What do you think?
Rate this book
What Einstein Got Wrong
Description from Website:
He was the quintessential genius whose brainpower rewrote the laws of the universe. Albert Einstein may have died decades ago, but his immense legacy continues. Who has not heard of Einstein’s theory of relativity, which revolutionized our understanding of space, time, and matter? His other discoveries are themselves titanic achievements that on their own would have made him a famous scientist.
But Einstein was not infallible. He rejected the possibility of black holes, and he was reluctant to accept the concept of an expanding universe or that gravity waves might exist. All are predicted by his general theory of relativity, and all have been well confirmed by observations. Furthermore, he was practically alone among his peers in resisting the startling implications of quantum mechanics—a theory that he helped found and whose strange picture of reality has been verified in experiment after experiment.
In other words, what Einstein got wrong includes some of the most exciting science of our time.
In a course aimed at the scientifically curious at all levels, What Einstein Got Wrong focuses on the great scientist’s mistakes as a window into his mind—his thought processes, prejudices, and philosophical outlook. Studying Einstein’s errors may well be the best way of getting inside the head of this incomparable and enigmatic thinker, who was so influential that Time magazine named him the Person of the Century in 1999.
Your professor on this thrilling intellectual journey is Dr. Dan Hooper, a researcher at the forefront of physics and a popular author and speaker on particle physics and cosmology. Dr. Hooper is Senior Scientist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and Associate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.
In twelve half-hour lectures, Dr. Hooper discusses Einstein’s ideas—right and wrong—using minimal mathematics, so it’s accessible to curious minds everywhere. Those new to Einstein’s ideas will find What Einstein Got Wrong an excellent survey of the full scope of the master’s work, while those more experienced with physics and relativity will relish Dr. Hooper’s insights into Einstein’s legacy in modern physics, which lives on in myriad ways. Even Einstein’s mistakes inspired others along productive paths.
Einstein Invents Relativity but Doesn’t Fully Buy It
You begin with a two-lecture review of what Einstein got spectacularly right, notably his special and general theories of relativity. Proposed in 1905, special relativity introduced such concepts as the constancy of the speed of light, the relativity of simultaneity, time dilation, and the equivalence of mass and energy. General relativity, published a decade later, greatly enlarged the scope of special relativity by incorporating gravity, which Einstein showed is a geometric property of space and time.
Special relativity created a sensation among Einstein’s fellow scientists, but general relativity made him world-famous, giving him a reputation as a scientific magician. That reputation stuck, and only his colleagues appreciated the setbacks that dogged him throughout his career as he struggled to develop and interpret his theories:
The relativity race: Einstein had the conceptual pieces of general relativity in place long before he worked out the mathematical details. Unwittingly abandoning a promising path to a definitive theory, he suddenly discovered he was in a race with the world’s foremost mathematician, who was working on his own formulation of general relativity. Einstein barely won.
Black holes banned: The first meaningful solution to Einstein’s equations of general relativity were worked out by mathematician Karl Schwarzschild, whose calculations showed the possibility of infinitely dense objects, later dubbed black holes. Einstein held that natural forces would prevent such bizarre phenomena, and his influence long persuaded other physicists that black holes were impossible.
His “biggest blunder”: Convinced that the universe is static and eternal, Einstein added a cosmological constant to his formula for general relativity to forestall the instability his theory predicted. When astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding—that is, it’s unstable—Einstein reportedly called the constant his “biggest blunder.”
Einstein Fights the Quantum Revolution
Along with relativity, the other great revolution in physics in the 20th century was quantum mechanics. Einstein led the way here too, by proving the particle nature of light and that atoms really exist. As with relativity, he was wary of accepting the full implications of the developing theory:
“God does not play dice”: Experiments showed that matter behaves very strangely at the quantum scale. Einstein’s friend Max Born proposed that the traditional view of cause and effect does not apply in quantum mechanics, where interactions can only be understood in terms of probabilities. Einstein dismissed this view with the remark, “God does not play dice with the universe.”
Schrödinger's cat: Working with colleagues Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, Einstein devised a thought experiment that showed an apparent impossibility in a quantum state later called entanglement. This was the inspiration for Erwin Schrödinger's famous paradox involving a cat that is simultaneously dead and alive. But impossible or not, entanglement turns out to be real.
Unified field theory: Inspired by James Clerk Maxwell’s unification of electrical and magnetic phenomena in a single theory called electromagnetism, Einstein sought to do the same for electromagnetism and relativity. His hope was that this “unified field theory” would restore determinism and scientific realism to the quantum world. But his labors were fruitless.
Dr. Hooper stresses that Einstein’s miscalculations, oversights, and false leads do not detract from his greatness. In the final lecture, he points out how missteps also plagued the careers of Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton—three other indisputable giants in the history of science.
Indeed, mistakes are fundamental to scientific progress. One of Einstein’s colleagues at Princeton University, the physicist John Wheeler, observed that “our whole problem is to make mistakes as fast possible.” Only by priming the pump with theories that can be tested against evidence do we advance closer to the truth, throwing out the bad theories and improving the good. The beauty of science is not that it is infallible but that it corrects its mistakes. Einstein was a ceaselessly creative participant in this process, as you learn in What Einstein Got Wrong.
He was the quintessential genius whose brainpower rewrote the laws of the universe. Albert Einstein may have died decades ago, but his immense legacy continues. Who has not heard of Einstein’s theory of relativity, which revolutionized our understanding of space, time, and matter? His other discoveries are themselves titanic achievements that on their own would have made him a famous scientist.
But Einstein was not infallible. He rejected the possibility of black holes, and he was reluctant to accept the concept of an expanding universe or that gravity waves might exist. All are predicted by his general theory of relativity, and all have been well confirmed by observations. Furthermore, he was practically alone among his peers in resisting the startling implications of quantum mechanics—a theory that he helped found and whose strange picture of reality has been verified in experiment after experiment.
In other words, what Einstein got wrong includes some of the most exciting science of our time.
In a course aimed at the scientifically curious at all levels, What Einstein Got Wrong focuses on the great scientist’s mistakes as a window into his mind—his thought processes, prejudices, and philosophical outlook. Studying Einstein’s errors may well be the best way of getting inside the head of this incomparable and enigmatic thinker, who was so influential that Time magazine named him the Person of the Century in 1999.
Your professor on this thrilling intellectual journey is Dr. Dan Hooper, a researcher at the forefront of physics and a popular author and speaker on particle physics and cosmology. Dr. Hooper is Senior Scientist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and Associate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.
In twelve half-hour lectures, Dr. Hooper discusses Einstein’s ideas—right and wrong—using minimal mathematics, so it’s accessible to curious minds everywhere. Those new to Einstein’s ideas will find What Einstein Got Wrong an excellent survey of the full scope of the master’s work, while those more experienced with physics and relativity will relish Dr. Hooper’s insights into Einstein’s legacy in modern physics, which lives on in myriad ways. Even Einstein’s mistakes inspired others along productive paths.
Einstein Invents Relativity but Doesn’t Fully Buy It
You begin with a two-lecture review of what Einstein got spectacularly right, notably his special and general theories of relativity. Proposed in 1905, special relativity introduced such concepts as the constancy of the speed of light, the relativity of simultaneity, time dilation, and the equivalence of mass and energy. General relativity, published a decade later, greatly enlarged the scope of special relativity by incorporating gravity, which Einstein showed is a geometric property of space and time.
Special relativity created a sensation among Einstein’s fellow scientists, but general relativity made him world-famous, giving him a reputation as a scientific magician. That reputation stuck, and only his colleagues appreciated the setbacks that dogged him throughout his career as he struggled to develop and interpret his theories:
The relativity race: Einstein had the conceptual pieces of general relativity in place long before he worked out the mathematical details. Unwittingly abandoning a promising path to a definitive theory, he suddenly discovered he was in a race with the world’s foremost mathematician, who was working on his own formulation of general relativity. Einstein barely won.
Black holes banned: The first meaningful solution to Einstein’s equations of general relativity were worked out by mathematician Karl Schwarzschild, whose calculations showed the possibility of infinitely dense objects, later dubbed black holes. Einstein held that natural forces would prevent such bizarre phenomena, and his influence long persuaded other physicists that black holes were impossible.
His “biggest blunder”: Convinced that the universe is static and eternal, Einstein added a cosmological constant to his formula for general relativity to forestall the instability his theory predicted. When astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding—that is, it’s unstable—Einstein reportedly called the constant his “biggest blunder.”
Einstein Fights the Quantum Revolution
Along with relativity, the other great revolution in physics in the 20th century was quantum mechanics. Einstein led the way here too, by proving the particle nature of light and that atoms really exist. As with relativity, he was wary of accepting the full implications of the developing theory:
“God does not play dice”: Experiments showed that matter behaves very strangely at the quantum scale. Einstein’s friend Max Born proposed that the traditional view of cause and effect does not apply in quantum mechanics, where interactions can only be understood in terms of probabilities. Einstein dismissed this view with the remark, “God does not play dice with the universe.”
Schrödinger's cat: Working with colleagues Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, Einstein devised a thought experiment that showed an apparent impossibility in a quantum state later called entanglement. This was the inspiration for Erwin Schrödinger's famous paradox involving a cat that is simultaneously dead and alive. But impossible or not, entanglement turns out to be real.
Unified field theory: Inspired by James Clerk Maxwell’s unification of electrical and magnetic phenomena in a single theory called electromagnetism, Einstein sought to do the same for electromagnetism and relativity. His hope was that this “unified field theory” would restore determinism and scientific realism to the quantum world. But his labors were fruitless.
Dr. Hooper stresses that Einstein’s miscalculations, oversights, and false leads do not detract from his greatness. In the final lecture, he points out how missteps also plagued the careers of Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton—three other indisputable giants in the history of science.
Indeed, mistakes are fundamental to scientific progress. One of Einstein’s colleagues at Princeton University, the physicist John Wheeler, observed that “our whole problem is to make mistakes as fast possible.” Only by priming the pump with theories that can be tested against evidence do we advance closer to the truth, throwing out the bad theories and improving the good. The beauty of science is not that it is infallible but that it corrects its mistakes. Einstein was a ceaselessly creative participant in this process, as you learn in What Einstein Got Wrong.
6 pages, Audible Audio
First published December 8, 2017
2 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Dan Hooper
9 books27 followersDaniel Wayne Hooper is an American cosmologist and particle physicist specializing in the areas of dark matter, cosmic rays, and neutrino astrophysics.
He is a Senior Scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and an Associate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.
Hooper received his PhD in physics in 2003 from the University of Wisconsin, under the supervision of Francis Halzen. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford between 2003 and 2005, and the David Schramm Fellow at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) from 2005 until 2007.
He is a Senior Scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and an Associate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.
Hooper received his PhD in physics in 2003 from the University of Wisconsin, under the supervision of Francis Halzen. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford between 2003 and 2005, and the David Schramm Fellow at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) from 2005 until 2007.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
June 7, 2019
The title is catchy, if a bit misleading. Hooper gives us the full “universe” of Einstein’s thoughts, theories and professional disagreements as well as a very condensed but helpful view of astrophysics in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Though a number of my GR friends are beyond these lectures (which are for the lay person), I found them very helpful and well presented. Hooper takes us through relativity, cosmology, quantum mechanics and other topics with a measured pace and plenty of helpful analogies. Take a look at the curriculum and decide if you are interested.
Lecture 1 » What Einstein Got Right: Special Relativity . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 2 » What Einstein Got Right: General Relativity . . . . . . . .
Lecture 3 » Einstein’s Rejection of Black Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 4 » Einstein and Gravitational Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 5 » Cosmology and the Cosmological Constant . . . . . . .
Lecture 6 » The Cosmological Constant and Dark Energy . . . . . .
Lecture 7 » What Einstein Got Right: Light Quanta . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 8 » Does God Play Dice with the Universe? . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 9 » Quantum Entanglement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 10 » The Search for a Unified Field Theory . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 11 » Problems with Time Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 12 » What Other Giants Got Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Though a number of my GR friends are beyond these lectures (which are for the lay person), I found them very helpful and well presented. Hooper takes us through relativity, cosmology, quantum mechanics and other topics with a measured pace and plenty of helpful analogies. Take a look at the curriculum and decide if you are interested.
Lecture 1 » What Einstein Got Right: Special Relativity . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 2 » What Einstein Got Right: General Relativity . . . . . . . .
Lecture 3 » Einstein’s Rejection of Black Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 4 » Einstein and Gravitational Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 5 » Cosmology and the Cosmological Constant . . . . . . .
Lecture 6 » The Cosmological Constant and Dark Energy . . . . . .
Lecture 7 » What Einstein Got Right: Light Quanta . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 8 » Does God Play Dice with the Universe? . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 9 » Quantum Entanglement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 10 » The Search for a Unified Field Theory . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 11 » Problems with Time Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lecture 12 » What Other Giants Got Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
April 25, 2020
Another walk-the-dog audiobooks. This was a Great courses lecture series. Fascinating. I still don't understand all that was talked about. The lectures explain the important works of Einstein and also how soe of his ideas were wrong. The great Einstein applied classical physics and didn't totally buy into quantum physics and this may have clouded his judgement on many ideas. Overall this was interesting and kept me occupied over several dog walks, gardening chores, and my annual spraying of the house perimeter for ants. If you are scientifically oriented you wold enjoy this as the lecturer is very intelligent and a good speaker.
April 14, 2019
I listened to these lectures more to understand Einstein better than to learn about what he got wrong (the title of the lecture series).
The discussion of gravity is not clear in one respect. With Einstein, it’s said that gravity is not a force, but a consequence of geometry (large masses depress space-time and straight-line movement of smaller masses follow the space-time curvature), but it doesn’t help that Hooper still says that for Einstein “gravity was not merely a force” and that he references the “contracting force of gravity.” Gravity is also said to be an “attractive force” (two bodies attract each other), but the lecturer discusses inertial mass that resists acceleration by a body that acts on it via attraction. If mass both acts on and resists other masses, this seems counter to, or the flip side of, gravity as an attractive force.
Hooper does an excellent job in his description of how mass is converted to energy. When we look toward the sun, we are seeing Einstein’s formula in action. It is converting mass into energy via nuclear fusion (the transformation of hydrogen into helium nuclei that destroys a “small fraction of the star’s mass and steadily releases a great deal of energy in its place”). The sun and stars are in a “constant balance between the contracting force of gravity and the outward pressure of nuclear fusion.” (If gravity pulls (contracts-compacts energy), then is the release of energy (movement outward via radiation), acceleration?) This balancing act breaks down with neutron stars that, void of the repelling force of protons and electrons, “can be compressed into ridiculously small volumes of space and reach unimaginably high densities.” Beyond the neutron star, the collapsing continues, resulting in a black hole.
Hooper says that “When cosmologists talk about expanding space, they aren’t talking about galaxies or other objects moving into some previously unoccupied space. Instead, they are talking about the space itself becoming larger with time.” I understand that, but it also begs the question: If space-time becomes larger, what is beyond it?
Regarding dark energy’s “repulsive force,” Hooper states that “something is actively propelling the expansion of our universe. Something is acting against the force of gravity, pulling our universe apart.” If energy moves outward from the big bang, does its subsequent dissipation escape gravitational forces and thereby allow an unimpeded, infinite expansion? Or, per Einstein’s theory of general relativity, is there something out there beyond space-time that pulls the geometry of space-time (but of course Hooper states that space is created and does not pre-exist)?
It is confusing when Hooper states that “dark energy was discovered” when it is a largely a mystery as to what it is or isn’t. It is also confusing when he refers to “empty space” yet writes that “empty space itself contains a fixed density of dark energy” and, later, states that “The vast majority of the universe’s volume is nearly empty, with very low densities of matter and other energy.” Also, if energy has mass and mass converts to radiated energy, then wouldn’t energy be the single substance with its two components being mass and light? Under the search for a unified field theory, it’s said that the basic challenge is that “general relativity is a theory of geometry while electromagnetism is not.” Hooper said the search is on for a quantum theory of gravity to unite these two fields but Hooper doesn’t really explain for the lay listener why electromagnetism (what happens at the micro scale) is inherently in conflict with gravity (what happens at the macro scale), i.e., doesn’t gravity act on energy-mass combos formed at the micro level?
Hooper mentions in passing that, much as Darwin did with Wallace, Einstein found himself in competition with David Hilbert, to be the first to publish his theory (either the general theory of relativity or the special theory of relativity; I forgot which and Hooper does not cover this in his lecture notes). This is the first I heard about that.
The discussion of gravity is not clear in one respect. With Einstein, it’s said that gravity is not a force, but a consequence of geometry (large masses depress space-time and straight-line movement of smaller masses follow the space-time curvature), but it doesn’t help that Hooper still says that for Einstein “gravity was not merely a force” and that he references the “contracting force of gravity.” Gravity is also said to be an “attractive force” (two bodies attract each other), but the lecturer discusses inertial mass that resists acceleration by a body that acts on it via attraction. If mass both acts on and resists other masses, this seems counter to, or the flip side of, gravity as an attractive force.
Hooper does an excellent job in his description of how mass is converted to energy. When we look toward the sun, we are seeing Einstein’s formula in action. It is converting mass into energy via nuclear fusion (the transformation of hydrogen into helium nuclei that destroys a “small fraction of the star’s mass and steadily releases a great deal of energy in its place”). The sun and stars are in a “constant balance between the contracting force of gravity and the outward pressure of nuclear fusion.” (If gravity pulls (contracts-compacts energy), then is the release of energy (movement outward via radiation), acceleration?) This balancing act breaks down with neutron stars that, void of the repelling force of protons and electrons, “can be compressed into ridiculously small volumes of space and reach unimaginably high densities.” Beyond the neutron star, the collapsing continues, resulting in a black hole.
Hooper says that “When cosmologists talk about expanding space, they aren’t talking about galaxies or other objects moving into some previously unoccupied space. Instead, they are talking about the space itself becoming larger with time.” I understand that, but it also begs the question: If space-time becomes larger, what is beyond it?
Regarding dark energy’s “repulsive force,” Hooper states that “something is actively propelling the expansion of our universe. Something is acting against the force of gravity, pulling our universe apart.” If energy moves outward from the big bang, does its subsequent dissipation escape gravitational forces and thereby allow an unimpeded, infinite expansion? Or, per Einstein’s theory of general relativity, is there something out there beyond space-time that pulls the geometry of space-time (but of course Hooper states that space is created and does not pre-exist)?
It is confusing when Hooper states that “dark energy was discovered” when it is a largely a mystery as to what it is or isn’t. It is also confusing when he refers to “empty space” yet writes that “empty space itself contains a fixed density of dark energy” and, later, states that “The vast majority of the universe’s volume is nearly empty, with very low densities of matter and other energy.” Also, if energy has mass and mass converts to radiated energy, then wouldn’t energy be the single substance with its two components being mass and light? Under the search for a unified field theory, it’s said that the basic challenge is that “general relativity is a theory of geometry while electromagnetism is not.” Hooper said the search is on for a quantum theory of gravity to unite these two fields but Hooper doesn’t really explain for the lay listener why electromagnetism (what happens at the micro scale) is inherently in conflict with gravity (what happens at the macro scale), i.e., doesn’t gravity act on energy-mass combos formed at the micro level?
Hooper mentions in passing that, much as Darwin did with Wallace, Einstein found himself in competition with David Hilbert, to be the first to publish his theory (either the general theory of relativity or the special theory of relativity; I forgot which and Hooper does not cover this in his lecture notes). This is the first I heard about that.
Currently reading
June 1, 2025idk what funner, me not knowing anything about Einstein theories or me NOT EVEN LIKING SCIENCE but I declined to listen to this
December 14, 2020
This is a disappointing installment of “The Great Courses” series on physics. After reading/listening to Sean Carroll’s excellent short course on the Higgs Boson, I was looking forward to another well-crafted short-course. Being interested in quantum mechanics (QM) and it’s subsequent successor theories, like quantum field theory (QFT), as well as it’s precursor theories, a text on “what Einstein got wrong” is immediately appealing as not only was he one of the contributors to the founding of the quantum theory via his re-discovery of Brownian motion, but his dialogue with the likes of Bohr and Heisenberg are epic, and would serve as great intellectual background to discuss these notions more in depth.
Unfortunately, this book is only partially about quantum mechanics or it’s related subject-matters, and much of the text covers ground that has been well-tread, making the unique contributions from this product niil. It is a bit unfair to blame the author of this course entirely on this point, because Einstein is such a titanic figure, and there have been so many books written on him, from the technical treatment to the popular more biographically-focused ones, like Isaacson’s book published 5 years ago. However, on the flip side, if one is going to attempt to add something to the corpus, one knows what one is getting into, and so here I can fault Dan Hopper for delivering us more (mostly) pop-sci stuff.
Hopper goes through all of standard topics for Einstein’s contributions, both relativities, QM, his travails attempting craft a unified field theory (UFT), and the associated pathologies/oddities for each of those topics, which include black holes, entanglement, the nature of the wave and the issues surrounding the Copenhagen Interpretation, with the Born Rule in particular, and of course “time travel”, more specifically Godel’s cylindrical time model and a very brief tour on inconsistencies formed by “time travel” like the “grandfather's paradox”. It’s not that there are literally half a dozen layman books on each of these topics, that cover them well already, or that any standard text dealing with Einstein will also have covered most of these topics as well, that disappoints the most, it’s that this short-course could have gone much more in depth and maybe tried to provide some functional knowledge in at least some of them, but didn’t. So there is lost opportunity here.
Overall, the course is too broad to be a meaningful addition to the already crowded market of “Einstein” books/products already out there. Not recommended (unless it’s dirt cheap and you have extra time to waste on ancillary material).
Unfortunately, this book is only partially about quantum mechanics or it’s related subject-matters, and much of the text covers ground that has been well-tread, making the unique contributions from this product niil. It is a bit unfair to blame the author of this course entirely on this point, because Einstein is such a titanic figure, and there have been so many books written on him, from the technical treatment to the popular more biographically-focused ones, like Isaacson’s book published 5 years ago. However, on the flip side, if one is going to attempt to add something to the corpus, one knows what one is getting into, and so here I can fault Dan Hopper for delivering us more (mostly) pop-sci stuff.
Hopper goes through all of standard topics for Einstein’s contributions, both relativities, QM, his travails attempting craft a unified field theory (UFT), and the associated pathologies/oddities for each of those topics, which include black holes, entanglement, the nature of the wave and the issues surrounding the Copenhagen Interpretation, with the Born Rule in particular, and of course “time travel”, more specifically Godel’s cylindrical time model and a very brief tour on inconsistencies formed by “time travel” like the “grandfather's paradox”. It’s not that there are literally half a dozen layman books on each of these topics, that cover them well already, or that any standard text dealing with Einstein will also have covered most of these topics as well, that disappoints the most, it’s that this short-course could have gone much more in depth and maybe tried to provide some functional knowledge in at least some of them, but didn’t. So there is lost opportunity here.
Overall, the course is too broad to be a meaningful addition to the already crowded market of “Einstein” books/products already out there. Not recommended (unless it’s dirt cheap and you have extra time to waste on ancillary material).
December 1, 2020
An average ~2.5-3 Great Course, revolving around astrophysics concepts and analyzing/critiquing Albert Einstein.
I found it amusing the Dr. Hooper went out of his way to make a great course on things that Einstein 'got wrong' and also being overly critical about other things Einstein did such as his interactions with news media. What makes me laugh the most, is literally within the name itself... it is a theory... not an absolute....
Anyway, Dr. Hooper tries to cover his tracks with a statement about showing the imperfections and flaws in heroes/celebrities to inspire young people to pursue greatness and not be afraid of failure. If this is genuinely his honest agenda for this, great... but it does feel rather silly most of the time by criticizing someone who did so much in a time without the availability of the technology and information we have today. I mean, this could be a never ending series with... "What Hippocrates got wrong!" so on and so forth...
Astrophysics concepts covered within this:
- Black holes
- Expanding universe
- Speed of light
- Special Theory of Relativity
- General Theory of Relativity
- Some quantum
- Of course it should go without saying, the mandatory section of Schrodinger's Cat
- A dash of Time Travel
Taking this light heartedly and also the fact that it is probably one of the shortest Great Courses at only 5 hours 45 minutes,... is probably one of its greatest strengths.
I would only recommend this if you enjoy astrophysics material and you are looking for something light/casual.
I found it amusing the Dr. Hooper went out of his way to make a great course on things that Einstein 'got wrong' and also being overly critical about other things Einstein did such as his interactions with news media. What makes me laugh the most, is literally within the name itself... it is a theory... not an absolute....
Anyway, Dr. Hooper tries to cover his tracks with a statement about showing the imperfections and flaws in heroes/celebrities to inspire young people to pursue greatness and not be afraid of failure. If this is genuinely his honest agenda for this, great... but it does feel rather silly most of the time by criticizing someone who did so much in a time without the availability of the technology and information we have today. I mean, this could be a never ending series with... "What Hippocrates got wrong!" so on and so forth...
Astrophysics concepts covered within this:
- Black holes
- Expanding universe
- Speed of light
- Special Theory of Relativity
- General Theory of Relativity
- Some quantum
- Of course it should go without saying, the mandatory section of Schrodinger's Cat
- A dash of Time Travel
Taking this light heartedly and also the fact that it is probably one of the shortest Great Courses at only 5 hours 45 minutes,... is probably one of its greatest strengths.
I would only recommend this if you enjoy astrophysics material and you are looking for something light/casual.
November 13, 2019
This is a Great Courses summary of the discoveries of Albert Einstein. The title is meant to be provocative, but in fact, Einstein is presented respectfully and praised as much as he deserves which is quite a lot. I call it a summary since I've also enjoyed another set of lectures containing the same information in more detail: Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists.
As with anyone who dared to try, Einstein produced some ideas that were mistaken. He later opposed some ideas of others who ended up being correct. This is a normal process for science, but some people tend to over-dramatize the process.
I doubt I will revisit these lectures because I already have Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists, but if you are looking for something shorter then go for "What Einstein Got Wrong".
As with anyone who dared to try, Einstein produced some ideas that were mistaken. He later opposed some ideas of others who ended up being correct. This is a normal process for science, but some people tend to over-dramatize the process.
I doubt I will revisit these lectures because I already have Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists, but if you are looking for something shorter then go for "What Einstein Got Wrong".
April 20, 2024
What Einstein Got Wrong by Dan Hooper is a delightful and informative snapshot of some of Einstein's mistakes. But you shouldn't take that to mean it is meant with malice or to disregard the man, Hooper for his part stresses over and over again the immense stature Einstein possesses, and rightfully so, in the field of physics. We spend a lot of time going over the things that Einstein got correctly, as his errors often stem from the nature of his work. Some of the things he pioneered took some fine-tuning to develop, while other bits would later be shown to be wrong by evidence that was not available to him at the time. Some of his errors were a bit odd, but they were mostly reasonable given the assumptions and worldview he had at the time - such as his belief in a deterministic, as opposed to a probabilistic, universe. When paired with a course or book on Einstein, this comes across as a useful addendum. That said, it probably shouldn't be the only thing you use to learn about Einstein.
November 16, 2019
It's hard to talk about relativity and quantum mechanics and still be clear, especially in audiobook form. This is fairly short and only dips lightly into those subjects, so don't expect an in-depth understanding. It's not bad for what it is though. In some ways, it's more about the people (especially Einstein) and the process of science than the actual science itself. Despite being absolutely brilliant and making incredible contributions to science, Einstein proved to be stubborn, or even immature in some ways, and on multiple occasions held firmly to beliefs about physics that turned out to be wrong. Interesting.
March 28, 2020
This is a nicely presented book on a comprehensive view of modern physics: relativity, cosmology, quantum mechanics, centered around Einstein's works and theories. Einstein does make mistakes, but he is undeniably a great scientist who shapes the whole field of modern physics. Many of his theories, calculations, speculations give the basis for not only expanding our knowledge about the universe but also technological advancement.
If you're an anti-fan of Einstein and looking for some chances to bash him, you're in the wrong place. If you're a fan of science non-fiction with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, you find the right introduction to modern physics.
If you're an anti-fan of Einstein and looking for some chances to bash him, you're in the wrong place. If you're a fan of science non-fiction with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, you find the right introduction to modern physics.
August 3, 2023
Mostly what Einstein got right, and even more just an introduction to the revolutions in physics and cosmology in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Einstein is of course the fulcrum of that conversation and you get a good overview of the standard model as it veers off into the things he was actually wrong about toward the end (which is essentially just physics after Einstein in some other course). I suppose I thought this would be a bit more biographical or in depth on Einstein than it was.
July 26, 2022
A 6hr audio book. This book was a bit shorter then I would have expected with the title, it briefly went into some of histories less understood subject of failures with some of the worlds great thinkers. I enjoyed this book, and anyone looking to start any career in science or even some types of business should think about reading this.
August 17, 2018
Everyone makes mistake and Einstein was no exception
Things Einstein got wrong
1) He didn't believe Gravitational waves would exist but later changed his mind
2)He didn't believe in Black Holes
3) He didn't believe in Big bang but changed his mind later
4) Hr discarded Quantum Physics
Things Einstein got wrong
1) He didn't believe Gravitational waves would exist but later changed his mind
2)He didn't believe in Black Holes
3) He didn't believe in Big bang but changed his mind later
4) Hr discarded Quantum Physics
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2019
Pretty good discussion about Einstein’s successes and mistakes. The jury is still out on some of his ideas, but he really nailed some really important ones. Good discussion about his 4 1905 papers , his path to figuring out general relativity and much more. Not bad
July 16, 2020
Some nuggets found here that were what I needed even though this is already outdated, somewhat. The professor is all golly-gee/whiz about large and small numbers; he doesn’t express an awareness of measurable gravitational effects on time between two watches, on six inches above the other.
September 16, 2022
Really interesting, if occasionally over my head. My favorite part was the story about Einstein freaking out when he got peer reviewed (and had his math totally wrong!). The guy was a super genius, no question, but also … human.
November 11, 2022
Good course on parts of Einsteins work that he got wrong or didn't fully develop. Some parts were interesting and some not do much. It really shows you how knowledge is truly a team endeavor with many who add to it over time.
August 20, 2023
Having already read this author’s book “At The Edge of Time” I knew of his phenomenal ability to explain complicated topics. I really enjoyed this series of lectures. And as a bonus his narration is top notch.
March 3, 2019
Great lectures by The Great Courses
April 25, 2020
reignite my interest in physics. The beauty and clarity and complexity of physics is very refreshing after living in a messy world of pandemics and stupidemics.
August 3, 2022
Physics is hard. This helps.
March 7, 2025
Good but getting outdated
September 26, 2023
Really interesting review of Einstein and modern physics. It USA Great Courses book so you get college level collection lectures.
I listened as an Audible book highly recommend.
I listened as an Audible book highly recommend.
July 20, 2018
Even geniuses make mistakes. This course is easy to understand (even for a non-physicist like me) and informative.
August 23, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed it. Learned a lot about the progress of physics in recent years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews