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The Universe in the Rearview Mirror: How Hidden Symmetries Shape Reality
A physicist speeds across space, time and everything in between showing that our elegant universe—from the Higgs boson to antimatter to the most massive group of galaxies—is shaped by hidden symmetries that have driven all our recent discoveries about the universe and all the ones to come.
Why is the sky dark at night? Is it possible to build a shrink-ray gun? If there is antimatter, can there be antipeople? Why are past, present, and future our only options? Are time and space like a butterfly's wings?
No one but Dave Goldberg, the coolest nerd physicist on the planet, could give a hyper drive tour of the universe like this one. Not only does he answer the questions your stoner friends came up with in college, but he also reveals the most profound discoveries of physics with infectious, Carl Sagan–like enthusiasm and accessibility.
Goldberg’s narrative is populated with giants from the history of physics, and the biggest turns out to be an unsung genius and Nazi holocaust escapee named Emmy Noether—the other Einstein. She was unrecognized, even unpaid, throughout most of her career simply because she was a woman. Nevertheless, her theorem relating conservation laws to symmetries is widely regarded to be as important as Einstein’s notion of the speed of light. Einstein himself said she was “the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began.”
Symmetry is the unsung great idea behind all the big physics of the last one hundred years—and what lies ahead. In this book, Goldberg makes mindbending science not just comprehensible but gripping. Fasten your seat belt.
Why is the sky dark at night? Is it possible to build a shrink-ray gun? If there is antimatter, can there be antipeople? Why are past, present, and future our only options? Are time and space like a butterfly's wings?
No one but Dave Goldberg, the coolest nerd physicist on the planet, could give a hyper drive tour of the universe like this one. Not only does he answer the questions your stoner friends came up with in college, but he also reveals the most profound discoveries of physics with infectious, Carl Sagan–like enthusiasm and accessibility.
Goldberg’s narrative is populated with giants from the history of physics, and the biggest turns out to be an unsung genius and Nazi holocaust escapee named Emmy Noether—the other Einstein. She was unrecognized, even unpaid, throughout most of her career simply because she was a woman. Nevertheless, her theorem relating conservation laws to symmetries is widely regarded to be as important as Einstein’s notion of the speed of light. Einstein himself said she was “the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began.”
Symmetry is the unsung great idea behind all the big physics of the last one hundred years—and what lies ahead. In this book, Goldberg makes mindbending science not just comprehensible but gripping. Fasten your seat belt.
330 pages, Hardcover
First published July 11, 2013
98 people are currently reading
1610 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
June 17, 2016
If you are fan of ELI5, explain it to me like I'm five, on reddit, you will love this book. Dave Goldberg provides a tour of the universe that is a mashup of Cracked.com, a classroom lecture with the professor who wants to be your best friend, and a serious physics book.
Goldberg focuses on the most fundamental symmetries in the universe (e.g. spin of a particle) and explains how the breaking of symmetry gives rise to everything we have ever or will ever see. You will not feel bogged down by memorizing particles in this book. His focus is more on spin and how spin (and a negative sign) are the reason you are alive. I loved this approach to viewing the universe.
His explanation of the Pauli exclusion principle and Hawking radiation were fabulous. He also spends quite a bit of time trying to understand how the universe went from a state of low entropy to high entropy. He states flat out that it is, 'just because it is," but then went on to examine it quite a few times in, what I found to be, satisfying ways.
This book seems like a much quicker read than some other books of the same length. His, almost too cheesy, humor and writing style keep each concept relatable and zooming along. Before you know it, you will be at the end of the book and will have understood it all without rereading it.
At the very end he supposed that the journey from low entropy to high was how life began. I understand that it was beyond the scope of this book. But I would have very much loved it if he took a little bit more time to discuss that further. The work of Mike Russle, Nick Lane, and others working on origin of life research at the hydrothermal vents are changing how humans view the star of evolution (thermodynamic process occurring at vents that push molecules through rocky membranes), and I think physicists should be taking part in that discussion to help the paradigm shift occur more swiftly.
This book was really great.
Goldberg focuses on the most fundamental symmetries in the universe (e.g. spin of a particle) and explains how the breaking of symmetry gives rise to everything we have ever or will ever see. You will not feel bogged down by memorizing particles in this book. His focus is more on spin and how spin (and a negative sign) are the reason you are alive. I loved this approach to viewing the universe.
His explanation of the Pauli exclusion principle and Hawking radiation were fabulous. He also spends quite a bit of time trying to understand how the universe went from a state of low entropy to high entropy. He states flat out that it is, 'just because it is," but then went on to examine it quite a few times in, what I found to be, satisfying ways.
This book seems like a much quicker read than some other books of the same length. His, almost too cheesy, humor and writing style keep each concept relatable and zooming along. Before you know it, you will be at the end of the book and will have understood it all without rereading it.
At the very end he supposed that the journey from low entropy to high was how life began. I understand that it was beyond the scope of this book. But I would have very much loved it if he took a little bit more time to discuss that further. The work of Mike Russle, Nick Lane, and others working on origin of life research at the hydrothermal vents are changing how humans view the star of evolution (thermodynamic process occurring at vents that push molecules through rocky membranes), and I think physicists should be taking part in that discussion to help the paradigm shift occur more swiftly.
This book was really great.
September 15, 2013
This book is a survey of physics brought to you by a really funny author. It focuses on symmetries, which means the inclusion of some topics (group theory, Noether's theorem, symmetry breaking, etc.) get more focus than your typical watered-down popular science book on physics. I came away knowing the difference between U(1) and SU(2). I learned more about how symmetries relate to conservation laws. I learned more about the importance of spin to fermions.
In addition to being a real joker, Goldberg ruthlessly mocks the ancients, like Aristotle. This brings me joy. He's also got a zero-tolerance policy for anthropic reasoning, which I like.
Topics covered:
* Newton's laws
* Cosmology
* Relativity
* Standard model
* Higgs mechanism
* Group theory
* Noether's theorem
* Gauge symmetry
In addition to being a real joker, Goldberg ruthlessly mocks the ancients, like Aristotle. This brings me joy. He's also got a zero-tolerance policy for anthropic reasoning, which I like.
Topics covered:
* Newton's laws
* Cosmology
* Relativity
* Standard model
* Higgs mechanism
* Group theory
* Noether's theorem
* Gauge symmetry
August 23, 2015
I found this book to be rather disappointing, which is a pity as there can't be many popular physics books devoted solely to symmetry. Dave Goldberg's style of writing was light-hearted, which can be a positive factor in a book intended for a lay audience, but in this case it seems to me to have been at the expense of thoroughly explaining much of what he's trying to get across. For the most part, I found his approach to be somewhat superficial in that he likes to surprise his readers with some unintuitive revelation but he seldom follows through with a thorough explanation of each phenomenon, instead being keener to quickly plough on to the next observation. You might argue that he overestimates his readers' (or my) ability to comprehend but, on the other hand, you might say that he underestimates their (or my) interest in wishing to gain a thorough, but non-mathematical, understanding; I'm not sure which it is although I can accept that without the maths it must be very difficult to explain symmetry.
He tries hard to inject humour into the book. In some respects, this resembles Bill Bryson's approach except that while it works well for Bryson it comes across as somewhat laboured and unnatural when used by Goldberg. Also, although the book contains a number of potentially useful figures and diagrams, seldom is any reference made to these in the text and none contained any descriptive legends. This limited their value in expanding on what Goldberg had written in the text.
The topics covered by the book include matter/antimatter, time, entropy, gravitation, relativity, multiverses theories, anthropic principles, the Higgs' mechanism, hidden symmetries and supersymmetry. Each of these areas Goldberg looks at from the point of view of symmetry and he is more successful in some areas than in others. But, regrettably, overall I didn't learn much from this book that I'd not already discovered from reading other popular books covering particle physics, cosmology, relativity and quantum theory. Nonetheless, I was intrigued to learn in the final pages of the book that randomness, a feature of quantum theory, may be the factor responsible for breaking symmetry.
He tries hard to inject humour into the book. In some respects, this resembles Bill Bryson's approach except that while it works well for Bryson it comes across as somewhat laboured and unnatural when used by Goldberg. Also, although the book contains a number of potentially useful figures and diagrams, seldom is any reference made to these in the text and none contained any descriptive legends. This limited their value in expanding on what Goldberg had written in the text.
The topics covered by the book include matter/antimatter, time, entropy, gravitation, relativity, multiverses theories, anthropic principles, the Higgs' mechanism, hidden symmetries and supersymmetry. Each of these areas Goldberg looks at from the point of view of symmetry and he is more successful in some areas than in others. But, regrettably, overall I didn't learn much from this book that I'd not already discovered from reading other popular books covering particle physics, cosmology, relativity and quantum theory. Nonetheless, I was intrigued to learn in the final pages of the book that randomness, a feature of quantum theory, may be the factor responsible for breaking symmetry.
March 18, 2014
This is one of the very few books addressing the extremely important concepts of symmetry and symmetry breaking. For some obscure (probably, commercially driven) reasons, the importance of symmetry in physical science has been neglected in popular science writing (which is such a pity, as symmetry and symmetry breaking are not just fundamental; they also are one of the most beautiful features of Nature).
On the positive side, this book highlights, in a very nice manner, the beauty and the extreme importance of symmetry and symmetry breaking; it also explains how gauge symmetries can derive/explain other laws that, up to that point, appeared "fundamental" (not derivable from first principles): example is Maxwell's laws, which could be derived from the U(1) phase gauge symmetry.
This book is also very easy to read and all major concepts are explained in a lucid and engaging way - it took me just three/four days to go through it. The last two chapters are really a pleasure to read.
On the negative side, just few minor issues:
- some pictures/diagrams have no legend nor explanation
- the tone of the book gets sometimes really a bit too patronizing
- there should have been, in the Appendix on symmetry groups, not just a list of the main symmetry groups, but a minimum of more formal description of these symmetry groups, and of what a symmetry group is about in general terms.
But this is overall a very good, easy-to-read, enjoyable book which very nicely explains the subject at introductory level.
On the positive side, this book highlights, in a very nice manner, the beauty and the extreme importance of symmetry and symmetry breaking; it also explains how gauge symmetries can derive/explain other laws that, up to that point, appeared "fundamental" (not derivable from first principles): example is Maxwell's laws, which could be derived from the U(1) phase gauge symmetry.
This book is also very easy to read and all major concepts are explained in a lucid and engaging way - it took me just three/four days to go through it. The last two chapters are really a pleasure to read.
On the negative side, just few minor issues:
- some pictures/diagrams have no legend nor explanation
- the tone of the book gets sometimes really a bit too patronizing
- there should have been, in the Appendix on symmetry groups, not just a list of the main symmetry groups, but a minimum of more formal description of these symmetry groups, and of what a symmetry group is about in general terms.
But this is overall a very good, easy-to-read, enjoyable book which very nicely explains the subject at introductory level.
November 12, 2017
didn't learn much from it. too much humor and too many confusing analogies that distract the reader.
July 11, 2018
After finishing
Lost in Math
, I decided it was time to dive into a pop physics book I’ve had sitting on my shelf for a while now. It’s pure coincidence that The Universe in the Rearview Mirror also happens to be about the predominance of symmetry in theoretical physics. In Dave Goldberg’s case, however, he isn’t arguing about the philosophy behind this approach. He’s totally on board, and he’s here to explain to laypeople what these symmetries are, how (we think) they work, and why they might provide clues about where to look next.
This is #notyourtypicalphysicsbook in that it avoids a lot of the standard approaches to taking the reader on an historical tour that develops physics, starting somewhere in the 19th century with Maxwell, on through the early 20th with Rutherford and Planck, and then through relativity and quantum mechanics courtesy Einstein and Schrödinger. That’s awesome, because I’m getting a little tired of that. Instead, Goldberg provides historical context but organizes the book around specific symmetries either observed or postulated. Within each chapter he develops the theoretical concepts required for each symmetry. I like this approach.
Goldberg’s writing is comfortable and intelligible. I fondly remember his “Ask a Physicist” column on io9. Goldberg isn’t just a good scientist (actually, I have neither the qualifications nor the data to judge whether or not he’s a good scientist—maybe he sucks as a scientist!), he knows how to write and communicate scientific concepts in a way that doesn’t bend your brain (too much). He includes little nods to more complicated concepts and ideas, so that those of us more familiar with these topics get some extra information, but he does it in a way that keeps the main part of his explanations accessible for all. Moreover, he frequently makes nerdy or geeky pop culture and science fiction references.
Plus, we get a whole chapter on Emmy Noether. She’s my girl. By which I mean, she’s a kickass mathematician who also happened to be a woman, which means she was never given the credit or recognition she deserved. Goldberg explains how Noether’s eponymous theorems, while obscure outside of physics, are the bedrock for a lot of discussions of symmetry within physics. Any book that champions Noether is a book I’m on board with.
Goldberg might not be as fed up as Sabine Hossenfelder when it comes to physicists’ obsession with symmetry elegance, or beauty in physical theories, but he evinces a healthy amount of skepticism when it comes to some of the concepts he discusses. He mentions when certain theories, like multiverses, are considered controversial within the community. He admits that he is a big fan of supersymmetry but that the most recent LHC data at the time of writing his book (since then the LHC has continued to let down the supersymmetry proponents). And although I wouldn’t go so far as to claim he proves why symmetries and elegance are useful for theorizing in physics, I think this book is probably a good case (for a layperson) for that camp.
Occasionally, Goldberg’s enthusiasm for an idea or an explanation runs away from him, and I found myself backtracking, trying to figure out if I had missed something that would make it all make sense. Similarly, while there are a great many illustrations and diagrams, some of which are helpful, many of them are just … there. With no caption, no reference within the text. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Universe in the Rearview Mirror manages to come across as a refreshing and unique explication of parts of theoretical physics without resorting to extremely controversial ideas. As someone who reads (and enjoys reading) a lot of pop physics books, this one felt new to me. As someone who enjoys math, but who also enjoys evangelizing about “the bigger picture”, Goldberg’s linking of these larger symmetries to the math and the theories the math codifies is really attractive. This book doesn’t just hit you over the head with relativity and wave-functions and uncertainty and say, “Trust us, lots of math, don’t worry about it.” I won’t pretend that you’ll understand everything Goldberg says (I certainly don’t), but you will come away from this book with a better grasp, somewhere, of how and why physicists proposed certain ideas.
This is #notyourtypicalphysicsbook in that it avoids a lot of the standard approaches to taking the reader on an historical tour that develops physics, starting somewhere in the 19th century with Maxwell, on through the early 20th with Rutherford and Planck, and then through relativity and quantum mechanics courtesy Einstein and Schrödinger. That’s awesome, because I’m getting a little tired of that. Instead, Goldberg provides historical context but organizes the book around specific symmetries either observed or postulated. Within each chapter he develops the theoretical concepts required for each symmetry. I like this approach.
Goldberg’s writing is comfortable and intelligible. I fondly remember his “Ask a Physicist” column on io9. Goldberg isn’t just a good scientist (actually, I have neither the qualifications nor the data to judge whether or not he’s a good scientist—maybe he sucks as a scientist!), he knows how to write and communicate scientific concepts in a way that doesn’t bend your brain (too much). He includes little nods to more complicated concepts and ideas, so that those of us more familiar with these topics get some extra information, but he does it in a way that keeps the main part of his explanations accessible for all. Moreover, he frequently makes nerdy or geeky pop culture and science fiction references.
Plus, we get a whole chapter on Emmy Noether. She’s my girl. By which I mean, she’s a kickass mathematician who also happened to be a woman, which means she was never given the credit or recognition she deserved. Goldberg explains how Noether’s eponymous theorems, while obscure outside of physics, are the bedrock for a lot of discussions of symmetry within physics. Any book that champions Noether is a book I’m on board with.
Goldberg might not be as fed up as Sabine Hossenfelder when it comes to physicists’ obsession with symmetry elegance, or beauty in physical theories, but he evinces a healthy amount of skepticism when it comes to some of the concepts he discusses. He mentions when certain theories, like multiverses, are considered controversial within the community. He admits that he is a big fan of supersymmetry but that the most recent LHC data at the time of writing his book (since then the LHC has continued to let down the supersymmetry proponents). And although I wouldn’t go so far as to claim he proves why symmetries and elegance are useful for theorizing in physics, I think this book is probably a good case (for a layperson) for that camp.
Occasionally, Goldberg’s enthusiasm for an idea or an explanation runs away from him, and I found myself backtracking, trying to figure out if I had missed something that would make it all make sense. Similarly, while there are a great many illustrations and diagrams, some of which are helpful, many of them are just … there. With no caption, no reference within the text. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Universe in the Rearview Mirror manages to come across as a refreshing and unique explication of parts of theoretical physics without resorting to extremely controversial ideas. As someone who reads (and enjoys reading) a lot of pop physics books, this one felt new to me. As someone who enjoys math, but who also enjoys evangelizing about “the bigger picture”, Goldberg’s linking of these larger symmetries to the math and the theories the math codifies is really attractive. This book doesn’t just hit you over the head with relativity and wave-functions and uncertainty and say, “Trust us, lots of math, don’t worry about it.” I won’t pretend that you’ll understand everything Goldberg says (I certainly don’t), but you will come away from this book with a better grasp, somewhere, of how and why physicists proposed certain ideas.
August 3, 2013
When I was in college, I did a couple of cross-country trips with my friend Matt, who was the '80's answer to Neal Cassady (minus the jail-time and the juggled girlfriends/wives). He was a physics major (and now teaches the subject at a university in Texas), and from time to time as we tore across the country at night he'd try to explain the galaxy and its workings to me. But I was too self-absorbed and intent on getting to where we were going for the most part to pay enough attention to his informal lectures on things like black holes and antimatter and stars. I've always regretted that, as these days I often stare up at the night-sky and wish I had a clue to its poetry. Once or twice I've tried to convince Matt to write a book about it, geared to those without a clue about physics, but so far I've had no luck.
Then I won Dave Goldberg's The Universe in the Rear-View mirror in a Goodreads giveaway (I don't enter many, but I really wanted this book), hoping that it would be something like the book I've tried to get Matt to write. Unfortunately (and this is certainly not Dr. Goldberg's fault), even at what I assume is a fairly elementary level of physics, much of it was still over my head--to my embarrassment (I'm actually not sure how I got through high school, college, and grad school without ever taking physics). And I think that I was hoping more for a book that would tell me more about what it's really like "out there" than why it's like that. Again, that's just me.
But, even during the passages in which I got hopelessly lost, I had a really good time reading the book--and I can only assume that readers with more of an aptitude than I have (a low bar) would really enjoy it. I wish that Dr. Goldberg (or Matt) had been my professor in college. I laughed out loud on every page, and his apparent glee and enthusiasm for his field in infectious. He seems to believe that almost all of his readers are (like him, I gather) die-hard Trekkies and "black belt-level nerds" with a penchant for Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars as well, and makes a lot of really funny references to that culture. I really LIKE the guy.
The book did get me wondering about a lot of things, and asking questions that would no doubt seem naive and annoying to a scientist. I kept feeling baffled about why any amount of uncertainty about why things are the way they are, or the inability to quantify or explain certain things, should seem kind of disturbing. If the Big Bang Theory is correct (and I have no reason to believe that it's not), what was there BEFORE it happened, and why should we think of "time" as beginning only at that point? Why should the idea of an infinite universe make anyone uncomfortable? And, if we are, as Dr. Goldberg pointed out, "...living in the Matrix," where nothing (including us) is actual substantial because we are basically bundles of bouncing particles (again, I have no argument with that--I think it's pretty cool, in fact), where do things like love come from?
But my questions are really beside the point as far as Universe in the Rear-View Mirror is concerned, and I actually did learn a few things (for one thing, I will know now never to put so much as a toe over the event horizon of a black hole). It's engaging and well-written and not in the least pedantic or condescending. If you've got a slightly better grasp on the basics than I do, you should be able to enjoy it a great deal (particularly if you can recite entire scenes from Star Trek episodes by heart).
Then I won Dave Goldberg's The Universe in the Rear-View mirror in a Goodreads giveaway (I don't enter many, but I really wanted this book), hoping that it would be something like the book I've tried to get Matt to write. Unfortunately (and this is certainly not Dr. Goldberg's fault), even at what I assume is a fairly elementary level of physics, much of it was still over my head--to my embarrassment (I'm actually not sure how I got through high school, college, and grad school without ever taking physics). And I think that I was hoping more for a book that would tell me more about what it's really like "out there" than why it's like that. Again, that's just me.
But, even during the passages in which I got hopelessly lost, I had a really good time reading the book--and I can only assume that readers with more of an aptitude than I have (a low bar) would really enjoy it. I wish that Dr. Goldberg (or Matt) had been my professor in college. I laughed out loud on every page, and his apparent glee and enthusiasm for his field in infectious. He seems to believe that almost all of his readers are (like him, I gather) die-hard Trekkies and "black belt-level nerds" with a penchant for Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars as well, and makes a lot of really funny references to that culture. I really LIKE the guy.
The book did get me wondering about a lot of things, and asking questions that would no doubt seem naive and annoying to a scientist. I kept feeling baffled about why any amount of uncertainty about why things are the way they are, or the inability to quantify or explain certain things, should seem kind of disturbing. If the Big Bang Theory is correct (and I have no reason to believe that it's not), what was there BEFORE it happened, and why should we think of "time" as beginning only at that point? Why should the idea of an infinite universe make anyone uncomfortable? And, if we are, as Dr. Goldberg pointed out, "...living in the Matrix," where nothing (including us) is actual substantial because we are basically bundles of bouncing particles (again, I have no argument with that--I think it's pretty cool, in fact), where do things like love come from?
But my questions are really beside the point as far as Universe in the Rear-View Mirror is concerned, and I actually did learn a few things (for one thing, I will know now never to put so much as a toe over the event horizon of a black hole). It's engaging and well-written and not in the least pedantic or condescending. If you've got a slightly better grasp on the basics than I do, you should be able to enjoy it a great deal (particularly if you can recite entire scenes from Star Trek episodes by heart).
January 1, 2014
This book was an answer to "surprise me with a book" request thrown to a dear friend. And I was really taken for a wonder ride in the older and newer aspects of the beautiful symmetries of physics in this book.
Though many of the things mentioned for certain in this book that my mind, which has been tuned to the music of an imperfect science, could not fathom, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. And it was the first time I had heard of someone called Emma Noether(chances are, you haven't heard of her too.), whom Einstein had described as the greatest intellectual mind produced in the fairer sex, since the beginning of their education. Look her up. It's worth it.
The narrative style of the author is pretty enjoyable and provided you have read some physics upto the age of 18 in school, you will be able to make head and tail of most things given in the book.
In short, a wonderful read.
Though many of the things mentioned for certain in this book that my mind, which has been tuned to the music of an imperfect science, could not fathom, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. And it was the first time I had heard of someone called Emma Noether(chances are, you haven't heard of her too.), whom Einstein had described as the greatest intellectual mind produced in the fairer sex, since the beginning of their education. Look her up. It's worth it.
The narrative style of the author is pretty enjoyable and provided you have read some physics upto the age of 18 in school, you will be able to make head and tail of most things given in the book.
In short, a wonderful read.
April 25, 2016
Pomimo wiary w sensowność nauk humanistycznych czuję się czasami gorsza od tych, którzy potrafią połapać się w ścisłych teoriach. Zazdroszczę fizykom, matematykom, chemikom i wszystkim wielkim mózgom tego świata. Ale nie zamierzam się poddawać. Po „Jeszcze krótszej historii czasu” Stephena Hawkinga i Leonarda Mlodinowa postanowiłam sięgnąć po „Wszechświat w lustrzanym odbiciu” Dave’a Goldberga. Bynajmniej dlatego, by poszerzyć swoją wiedzę. Raczej, by zrozumieć tę zgromadzoną podczas poprzedniej lektury.
Zgodnie z tytułem, grafikę okładki stanowi zduplikowany obraz fragmentu kosmosu (mam nadzieję, że nie mylę się tutaj w nazewnictwie i jakiś umysł ścisły nie podśmiewa się ze mnie pod nosem albo, co gorsza, w głos). Czcionka napisów jest prosta, jasna, doskonale widoczna na ciemnogranatowym tle. Wydaje się też nieco w starym stylu, jak podręczniki używane kilkanaście lub nawet kilkadziesiąt lat wcześniej.
Zawartość jednak z pewnością przestarzała nie jest. Dave Goldberg co prawda prowadzi czytelnika aż od teorii starogreckich, ale ogniskuje swoje zainteresowania przede wszystkim na tym, co już potwierdzono bądź ma nadzieję niedługo się potwierdzić. Zgodnie z podtytułem („Jak ukryte symetrie kształtują naszą rzeczywistość”) autor skupia się zwłaszcza na motywie symetrii, odnajdując je w znacznej większości fizycznych definicji. Jak się okazuje wcale nie zawęża to materiału badawczego. Symetria bowiem czai się wszędzie.
Po przeczytaniu „Jeszcze krótszej historii czasu” wydawało mi się, że coś już wiem. Bardzo szybko okazało się, że jestem w błędzie. Goldberg bowiem nierzadko tłumaczy te same teorie, które tłumaczyli w swojej książce Hawking i Mlodinow, jednak innymi słowami i nierzadko na innych przykładach. Efekt tego jest dla mnie jako czytelnika i laika dwojaki – z jednej strony zrozumiałam część z tego, czego nie pojmowałam; z drugiej zaś dotarło do mnie, że to, co wydawało mi się jasne, jest dużo bardziej skomplikowane (i jednak tego nie rozumiem). Aż strach pomyśleć, co będzie, gdy przeczytam kolejną książkę, której autor podejmuje się wytłumaczenia zawiłości fizyki humanistom (między innymi).
Zamierzam trzymać się porównań „Wszechświata w lustrzanym odbiciu” do „Jeszcze krótszej historii czasu”, choćby dlatego, że nie potrafiłabym tej książki porównać do żadnej innej (bo żadnej innej podobnej nie znam), a poza tym, to właśnie dzieło Hawkinga przetarło zbliżonym tematycznie lekturom szlak. A przetarło dzięki czemu? Dzięki humorowi i uproszczonemu językowi. Tutaj przyznać muszę, że sposób opowiadania Goldberga przypadł mi do gustu bardziej. Autor stara się wykładać wszystko możliwie obrazowo, wymyśla nierzadko dziwne i zabawne przykłady lub sięga do popkulturowych wizji, by wytknąć im błędy lub usprawnić pomysły twórców science fiction. Najważniejsze jednak jest to, że stara się podejść do problemu fizyki z humorem.
Humorem, trzeba to napisać, bardzo specyficznym. Nie określiłabym go jako dowcipu „na siłę”, jednak z pewnością Goldberg słynnym komikiem nie zostanie. Początkowo wydawało mi się nawet, że mógłby konkurować w rywalizacji ze Strasburgerem. Ale może była to jakaś metoda? Wkrótce przyzwyczaiłam się do dziwacznego poczucia humoru autora, który większość swoich żartów opiera na „Star Treku”, „Alicji w Krainie Czarów”, „Lochach i smokach” oraz ogromie autokomentarzy. Jeżeli znacie stereotypowy obraz geeka wytykanego w liceum palcami, to tak mniej więcej w swoim sposobie pisania prezentuje się Goldberg.
Chociaż autor wyraźnie dwoi się i troi, żeby było zabawnie, klarownie, jasno i przejrzyście, to kiedy przechodzi od dowcipkowania do wykładania zasadniczej wiedzy, zaczyna robić się poważnie. Chociaż bardzo chciałabym skłamać, że zrozumiałam choćby jedną czwartą z tych skomplikowanych fizycznych definicji i wywodów, to muszę przyznać, że większość pozostała dla mnie czarną magią. Nie zmienia to jednak faktu, że śledziłam tekst zafascynowana. Być może nawet bardziej zafascynowana osnutą wciąż tajemniczą i niezrozumiałą wiedzą, niż gdybym pojęła sekrety fizycznego świata. Jakkolwiek częste propozycje Goldberga, by błyskać w towarzystwie zdobytymi informacjami i pokręconymi nazwami, pozostaną najpewniej niezrealizowane. Bo co z tego, że zapamiętałam takie hasła, jak: słaby izospin, fermion czy spagetyfikacja, skoro za żadne skarby nie potrafiłabym ich wyjaśnić?
Tak jak „Jeszcze krótszą historię czasu”, tak i „Wszechświat w lustrzanym odbiciu” polecam tym, którzy w szkole z fizyki mieli piątki. Ze smutkiem muszę przyznać, że cała reszta może skomplikowania prezentowanego przez Goldberga świata nie pojąć. Jeżeli się jednak uprzecie – jak ja – to wciąż będziecie świetnie się bawić, śledząc nietypowe poczucie humoru autora i radując się za każdym razem, gdy wyda się Wam, że pojęliście coś chociaż w najmniejszym ułamku. Osobiście nie tracę wiary, że kiedyś przyswoję nieco więcej i wszystkie te kwarki czy teorie strun staną się wreszcie jasne.
http://recenzent.com.pl/1/recenzja-ks...
Zgodnie z tytułem, grafikę okładki stanowi zduplikowany obraz fragmentu kosmosu (mam nadzieję, że nie mylę się tutaj w nazewnictwie i jakiś umysł ścisły nie podśmiewa się ze mnie pod nosem albo, co gorsza, w głos). Czcionka napisów jest prosta, jasna, doskonale widoczna na ciemnogranatowym tle. Wydaje się też nieco w starym stylu, jak podręczniki używane kilkanaście lub nawet kilkadziesiąt lat wcześniej.
Zawartość jednak z pewnością przestarzała nie jest. Dave Goldberg co prawda prowadzi czytelnika aż od teorii starogreckich, ale ogniskuje swoje zainteresowania przede wszystkim na tym, co już potwierdzono bądź ma nadzieję niedługo się potwierdzić. Zgodnie z podtytułem („Jak ukryte symetrie kształtują naszą rzeczywistość”) autor skupia się zwłaszcza na motywie symetrii, odnajdując je w znacznej większości fizycznych definicji. Jak się okazuje wcale nie zawęża to materiału badawczego. Symetria bowiem czai się wszędzie.
Po przeczytaniu „Jeszcze krótszej historii czasu” wydawało mi się, że coś już wiem. Bardzo szybko okazało się, że jestem w błędzie. Goldberg bowiem nierzadko tłumaczy te same teorie, które tłumaczyli w swojej książce Hawking i Mlodinow, jednak innymi słowami i nierzadko na innych przykładach. Efekt tego jest dla mnie jako czytelnika i laika dwojaki – z jednej strony zrozumiałam część z tego, czego nie pojmowałam; z drugiej zaś dotarło do mnie, że to, co wydawało mi się jasne, jest dużo bardziej skomplikowane (i jednak tego nie rozumiem). Aż strach pomyśleć, co będzie, gdy przeczytam kolejną książkę, której autor podejmuje się wytłumaczenia zawiłości fizyki humanistom (między innymi).
Zamierzam trzymać się porównań „Wszechświata w lustrzanym odbiciu” do „Jeszcze krótszej historii czasu”, choćby dlatego, że nie potrafiłabym tej książki porównać do żadnej innej (bo żadnej innej podobnej nie znam), a poza tym, to właśnie dzieło Hawkinga przetarło zbliżonym tematycznie lekturom szlak. A przetarło dzięki czemu? Dzięki humorowi i uproszczonemu językowi. Tutaj przyznać muszę, że sposób opowiadania Goldberga przypadł mi do gustu bardziej. Autor stara się wykładać wszystko możliwie obrazowo, wymyśla nierzadko dziwne i zabawne przykłady lub sięga do popkulturowych wizji, by wytknąć im błędy lub usprawnić pomysły twórców science fiction. Najważniejsze jednak jest to, że stara się podejść do problemu fizyki z humorem.
Humorem, trzeba to napisać, bardzo specyficznym. Nie określiłabym go jako dowcipu „na siłę”, jednak z pewnością Goldberg słynnym komikiem nie zostanie. Początkowo wydawało mi się nawet, że mógłby konkurować w rywalizacji ze Strasburgerem. Ale może była to jakaś metoda? Wkrótce przyzwyczaiłam się do dziwacznego poczucia humoru autora, który większość swoich żartów opiera na „Star Treku”, „Alicji w Krainie Czarów”, „Lochach i smokach” oraz ogromie autokomentarzy. Jeżeli znacie stereotypowy obraz geeka wytykanego w liceum palcami, to tak mniej więcej w swoim sposobie pisania prezentuje się Goldberg.
Chociaż autor wyraźnie dwoi się i troi, żeby było zabawnie, klarownie, jasno i przejrzyście, to kiedy przechodzi od dowcipkowania do wykładania zasadniczej wiedzy, zaczyna robić się poważnie. Chociaż bardzo chciałabym skłamać, że zrozumiałam choćby jedną czwartą z tych skomplikowanych fizycznych definicji i wywodów, to muszę przyznać, że większość pozostała dla mnie czarną magią. Nie zmienia to jednak faktu, że śledziłam tekst zafascynowana. Być może nawet bardziej zafascynowana osnutą wciąż tajemniczą i niezrozumiałą wiedzą, niż gdybym pojęła sekrety fizycznego świata. Jakkolwiek częste propozycje Goldberga, by błyskać w towarzystwie zdobytymi informacjami i pokręconymi nazwami, pozostaną najpewniej niezrealizowane. Bo co z tego, że zapamiętałam takie hasła, jak: słaby izospin, fermion czy spagetyfikacja, skoro za żadne skarby nie potrafiłabym ich wyjaśnić?
Tak jak „Jeszcze krótszą historię czasu”, tak i „Wszechświat w lustrzanym odbiciu” polecam tym, którzy w szkole z fizyki mieli piątki. Ze smutkiem muszę przyznać, że cała reszta może skomplikowania prezentowanego przez Goldberga świata nie pojąć. Jeżeli się jednak uprzecie – jak ja – to wciąż będziecie świetnie się bawić, śledząc nietypowe poczucie humoru autora i radując się za każdym razem, gdy wyda się Wam, że pojęliście coś chociaż w najmniejszym ułamku. Osobiście nie tracę wiary, że kiedyś przyswoję nieco więcej i wszystkie te kwarki czy teorie strun staną się wreszcie jasne.
http://recenzent.com.pl/1/recenzja-ks...
Read
April 12, 2023this book blew my mind while I was reading it but after a couple months of reading books I LOVED I just can’t get back into it 😭 one day I’ll have the brain to restart this a third time. until then I’m gonna be thinking about how protons and electrons are temporally linked
May 29, 2015
Another book I won in Goodreads Giveaways. (This is so strange, for quite a while I received nothing and then suddenly there were like four of them within a week).
I feel a little bit bad, since half-way through the book I decided to stop. It was not because of the book but rather because of me. I think I am not the targeted audience.
The Universe in the Rearview Mirror is book on physics, which focuses on Symmetries and how beautiful this trait is found in many laws around us, in many levels of micro and macro.
However, the book was a bit advanced for my taste and background. I suppose I could still continue reading it and could follow it, but then I feel my eagerness drying out quickly. Goldberg's explanations and uses of analogies, I am sure are very carefully chosen, but sometimes still prove to be too obscure for a non-natural-science major like me. After a bit of re-read, I got it, but well, I'm not that crazy to continue the journey, each puzzle every 20-page (note that I have much love physics and the wild and beautiful imagination of physicists and mathematicians, and yet...). For the right audience (which I guess to be undergraduate level science-major/geek), the book should be a great read - for all of those passions and humors and jokes about nerdiness and scientists' badasseries. Goldberg is genuinely in love with his field, which I admire.
This shows the difficulty that pure sciences face when they want to reach the general audience. There is so much progress being made in this century, but much of it remains in its own circle. We all knew about the development in finding Higgs boson (*minor correction), but then we are just vaguely aware of its "significance" and its application. It is not because experts do not try to widen their bases (they are trying, this book is one of such efforts), but it is just because all stuffs become too complex and abstract to digest. Not to mention that we are often more concerned with things that present their effects on us directly. Perhaps an injection of more advanced material in natural sciences in lower-level education would help improving the backgrounds of us readers, but, well, that would take quite some times.
A minor problem I encountered in this book is Goldberg's treatment of "ancient" scientists. Well, they were not correct in their interpretations, but I wish the audience could appreciate more their legacies (and we should). There are some nice and fun anecdotes about scientists from the Enlightenment onwards (Newton for sure, then Galileo for instance), but history-lovers, beware! Sciences, for instance, were not so much differentiated from alchemies in early16-17th, the church was not so against the new progress in science, such as the introduction of the heliocentric system, as it was against Galileo's condescending and self-centered behavior. (But of course, these things do not interfere so much with the content and purpose of this book - they are just some sidenotes, I just want to give a few warnings)
I feel a little bit bad, since half-way through the book I decided to stop. It was not because of the book but rather because of me. I think I am not the targeted audience.
The Universe in the Rearview Mirror is book on physics, which focuses on Symmetries and how beautiful this trait is found in many laws around us, in many levels of micro and macro.
However, the book was a bit advanced for my taste and background. I suppose I could still continue reading it and could follow it, but then I feel my eagerness drying out quickly. Goldberg's explanations and uses of analogies, I am sure are very carefully chosen, but sometimes still prove to be too obscure for a non-natural-science major like me. After a bit of re-read, I got it, but well, I'm not that crazy to continue the journey, each puzzle every 20-page (note that I have much love physics and the wild and beautiful imagination of physicists and mathematicians, and yet...). For the right audience (which I guess to be undergraduate level science-major/geek), the book should be a great read - for all of those passions and humors and jokes about nerdiness and scientists' badasseries. Goldberg is genuinely in love with his field, which I admire.
This shows the difficulty that pure sciences face when they want to reach the general audience. There is so much progress being made in this century, but much of it remains in its own circle. We all knew about the development in finding Higgs boson (*minor correction), but then we are just vaguely aware of its "significance" and its application. It is not because experts do not try to widen their bases (they are trying, this book is one of such efforts), but it is just because all stuffs become too complex and abstract to digest. Not to mention that we are often more concerned with things that present their effects on us directly. Perhaps an injection of more advanced material in natural sciences in lower-level education would help improving the backgrounds of us readers, but, well, that would take quite some times.
A minor problem I encountered in this book is Goldberg's treatment of "ancient" scientists. Well, they were not correct in their interpretations, but I wish the audience could appreciate more their legacies (and we should). There are some nice and fun anecdotes about scientists from the Enlightenment onwards (Newton for sure, then Galileo for instance), but history-lovers, beware! Sciences, for instance, were not so much differentiated from alchemies in early16-17th, the church was not so against the new progress in science, such as the introduction of the heliocentric system, as it was against Galileo's condescending and self-centered behavior. (But of course, these things do not interfere so much with the content and purpose of this book - they are just some sidenotes, I just want to give a few warnings)
July 13, 2013
Where did the big bang happen? It happened everywhere.*
A trip around big ideas in physics and the cosmological rules (re: the symmetries) that govern our universe, The Universe in the Rearview Mirror: How Hidden Symmetries Shape Reality is an easy read covering some less easy theoretical concepts. Relativity (general and special), sub-atomic particle physics, the directionality of time itself, all are among the topics illustrated by author Dave Goldberg. Goldberg, an astrophysicist by trade and frequently asked physicist on io9.com, skillfully delivers conceptually dense material with levity, in a familiar format well suited for the general scientifically-minded readership, and with an often tongue-in-cheek style much like I imagine he employs when teaching his undergraduates at Drexel University.
Like any good survey of a scientific field, The Universe in the Rearview Mirror** is salted liberally with quotes from historically influential figures. One that Goldberg utilizes in his introduction as a succinct justification of the book's premise comes from Nobel laureate Phil Anderson:
"It is only slightly overstating the case to say that physics is the study of symmetry."
And from there each chapter of the book gives a progressively compelling case for why such a statement, characterizing physics as the study of symmetry, is indeed only slightly overstating the case. Building from the more intuitive forms of symmetry (e.g. the symmetry of a [rearview] mirror; CPT symmetry; Lorentz invariance) up through mind-bending internal symmetries, critical at the most fundamental levels of physics, and ultimately on to how the breaking of certain symmetries is the crucial factor to the universe we see around us, The Universe in the Rearview Mirror orders the daunting complexities of modern theoretical physics into elegant underlying symmetries, allowing the rest of us to make some sense of it, even if only a little bit.
Of course the symmetries don't explain everything. But they aren't supposed to either. In fact much of the book has author Dave Goldberg pointing out just how wrong we often are when it comes to understanding this material intuitively. The theme of symmetries gives us a model with which to gain a better working understanding of the universe. And yet, in the end what we have is still a model and not the universe. Werner Heisenberg said it best:
"We have to remember that what we observe is not nature herself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning."
---
*Why did the Big Bang happen everywhere? Because the universe expands like a stretching rubber sheet, not an explosion.
**While there isn't a footnote on every page, this book probably does have nearly as many footnotes as it does pages. If you don't like writing with frequent asides consider yourself warned. References to the bottom of the page aside, the notes themselves are often chuckle-worthy.
A trip around big ideas in physics and the cosmological rules (re: the symmetries) that govern our universe, The Universe in the Rearview Mirror: How Hidden Symmetries Shape Reality is an easy read covering some less easy theoretical concepts. Relativity (general and special), sub-atomic particle physics, the directionality of time itself, all are among the topics illustrated by author Dave Goldberg. Goldberg, an astrophysicist by trade and frequently asked physicist on io9.com, skillfully delivers conceptually dense material with levity, in a familiar format well suited for the general scientifically-minded readership, and with an often tongue-in-cheek style much like I imagine he employs when teaching his undergraduates at Drexel University.
Like any good survey of a scientific field, The Universe in the Rearview Mirror** is salted liberally with quotes from historically influential figures. One that Goldberg utilizes in his introduction as a succinct justification of the book's premise comes from Nobel laureate Phil Anderson:
"It is only slightly overstating the case to say that physics is the study of symmetry."
And from there each chapter of the book gives a progressively compelling case for why such a statement, characterizing physics as the study of symmetry, is indeed only slightly overstating the case. Building from the more intuitive forms of symmetry (e.g. the symmetry of a [rearview] mirror; CPT symmetry; Lorentz invariance) up through mind-bending internal symmetries, critical at the most fundamental levels of physics, and ultimately on to how the breaking of certain symmetries is the crucial factor to the universe we see around us, The Universe in the Rearview Mirror orders the daunting complexities of modern theoretical physics into elegant underlying symmetries, allowing the rest of us to make some sense of it, even if only a little bit.
Of course the symmetries don't explain everything. But they aren't supposed to either. In fact much of the book has author Dave Goldberg pointing out just how wrong we often are when it comes to understanding this material intuitively. The theme of symmetries gives us a model with which to gain a better working understanding of the universe. And yet, in the end what we have is still a model and not the universe. Werner Heisenberg said it best:
"We have to remember that what we observe is not nature herself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning."
---
*Why did the Big Bang happen everywhere? Because the universe expands like a stretching rubber sheet, not an explosion.
**While there isn't a footnote on every page, this book probably does have nearly as many footnotes as it does pages. If you don't like writing with frequent asides consider yourself warned. References to the bottom of the page aside, the notes themselves are often chuckle-worthy.
July 19, 2013
Ooo! Physics non-fiction!
There's a problem with physics non-fiction. The problem is that it rarely hits the sweet spot for me. I have a year of college physics under my belt, along with an interested layperson's perspective. Actual technical papers are far beyond me. Yet most popular physics books are well below my knowledge level. I want something beyond Gee, aren't black holes awesome!
A Universe From Nothing hit the mark pretty well. I think it's a good sign that The Universe in the Rearview Mirror does as well. No, I didn't understand all of it, but I did understand most and got the gist of the rest.
The book is also packed with awesome illustrations is a great old-timey style. One benefit of the ePUB format is that the books are, literally, just ZIP files containing HTML, CSS, and image files. So I was able to easily take the images and use them as screensavers for my Nook. (Once I stripped the DRM, which you should always do.)
The downside to all the illustrations is that they bogged down my eReader. Page turns were slower, dramatically so in illustration-heavy chapters.
The book is also packed with geek culture asides. Maxwell's Demon is drawn as a Cylon, for example. While entertaining and enriching, this does lead to a problem, at least in an eBook. The asides are presented as end notes. So, each time I want to see one, I have to tap on a wee little asterisk. Then I have to remember to tap on the Done button at the top of the screen instead of mistakenly hitting the Page Back button. Because that'll take me back a page to the prior end note, not back to the text. And then I can't hit the Done button because changing the page makes that button go away. And then I have to go to the Table of Contents, go to the correct chapter, then page forward to where I left off, which is a pain with this book, as the page turns are slow, as mentioned above. And that's a lot to bother with just to read a one sentence aside. Just put those suckers in parens, dammit!
Note that it also inflates the page numbering. I don't mean that as a criticism, as the book is a good length. But those last hundred pages? One end note per page.
There's a problem with physics non-fiction. The problem is that it rarely hits the sweet spot for me. I have a year of college physics under my belt, along with an interested layperson's perspective. Actual technical papers are far beyond me. Yet most popular physics books are well below my knowledge level. I want something beyond Gee, aren't black holes awesome!
A Universe From Nothing hit the mark pretty well. I think it's a good sign that The Universe in the Rearview Mirror does as well. No, I didn't understand all of it, but I did understand most and got the gist of the rest.
The book is also packed with awesome illustrations is a great old-timey style. One benefit of the ePUB format is that the books are, literally, just ZIP files containing HTML, CSS, and image files. So I was able to easily take the images and use them as screensavers for my Nook. (Once I stripped the DRM, which you should always do.)
The downside to all the illustrations is that they bogged down my eReader. Page turns were slower, dramatically so in illustration-heavy chapters.
The book is also packed with geek culture asides. Maxwell's Demon is drawn as a Cylon, for example. While entertaining and enriching, this does lead to a problem, at least in an eBook. The asides are presented as end notes. So, each time I want to see one, I have to tap on a wee little asterisk. Then I have to remember to tap on the Done button at the top of the screen instead of mistakenly hitting the Page Back button. Because that'll take me back a page to the prior end note, not back to the text. And then I can't hit the Done button because changing the page makes that button go away. And then I have to go to the Table of Contents, go to the correct chapter, then page forward to where I left off, which is a pain with this book, as the page turns are slow, as mentioned above. And that's a lot to bother with just to read a one sentence aside. Just put those suckers in parens, dammit!
Note that it also inflates the page numbering. I don't mean that as a criticism, as the book is a good length. But those last hundred pages? One end note per page.
March 5, 2015
You hear talk of bosons and quantum particles, but efforts to satisfy your curiosity have proven fruitless.
At some point, say in a crowded bar outside of a major university, your ear may have plucked from the air part of a conversation between two very hairy people about how glorious and miraculous and beautiful are the mathematical symmetries governing the universe. Suddenly, some piddling disagreement about a minor theoretical point bursts into flames. Fists pound tables. Mothers are pilloried. Spittle flies. Accusations!
As a kid watching Star Trek, you may have wondered: "If Scotty sneezed and his hand slipped while activating the transporter with me in it, what would happen to 'me'? Would there be any 'me' left? If so, could one gather the parts of 'me' still available in order to reconstruct 'ME'? Is the story of Humpty Dumpty an allegory for the dangers of teleportation?" You ask these questions to your parents over dinner and they're struck dumb, demand that you shut your dirty mouth while you eat, then become enraged when you point out the impossibility of their request.
The point is that most people curious about the universe are really interested in physics, whether they realize it or not. Physics, however, can be intimidating. Especially the equations (in quantum mechanics, it's perfectly normal to multiply a letter by an upside-down triangle). Books like these by authors like this are valuable because they communicate difficult concepts in ways that anyone can understand, all while keeping the reader engaged, entertained, and awake. The talent required to effectively communicate difficult scientific concepts is a rare thing. Carl Sagan had it and Neil deGrasse Tyson currently has it. Mr. Goldberg is impressive, is what I'm saying. The book's first sentence: “Why is there something rather than nothing?” If you're curious about the answer, this book is as funny, enjoyable, and efficient (read: Quick) a place to start as any I can imagine.
At some point, say in a crowded bar outside of a major university, your ear may have plucked from the air part of a conversation between two very hairy people about how glorious and miraculous and beautiful are the mathematical symmetries governing the universe. Suddenly, some piddling disagreement about a minor theoretical point bursts into flames. Fists pound tables. Mothers are pilloried. Spittle flies. Accusations!
As a kid watching Star Trek, you may have wondered: "If Scotty sneezed and his hand slipped while activating the transporter with me in it, what would happen to 'me'? Would there be any 'me' left? If so, could one gather the parts of 'me' still available in order to reconstruct 'ME'? Is the story of Humpty Dumpty an allegory for the dangers of teleportation?" You ask these questions to your parents over dinner and they're struck dumb, demand that you shut your dirty mouth while you eat, then become enraged when you point out the impossibility of their request.
The point is that most people curious about the universe are really interested in physics, whether they realize it or not. Physics, however, can be intimidating. Especially the equations (in quantum mechanics, it's perfectly normal to multiply a letter by an upside-down triangle). Books like these by authors like this are valuable because they communicate difficult concepts in ways that anyone can understand, all while keeping the reader engaged, entertained, and awake. The talent required to effectively communicate difficult scientific concepts is a rare thing. Carl Sagan had it and Neil deGrasse Tyson currently has it. Mr. Goldberg is impressive, is what I'm saying. The book's first sentence: “Why is there something rather than nothing?” If you're curious about the answer, this book is as funny, enjoyable, and efficient (read: Quick) a place to start as any I can imagine.
September 20, 2013
One of the better physics books, it's easy to read and follow. It doesn't hurt that there's all sorts of nerd humor and in-jokes sprinkled throughout. (The first law of Thermodynamics: You do NOT talk about thermodynamics!)
The importance of symmetry in physical science has been neglected in popular science writing. Feynman's lectures focused on it, as did Asimov's book on the discovery of the neutrino. But I can't think of another more recent book that does it so well. Thus, it may be surprising to learn that fundamental physics has become simpler, rather than more complex over time, owing to the deep and beautiful symmetries of our latest theories.
I was delighted to hear the story of Emmy Noether. I had heard of "Noether's Theorem", one of the most important results for understanding our universe. But I always pictured "Noether" as some dude in a white coat and horn-rimmed glasses. Not a Victorian-age woman.
About halfway, the book bogs down in tedious details of fundamental particles, and loses the momentum and unity that the first chapters build. The explanations become glib, and even the jokes start to fall off too.
The importance of symmetry in physical science has been neglected in popular science writing. Feynman's lectures focused on it, as did Asimov's book on the discovery of the neutrino. But I can't think of another more recent book that does it so well. Thus, it may be surprising to learn that fundamental physics has become simpler, rather than more complex over time, owing to the deep and beautiful symmetries of our latest theories.
I was delighted to hear the story of Emmy Noether. I had heard of "Noether's Theorem", one of the most important results for understanding our universe. But I always pictured "Noether" as some dude in a white coat and horn-rimmed glasses. Not a Victorian-age woman.
About halfway, the book bogs down in tedious details of fundamental particles, and loses the momentum and unity that the first chapters build. The explanations become glib, and even the jokes start to fall off too.
June 21, 2015
Its jokes get a bit tiresome after a while, but in general they add an interesting tone. Does try to tackle a lot, and generally gets there, though at the expense of clarity, I feel: too often the explanation feels a lot more ad hoc than it should be and jumping around from paragraph to paragraph. I've ended up with a lot more occasions of "I wish he'd written a few more sentences about this", than how many times it felt too much of explanation.
It's not a bad read for broadening one's horizon, though probably as part of a reading list, rather than a single book on this topic.
It's not a bad read for broadening one's horizon, though probably as part of a reading list, rather than a single book on this topic.
January 21, 2014
I've read several books on physics and not only did this one explore alot of ground that others didn't but it was hands down the funniest and the only one that made me laugh out loud the whole time I was reading it.I felt I understood it very well but started reading it a second time three weeks later just because it was that entertaining.If you have some understanding of the subject or want to this is a must read.
July 24, 2013
If you're a hardcore quantum physicist or someone who actively hates math and physics, then you probably don't want to read this book. But for someone like me it was an extremely well-written insight into our current understanding of the Universe, what it's made of and how it works. I'll probably read it again sometime soon, giving myself a bit more time to think about the details.
November 18, 2016
I personally loved this book. The viewpoints on everything were really interesting and the writer's style of writing was understandable but not lame. I definitely enjoyed the points about the paradox we live in; the fact that matter shouldn't even be here fascinated me. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes understanding and exploring the inner workings of the universe as a whole.
April 24, 2015
A fun book for science geeks written by a science geek. Goldberg does a great job explaining concepts from physics in such a way that you don't need a degree in physics to understand them. Plus, I completely enjoyed the way he interjected pop cultural references to add some much needed humor.
June 18, 2019
This book suffers from trying to cover too much, with too little detail on each. From the basic description, the book was touted as being a tour on the discovery of the mathematical concept of symmetry and how this notion impacts the search for structure in physical law. It kind of does that, but in too shallow of a fashion for anyone to gain anything meaningful from the reading. The author spends a lot of time telling the audience what this or that theorem means about this or that property of particle spin, but unless you are already versed in the physics already it's hard to believe a general reader will get much out of this treatment that couldn't be reduced to a half a dozen pages of "facts".
Though the book summary mentions Emmy Noether, her theorems on conservation and the modern algebra that informed her pathbreaking work on symmetry scarcely makes approx. 1/6th of the material here. This should have easily made up the first half of the book. Especially if you also want to cover the interesting and sad life that brought her to America. The book does, but much of this is too short and I imagine the general reader's eye glazed when the author was explaining formal symmetry especially since very little if any of the group theory needed was totally omitted, even in concept. I was hoping to get some insight on a more detailed level about these topics, but unfortunately, the author's treatment is much closer to a Brian Greene layman book than an Anton Zeilinger layman book. Luckily, there are already 2 pretty good books on both Noether's life, "Emmy Noether: The Mother of Algebra" and theorems, "Emmy Noether's Wonderful Theorem", available on the mass market, a general reader could purchase if not satisfied or more curious about the foundations of this topic. These will surely be on my next-to-read list after not being satisfied by this text.
The rest of the book is meandering through symmetry in relation to spin from QM, cosmology, gravitation, etc., all of these topics could easily be their own 500-page mid-font layman book (and many already have such books printed on them). Yet, because the author chose to cover too much, all are treated at a very light level, and by this, I don't even mean to say it was conceptual. There are several conceptual physics books that are profound, like the above mentioned Zeilinger's "Dance of the Photons". But to get that profundity at a conceptual level one must focus much more and construct their narrative, as well as have a more organized pedagogical strategy of how they will deliver meaningful learning to the reader. Otherwise, your book quickly reduced itself to a facts book on a deep topic, much of which will not be retained by the average general reader.
This book could have been so much more, disappointing. Another book that covers much of this material at a more detailed level is Roger Penrose's "Search for Reality", and it straddles very precariously the line between general reader and quasi-textbook. Not recommended if you don't have much time. If you do, it could be a very first introduction/supplement to the topic, though there above mentioned alternative text will probably be a better bet.
Though the book summary mentions Emmy Noether, her theorems on conservation and the modern algebra that informed her pathbreaking work on symmetry scarcely makes approx. 1/6th of the material here. This should have easily made up the first half of the book. Especially if you also want to cover the interesting and sad life that brought her to America. The book does, but much of this is too short and I imagine the general reader's eye glazed when the author was explaining formal symmetry especially since very little if any of the group theory needed was totally omitted, even in concept. I was hoping to get some insight on a more detailed level about these topics, but unfortunately, the author's treatment is much closer to a Brian Greene layman book than an Anton Zeilinger layman book. Luckily, there are already 2 pretty good books on both Noether's life, "Emmy Noether: The Mother of Algebra" and theorems, "Emmy Noether's Wonderful Theorem", available on the mass market, a general reader could purchase if not satisfied or more curious about the foundations of this topic. These will surely be on my next-to-read list after not being satisfied by this text.
The rest of the book is meandering through symmetry in relation to spin from QM, cosmology, gravitation, etc., all of these topics could easily be their own 500-page mid-font layman book (and many already have such books printed on them). Yet, because the author chose to cover too much, all are treated at a very light level, and by this, I don't even mean to say it was conceptual. There are several conceptual physics books that are profound, like the above mentioned Zeilinger's "Dance of the Photons". But to get that profundity at a conceptual level one must focus much more and construct their narrative, as well as have a more organized pedagogical strategy of how they will deliver meaningful learning to the reader. Otherwise, your book quickly reduced itself to a facts book on a deep topic, much of which will not be retained by the average general reader.
This book could have been so much more, disappointing. Another book that covers much of this material at a more detailed level is Roger Penrose's "Search for Reality", and it straddles very precariously the line between general reader and quasi-textbook. Not recommended if you don't have much time. If you do, it could be a very first introduction/supplement to the topic, though there above mentioned alternative text will probably be a better bet.
May 10, 2020
Un des livres les plus légers et drôle que j’ai pu lire dans le genre, pourtant pas forcément très funky au premier abord, de la vulgarisation scientifique. Je n’ai jamais vu autant de références à la pop-culture sci-fi dans un livre du genre aussi, ce qui ne manque pas de me faire sourire. Le livre se concentre sur l’importance des symmetries en physique, ce qui change un peu des livres grand-publics habituels, et introduit à plusieurs concepts plus précis, comme le théorème de Noether, ou le spin des fermions. Il est aussi parcouru de diagrammes et images très bienvenues, le visuel étant parfois important pour comprendre certains mécanismes.
Dans l’ensemble, j’ai beaucoup apprécié ce livre, notamment parce qu’il apporte un nouveau point de vue sur des concepts que j’avais ou déjà voir dans d’autres livres, en les développant d’une nouvelle manière, et en introduisant d’autres thèmes qui m’étaient jusque là méconnus. Le lien entre symétrie et … Bien, pratiquement tout en fait, est très intéressant, et j’ai beaucoup aimé en apprendre plus sur ce sujet. A votre tour !
One of the lightest and funniest book I have read in the genre, yet not the most funky at first glance, of scientific popularisation. I have never seen that much references to pop-culture sci-fi in this kind of book either, which will always make me smile. The book focuses on the importance of symmetries in physics, which is a change from other popular books, and introduces to new, more precise concepts, such as Noether’s theorem or fermions spin. There are also lots of diagrams and drawings, most welcome for visual representations can be very useful to understand certain mechanisms.
As a whole, I really liked thus books, namely because it brings a new light on concepts I have already encountered before in other books, by developing them in a new way, and by introducing other themes that I know little about. The link between symmetries and … Well, almost everything in fact, is very interesting, and I liked being able to know more on this subject. Your turn now !
Dans l’ensemble, j’ai beaucoup apprécié ce livre, notamment parce qu’il apporte un nouveau point de vue sur des concepts que j’avais ou déjà voir dans d’autres livres, en les développant d’une nouvelle manière, et en introduisant d’autres thèmes qui m’étaient jusque là méconnus. Le lien entre symétrie et … Bien, pratiquement tout en fait, est très intéressant, et j’ai beaucoup aimé en apprendre plus sur ce sujet. A votre tour !
One of the lightest and funniest book I have read in the genre, yet not the most funky at first glance, of scientific popularisation. I have never seen that much references to pop-culture sci-fi in this kind of book either, which will always make me smile. The book focuses on the importance of symmetries in physics, which is a change from other popular books, and introduces to new, more precise concepts, such as Noether’s theorem or fermions spin. There are also lots of diagrams and drawings, most welcome for visual representations can be very useful to understand certain mechanisms.
As a whole, I really liked thus books, namely because it brings a new light on concepts I have already encountered before in other books, by developing them in a new way, and by introducing other themes that I know little about. The link between symmetries and … Well, almost everything in fact, is very interesting, and I liked being able to know more on this subject. Your turn now !
December 28, 2016
I originally found this book while searching for a reasonably good summary of Noether's Theorem, which has fascinated me for a few years. Strictly speaking, the subject of this book is not Noether's Theorem exactly, but rather the role of symmetries in governing the laws of the universe, writ large. (Noether's Theorem, approximately, states that every symmetry in the laws of physics yields a conserved quantity; for example, energy is conserved due to time symmetry.) The goal of the book seems to be to discuss the role of symmetry in physics, at a rather casual or informal level. Those who know a little physics, but not a lot, should feel more or less at home.
I think the goal was met maybe... two-thirds of the time. Especially in the early parts of the book, the discussion of anti-matter symmetry and so forth, was quite lucid and fascinating. Unfortunately, as we progressed into unification theories and categorization of sub-atomic particles, I was more and more lost. By the time we got around to discussing the classic experiments of quantum mechanics - which I recognized in the text despite the author's best efforts - I thought that the text rushed through the material at hand, and relied more and more on the reader's having already understood the background material. It made the discussion on spin feel rather... dizzying.
As regards Noether's theorem, I really wish that more attention had been paid to it. There's a good deal of background about the discoveries which paved the way for the theorem, about Noether's life, and so on. But there's very little explanation as to how the theorem itself was proved, or how it is that a given symmetry (such as time symmetry) yields another conserved quantity (energy). That is a failing of the book, though I suppose I have only myself to blame for not having picked up a book more specifically dedicated to the subject I wanted to learn, in the first place.
Though the discussion was rushed, I did enjoy learning about the various unification theories and sub-atomic particles that the book introduces. And I think the book reveals, and to some degree explains, a whole category of subjects which had previously been complete mysteries to me. So I appreciated that, and hope to read more about those subjects, some day.
I think the goal was met maybe... two-thirds of the time. Especially in the early parts of the book, the discussion of anti-matter symmetry and so forth, was quite lucid and fascinating. Unfortunately, as we progressed into unification theories and categorization of sub-atomic particles, I was more and more lost. By the time we got around to discussing the classic experiments of quantum mechanics - which I recognized in the text despite the author's best efforts - I thought that the text rushed through the material at hand, and relied more and more on the reader's having already understood the background material. It made the discussion on spin feel rather... dizzying.
As regards Noether's theorem, I really wish that more attention had been paid to it. There's a good deal of background about the discoveries which paved the way for the theorem, about Noether's life, and so on. But there's very little explanation as to how the theorem itself was proved, or how it is that a given symmetry (such as time symmetry) yields another conserved quantity (energy). That is a failing of the book, though I suppose I have only myself to blame for not having picked up a book more specifically dedicated to the subject I wanted to learn, in the first place.
Though the discussion was rushed, I did enjoy learning about the various unification theories and sub-atomic particles that the book introduces. And I think the book reveals, and to some degree explains, a whole category of subjects which had previously been complete mysteries to me. So I appreciated that, and hope to read more about those subjects, some day.
January 1, 2017
The Universe in the Rearview Mirror: How Hidden Symmetries Shape Reality was a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, Goldberg's writing style is inviting and entertaining, mixing jokes and pop-culture in the midst of complicated physics, which makes the book move along nicely. At the same time I can't quite figure out what, exactly, the book is trying to be. Is it an attempt to delve deeply into the physics of the universe from the perspective of the various symmetries that seem to be so deeply intertwined in it? Is it an attempt to make the discussion of these deep physics concepts accessible to everyone? It feels like it's an attempt to be both, and I think it fails at both for that reason. To be clear, I really enjoyed reading this, and it helped realign some of the questions that had been bouncing around in my head, and I absolutely recommend this book for anyone interested in physics and a stronger understanding of the universe as we know it, just don't be put off by the asymmetrical nature of the novel itself (ironically).
April 1, 2024
I approached this book with great excitement - I have an undergraduate science degree and have enjoyed many science/physics books written for the average reader in the (many) years since college. The book is not without merit, it simply did not catch on with me. Who doesn't love a bit of humor and self-deprecation? - but at times it seemed, with the associated footnotes, to become distracting; maybe 20% less would have made the book more readable. Too often I'd be following the explanation, and then some leap of logic, over too many steps for me to understand, would lead to a conclusion or change in direction that left me just reading words that no longer made sense. I appreciate the introduction to Emily Noether, and her theorem, but the need to relate every point to a symmetry forced the writing, I think, into channels that led to the lack of clarity. So, I respect that many have rated this book highly, but there will soon be another copy on the bookshelf of our local bookstore (lightly used) available for purchase.
May 16, 2023
Physics books for the layman walk a difficult path. Too complex and it misses the target audience, too simplistic and it’s essentially pointless.
This one manages to do both at the same time. There’s a lot of hand waving at concepts that are too difficult (‘don’t worry, physicists don’t fully understand it either, ‘or, ‘take my word for it’), but then a lot of over-explaining of simple concepts. Or, the meta observation from the author of ‘I know this theorem seems simple and obvious,’ answered by the ‘but trust me it’s not.’
Add to that a collection of diagrams that were never well-enough explained to clarify the point, or, following a theme here, were too simple to have merited inclusion.
Oh, and the humor definitely wears thin after a while. I was looking for a physicist book with a touch of light-hearted humor. Not a (second-rate) comedy act with a touch of physics.
Ultimately missed the mark.
This one manages to do both at the same time. There’s a lot of hand waving at concepts that are too difficult (‘don’t worry, physicists don’t fully understand it either, ‘or, ‘take my word for it’), but then a lot of over-explaining of simple concepts. Or, the meta observation from the author of ‘I know this theorem seems simple and obvious,’ answered by the ‘but trust me it’s not.’
Add to that a collection of diagrams that were never well-enough explained to clarify the point, or, following a theme here, were too simple to have merited inclusion.
Oh, and the humor definitely wears thin after a while. I was looking for a physicist book with a touch of light-hearted humor. Not a (second-rate) comedy act with a touch of physics.
Ultimately missed the mark.
November 4, 2019
“Under most circumstances, carbon-14 behaves just like ordinary carbon. Plants can take it in during their respiration. We eat plants, and it becomes part of us. Mufasa looks on approvingly.”
This novel was full of quirky bits like this that made me giggle and broke up some of the relatively dry subject matter. I really enjoyed each chapter as they touched on something different in the physics community and how it related to symmetry.
I don’t know how much information my brain actually absorbed (because let’s be honest there was a lot) but I really enjoyed the ride! The author’s writing style allowed me to break off chunks that were a bit easier to chew.
I now need to read more about black holes, anti matter, and Emmy Noether.
This novel was full of quirky bits like this that made me giggle and broke up some of the relatively dry subject matter. I really enjoyed each chapter as they touched on something different in the physics community and how it related to symmetry.
I don’t know how much information my brain actually absorbed (because let’s be honest there was a lot) but I really enjoyed the ride! The author’s writing style allowed me to break off chunks that were a bit easier to chew.
I now need to read more about black holes, anti matter, and Emmy Noether.
May 1, 2018
3.5, bumped to a 4. Some real awful jokes and unnecessary footnotes; I love how in the acknowledgements at the end of the book, he thanks his editors for cutting some even-worse jokes!
In any case, it gets really complicated near the end, and I struggles to keep up with it until I just gave up and let all the muons and fermions and bosons wash over me. This is definitely not a simple topic to translate for lay-people, even someone like me who's always been interested in astro-physics. A good effort.
In any case, it gets really complicated near the end, and I struggles to keep up with it until I just gave up and let all the muons and fermions and bosons wash over me. This is definitely not a simple topic to translate for lay-people, even someone like me who's always been interested in astro-physics. A good effort.
September 2, 2022
“The laws of the universe are symmetric, but once we introduce the demon of randomness, the results of those laws, the universe we see around us, are most definitely not going to appear symmetric”
This book was just kinda meh for me. I was hoping it would be kind of different. I enjoyed a lot of the pieces, but it was not my favorite thing overall if I’m being honest
I wish it would have been a little bit better. A lot of it was written in analogies, and that was really difficult for me to understand. Hopefully, my next book will be a better read.
This book was just kinda meh for me. I was hoping it would be kind of different. I enjoyed a lot of the pieces, but it was not my favorite thing overall if I’m being honest
I wish it would have been a little bit better. A lot of it was written in analogies, and that was really difficult for me to understand. Hopefully, my next book will be a better read.
May 9, 2023
The book does a good job clearly explaining a complex part of physics (one that is typically neglected in popular science media). However, the incessant poor jokes and pop culture references make it annoying to get through. And though it's only a short section, Goldberg's portrayal of heliocentrism and Christianity doesn't accurately reflect the historical events. He also seems to have some grudge against Aristotle, which is odd seeing how he's arguably the founder of physics as a science.
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