, especially in areas like mathematics and physics, tend to shy away from writing for the general public about areas far outside their area of expertise. Steven Weinberg, however, is not one of those. There are pros and cons that readily come to mind for either tendency, but they needn't be discussed here.
In addition to his excellent books on technical subjects for both specialists and the general public, Weinberg has from time to time published essays on topics outside his main areas of expertise (cosmology and quantum field theory). Such topics include the philosophy and sociology of science, religion, military policy, space exploration policy, and international politics. Facing Up: Science and Its Cultural Adversaries is a collection of his essays from the period before 2001. The book under review here is a continuation published in 2009 that covers most of the next decade.
I've rated the present volume as only 3 stars, even though it deserve 5 stars for the scientific essays by themselves. The scientific content is probably what will attract most readers to the book, yet that makes up only about half the material. I'm afraid people mainly interested in that may not find the remainder to be worth half the book's price.
In general, I think most people who know much about the author will agree with his opinions on these "other" topics, so I won't say much about them... except for the two essays on religion. Not that the subject is really worth any further discussion - which seems to be Weinberg's main point. Two quotes on the topic are really all that need to be said. "We should get out of the habit of worshipping anything." (p. 240) And "The role of science in weakening religious certitude is one of its greatest contributions to civilization." (p. 216)
A large part of the scientific content touches on the closely related topics of "dark energy", the "cosmological constant", the "anthropic cosmological principle", the "multiverse", and the "cosmic landscape". In the past, Weinberg's scientific achievements were mainly in the area of quantum field theory and theoretical particle physics. Somewhat less known is his contribution to these cosmology topics (except for his great 1977 book The First Three Minutes).
Of course, just about everyone knows how badly Einstein bungled handling the cosmological constant Λ (as it's known), even though he basically invented it. But in 1998 (to just about everyone's surprise) solid evidence appeared implying Λ is a real thing. In several of the present essays Weinberg discusses his own investigation of how the now-known value of the cosmological constant, as astonishingly minuscule as it is, provides evidence for the anthropic principle. In the fifth essay of the present book ("Dark Energy") Weinberg discusses how he and some colleagues made the relevant calculations in 1998 even before the observational result was public knowledge.
Unfortunately, comments on the cosmological constant and its implications for the multiverse hypothesis are scattered among several essays in the book. Although one can learn a lot about the topic from these essays, much more detailed explanations are available in a number of more recent books, such as Leonard Susskind's The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design and Brian Greene's The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. Interestingly enough, Susskind (who knew Weinberg very well), mentions that the latter had hypothesized in 1987 that the anthropic principle could explain the incredibly small – but nonzero – value of Λ.
It's too bad Weinberg hasn't written a book on this subject himself, but for now these essays aren't a bad start.
In addition to his excellent books on technical subjects for both specialists and the general public, Weinberg has from time to time published essays on topics outside his main areas of expertise (cosmology and quantum field theory). Such topics include the philosophy and sociology of science, religion, military policy, space exploration policy, and international politics. Facing Up: Science and Its Cultural Adversaries is a collection of his essays from the period before 2001. The book under review here is a continuation published in 2009 that covers most of the next decade.
I've rated the present volume as only 3 stars, even though it deserve 5 stars for the scientific essays by themselves. The scientific content is probably what will attract most readers to the book, yet that makes up only about half the material. I'm afraid people mainly interested in that may not find the remainder to be worth half the book's price.
In general, I think most people who know much about the author will agree with his opinions on these "other" topics, so I won't say much about them... except for the two essays on religion. Not that the subject is really worth any further discussion - which seems to be Weinberg's main point. Two quotes on the topic are really all that need to be said. "We should get out of the habit of worshipping anything." (p. 240) And "The role of science in weakening religious certitude is one of its greatest contributions to civilization." (p. 216)
A large part of the scientific content touches on the closely related topics of "dark energy", the "cosmological constant", the "anthropic cosmological principle", the "multiverse", and the "cosmic landscape". In the past, Weinberg's scientific achievements were mainly in the area of quantum field theory and theoretical particle physics. Somewhat less known is his contribution to these cosmology topics (except for his great 1977 book The First Three Minutes).
Of course, just about everyone knows how badly Einstein bungled handling the cosmological constant Λ (as it's known), even though he basically invented it. But in 1998 (to just about everyone's surprise) solid evidence appeared implying Λ is a real thing. In several of the present essays Weinberg discusses his own investigation of how the now-known value of the cosmological constant, as astonishingly minuscule as it is, provides evidence for the anthropic principle. In the fifth essay of the present book ("Dark Energy") Weinberg discusses how he and some colleagues made the relevant calculations in 1998 even before the observational result was public knowledge.
Unfortunately, comments on the cosmological constant and its implications for the multiverse hypothesis are scattered among several essays in the book. Although one can learn a lot about the topic from these essays, much more detailed explanations are available in a number of more recent books, such as Leonard Susskind's The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design and Brian Greene's The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. Interestingly enough, Susskind (who knew Weinberg very well), mentions that the latter had hypothesized in 1987 that the anthropic principle could explain the incredibly small – but nonzero – value of Λ.
It's too bad Weinberg hasn't written a book on this subject himself, but for now these essays aren't a bad start.
October 21, 2013
This book is composed of essays Steven Weinberg wrote on different occasions on different topics ranging from the impact of science on civilizations to the history and philosophy of science, and to the issue of the Texas Superconducting Super Collider. I have not read all of the essays included in this book, but those that I have read were quite brilliantly written and logically argued, except the essay on the Superconducting Super Collider. There, for the very first time, I saw Weinberg with not so strong arguments.
July 24, 2011
I like my science writing to be very well informed but also clearly written. Check. I like my science writing to focus on big ideas as well as current issues. Check (chapters here explored Einstein's mistakes and the multiverse as well as missile systems and NASA). I like my science writing to explore the history of science as well as the philosophy of science. Check. I greatly enjoyed reading this collection of articles from a world class physicist who also is a terrific writer.
September 26, 2014
Steven Weinberg presents his views on NASA, development of nuclear weapons, Israel, string theory, religion, and Einstein. An informative read if you are unfamiliar with the topics Weinberg discusses.
September 17, 2010
A collection of essays and conversations. Some better than others, but most are really good.
October 20, 2016
"... The trouble is that such a mathematical final theory would hardly be what anyone means by God. Who prays to quantum mechanics?"
April 23, 2017
A Physicist's views to the real world concerns are not always odd. When a Physicist takes it seriously, then all should be all ears.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews