What do you think?
Rate this book
The New Ambidexterous Universe : Symmetry and Asymmetry from Mirror Reflections to Superstrings - Revised Edition
Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso
Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
11 people are currently reading
376 people want to read
About the author
Martin Gardner
493 books503 followersMartin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature (especially the writings of Lewis Carroll), philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion. He wrote the Mathematical Games column in Scientific American from 1956 to 1981, and published over 70 books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 4, 2015
Martin Gardner is probably best known for his column in Scientific American and his popular and recreational books on mathematics. The Ambidextrous Universe was first published in 1964, somewhat revised in 1979, and more thoroughly revised in 1990 under the title The New Ambidextrous Universe (the subtitles were also different). This is a Dover reprint of that 1990 book with a couple pages of added notes at the end from 2005. The history is somewhat too apparent as some chapters seem to reflect the state of physics in the '60s, others in the '70s and there is some material obviously added in 1990. The title itself is somewhat misleading, as this is a book about why the universe is now considered NOT to be "ambidextrous", that is about the discovery of various forms of asymmetry in particle physics (although he alludes to attempts to restore symmetry in the unified theories). It is written at a popular level, with almost no mathematics -- which makes it difficult to understand some of the more advanced ideas which are totally mathematical. This may be unavoidable in a popular book about these topics -- as a minor in math who tutors math, I probably have more mathematics than 95% of the general population, enough to handle most of classical physics and much of relativity, but I would be way over my head in the math of quantum theory, not to mention superstrings.
The book is structured around the concept of symmetry; it begins with mirrors and throughout there are examples taken from mirrors, card tricks, rope and knot tricks and similar things -- Gardner was also an amateur magician. It has a chapter on symmetry in art, music and literature, and chapters on stereoisomers in chemistry and amino acids in biology, and there are allusions throughout the book to various areas of non-scientific endeavor; in the breadth of the discussion it reminded me of Hofstadter's G��del, Escher, Bach. The main emphasis though is on particle theory, specifically the discovery of the asymmetry in the weak interactions. There is very little on cosmogony, which is the subject I am reading about this month, but the background was useful.
The book is structured around the concept of symmetry; it begins with mirrors and throughout there are examples taken from mirrors, card tricks, rope and knot tricks and similar things -- Gardner was also an amateur magician. It has a chapter on symmetry in art, music and literature, and chapters on stereoisomers in chemistry and amino acids in biology, and there are allusions throughout the book to various areas of non-scientific endeavor; in the breadth of the discussion it reminded me of Hofstadter's G��del, Escher, Bach. The main emphasis though is on particle theory, specifically the discovery of the asymmetry in the weak interactions. There is very little on cosmogony, which is the subject I am reading about this month, but the background was useful.
July 8, 2015
This document is intended to dealing symmetry.
The body of the climax is the symmetry breaking .
This is the breakthrough discovery of the 20th century quantum mechanics.
Other symmetry interesting topic is packed.
The body of the climax is the symmetry breaking .
This is the breakthrough discovery of the 20th century quantum mechanics.
Other symmetry interesting topic is packed.
September 5, 2022
In his expositions on science and mathematics, Martin Gardner blends entertaining puzzles, insightful diagrams and descriptions, with historical stories and insight. His works are always entertaining AND include significant background literature. In this book Gardner examines the concept of symmetry (a core mathematical concept) and asks, "Does the universe have symmetry?" The answer is a qualified "Yes, but..." as physicists seek to understand chirality ("left-handness" vs "right-handness") in chemical molecules and similar "parity" questions in the basic laws of physics. At each turn, the universe seems more complicated than previously believed, with deeper and deeper questions following each discovery.
The book begins with some basic questions about symmetry (look in the mirror!) and describes some of the mathematical and artistic questions that follow it. (From my own point of view, symmetries always give us a mathematical *group*; group theory in higher algebra is indeed an abstract study of symmetry.) The book examines the Ozma problem: How would you define "left" vs. "right" to an alien intelligence who has no common reference frame with you? Surely the universe does not have such a reference frame; in physics terms, "parity is conserved". Yet, in 1956, a physics experiment by Chien-Shiung Wu showed that parity was NOT conserved by the weak force! So the weak force is intrinsically antisymmetric!
In 34 chapters, Gardner explores the world of symmetry, through geometry, art, biology, chemistry and the standard model of physics, eventually ending up at the concept of superstrings. Although there is a great deal of material covered, the exposition is always clear and precise, combined with insightful analogies and drawings. Anyone interested in physics or general science should enjoy this book!
The book begins with some basic questions about symmetry (look in the mirror!) and describes some of the mathematical and artistic questions that follow it. (From my own point of view, symmetries always give us a mathematical *group*; group theory in higher algebra is indeed an abstract study of symmetry.) The book examines the Ozma problem: How would you define "left" vs. "right" to an alien intelligence who has no common reference frame with you? Surely the universe does not have such a reference frame; in physics terms, "parity is conserved". Yet, in 1956, a physics experiment by Chien-Shiung Wu showed that parity was NOT conserved by the weak force! So the weak force is intrinsically antisymmetric!
In 34 chapters, Gardner explores the world of symmetry, through geometry, art, biology, chemistry and the standard model of physics, eventually ending up at the concept of superstrings. Although there is a great deal of material covered, the exposition is always clear and precise, combined with insightful analogies and drawings. Anyone interested in physics or general science should enjoy this book!
Want to read
December 1, 2023Como nota historica: se afirma que en algunas pruebas, el efecto de Coriolis puede ser detectado en tubos de drenaje.
En 1962, Shapiro, realizando experimentos con un tubo circular, encontro una "variacion"? circular y lo atribuyo al efecto
de Coriolis. Otro autor, Sibulkin, en "A note on the bathtub vortex" no pudo confirmar el experimento de Shapiro, ya que
Sibulkin usó un tubo muy pequeño.
Para vortices en bañeras, la pregunta sigue siendo controversial.
En 1962, Shapiro, realizando experimentos con un tubo circular, encontro una "variacion"? circular y lo atribuyo al efecto
de Coriolis. Otro autor, Sibulkin, en "A note on the bathtub vortex" no pudo confirmar el experimento de Shapiro, ya que
Sibulkin usó un tubo muy pequeño.
Para vortices en bañeras, la pregunta sigue siendo controversial.
September 2, 2012
Interesante libro. Empieza con un promisorio capítulo sobre espejos y va ampliando y expandiendo la idea de la simetría (o su ruptura) en otros ámbitos, incluso la música, la vida y el universo. A pesar del orden impuesto a los capítulos y el esfuerzo de continuidad, no tiene una estructura orgánica que lleve a una conclusión global sobre la simetría. Es más un acumulado erudito, ordenado e interesante de muchos temas donde la simetría esta inmiscuida o es crucial. No todos los libros de ciencia pueden ser "Godel, Escher, Bach". Pero el libro es divertido. Gardner es excelente en explicar una idea potencialmente enredada de una manera luminosa y clara.
Me atrajeron las menciones literarias. Luego del enlace semi-consciente de Ada (Nabokov) con Grandes Esperanzas (leído días antes de este libro y reseñado el mismo día), me encuentro de nuevo con Ada (qué nombre simétrico!) en este otro universo. Además de tropezarme deliciosamente con Arthur Clark o con Alicia (en un espejo empieza toda idea de simetría y asimetría, verdad?).
Me atrajeron las menciones literarias. Luego del enlace semi-consciente de Ada (Nabokov) con Grandes Esperanzas (leído días antes de este libro y reseñado el mismo día), me encuentro de nuevo con Ada (qué nombre simétrico!) en este otro universo. Además de tropezarme deliciosamente con Arthur Clark o con Alicia (en un espejo empieza toda idea de simetría y asimetría, verdad?).
November 21, 2012
Excellent book. I see why it was nominated as one of the New Scientist 25 Most Influential Popular Science books. I have long counted Gardner's Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science as one of the most influential science books I have read and this is as excellent in a different way.
Covering symmetry and parity from biological to cosmological to quantum scales, Gardner is at his typical best in summarizing broad subjects and tantalizing the reader with intriguing depths. How he managed to find all those sources throughout his entire writing career amazes me. Find and digest. Without benefit of electronic searches. Wow. And to boil down the complexities into a readable form. I think the only people who don't miss him are the pseudoscientiists.
Covering symmetry and parity from biological to cosmological to quantum scales, Gardner is at his typical best in summarizing broad subjects and tantalizing the reader with intriguing depths. How he managed to find all those sources throughout his entire writing career amazes me. Find and digest. Without benefit of electronic searches. Wow. And to boil down the complexities into a readable form. I think the only people who don't miss him are the pseudoscientiists.
January 14, 2010
" An impressive treatise on symmetry"
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews