What do you think?
Rate this book
Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind
In 1910, the surgeons Moreau and LePrince wrote about their successful operation on an eight-year-old boy who had been blind since birth because of cataracts. When the boy's eyes were healed they removed the bandages and, waving a hand in front of the child's physically perfect eyes, asked him what he saw. "I don't know," was his only reply. What he saw was only a varying brightness in front of him. However, when allowed to touch the hand as it began to move, he cried out in a voice of triumph, "It's moving!" He could feel it move, but he still needed laboriously to learn to see it move. Light and eyes were not enough to grant him sight. How, then, do we see? What's the difference between seeing and perception? What is light?
From ancient times to the present, from philosophers to quantum physicists, nothing has so perplexed, so fascinated, so captivated the mind as the elusive definition of light. In Catching the Light, Arthur Zajonc takes us on an epic journey into history, tracing how humans have endeavored to understand the phenomenon of light. Blending mythology, religion, science, literature, and painting, Zajonc reveals in poetic detail the human struggle to identify the vital connection between the outer light of nature and the inner light of the human spirit. He explains the curiousness of the Greeks' blue and green "color blindness": Odysseus gazing longingly at the "wine-dark sea"; the use of chloros (green) as the color of honey in Homer's Odessey; and Euripides' use of the color green to describe the hue of tears and blood. He demonstrates the complexity of perception through the work of Paul Cézanne--the artist standing on the bank of a river, painting the same scene over and over again, the motifs multiplying before his eyes. And Zajonc goes on to show how our quest for an understanding of light, as well as the conclusions we draw, reveals as much about the nature of our own psyche as it does about the nature of light itself. For the ancient Egyptians the nature of light was clear--it simply was the gaze of God. In the hands of the ancient Greeks, light had become the luminous inner fire whose ethereal effluence brought sight. In our contemporary world of modern quantum physics, science plays the greatest part in our theories of light's origin--from scientific perspectives such as Sir Isaac Newton's "corpuscular theory of light" and Michael Faraday's "lines of force" to such revolutionary ideas as Max Planck's "discrete motion of a pendulum" (the basis of quantum mechanics), Albert Einstein's "particles of light" and "theory of relativity," and Niels Bohr's "quantum jumps." Yet the metaphysical aspects of the scientific search, Zajonc shows, still loom large. For the physicist Richard Feynman, a quantum particle travels all paths, eventually distilling to one path whose action is least--the most beautiful path of all. Whatever light is, here is where we will find it.
With rare clarity and unmatched lyricism, Zajonc illuminates the profound implications of the relationships between the multifaceted strands of human experience and scientific endeavor. A fascinating search into our deepest scientific mystery, Catching the Light is a brilliant synthesis
From ancient times to the present, from philosophers to quantum physicists, nothing has so perplexed, so fascinated, so captivated the mind as the elusive definition of light. In Catching the Light, Arthur Zajonc takes us on an epic journey into history, tracing how humans have endeavored to understand the phenomenon of light. Blending mythology, religion, science, literature, and painting, Zajonc reveals in poetic detail the human struggle to identify the vital connection between the outer light of nature and the inner light of the human spirit. He explains the curiousness of the Greeks' blue and green "color blindness": Odysseus gazing longingly at the "wine-dark sea"; the use of chloros (green) as the color of honey in Homer's Odessey; and Euripides' use of the color green to describe the hue of tears and blood. He demonstrates the complexity of perception through the work of Paul Cézanne--the artist standing on the bank of a river, painting the same scene over and over again, the motifs multiplying before his eyes. And Zajonc goes on to show how our quest for an understanding of light, as well as the conclusions we draw, reveals as much about the nature of our own psyche as it does about the nature of light itself. For the ancient Egyptians the nature of light was clear--it simply was the gaze of God. In the hands of the ancient Greeks, light had become the luminous inner fire whose ethereal effluence brought sight. In our contemporary world of modern quantum physics, science plays the greatest part in our theories of light's origin--from scientific perspectives such as Sir Isaac Newton's "corpuscular theory of light" and Michael Faraday's "lines of force" to such revolutionary ideas as Max Planck's "discrete motion of a pendulum" (the basis of quantum mechanics), Albert Einstein's "particles of light" and "theory of relativity," and Niels Bohr's "quantum jumps." Yet the metaphysical aspects of the scientific search, Zajonc shows, still loom large. For the physicist Richard Feynman, a quantum particle travels all paths, eventually distilling to one path whose action is least--the most beautiful path of all. Whatever light is, here is where we will find it.
With rare clarity and unmatched lyricism, Zajonc illuminates the profound implications of the relationships between the multifaceted strands of human experience and scientific endeavor. A fascinating search into our deepest scientific mystery, Catching the Light is a brilliant synthesis
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
34 people are currently reading
680 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 26, 2016
"Books are mirrors. You only see in them what you already have inside you" - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
That's an apt saying for Arthur Zajonc's brilliant book on Man's attempt to understand the phenomena of light starting from 5000 years ago to 20th century Quantum Optics. Zajonc avoids the two extremes of religious mysticism of Light and inert, scientific analysis. Rather he takes two vantage points of view. He begins with simple but fundamental insight light comes into play only when there are objects. Space is dark despite there being many brilliant stars because of its near vacuum. He then builds on by saying that there are two aspects to light - the external one, the Sun's light have the predominant influence in our lives. But then there is also an internal light - the one from our minds that helps us interpret objects. To see, one needs more than just light and an apparatus for seeing (the eye). The mind's eye too plays an integral role. Zajonc then builds this premise in his book taking the reader through a fascinating journey - Empedocles, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Newton, Young, Euler, Faraday, Maxwell, Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Feynman, Wheeler and Bell. Personally, this has been a deeply satisfying read over the last couple of days - it takes me one step closer in my endeavour to comprehensively understand Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Thank you Arthur Zajonc.
That's an apt saying for Arthur Zajonc's brilliant book on Man's attempt to understand the phenomena of light starting from 5000 years ago to 20th century Quantum Optics. Zajonc avoids the two extremes of religious mysticism of Light and inert, scientific analysis. Rather he takes two vantage points of view. He begins with simple but fundamental insight light comes into play only when there are objects. Space is dark despite there being many brilliant stars because of its near vacuum. He then builds on by saying that there are two aspects to light - the external one, the Sun's light have the predominant influence in our lives. But then there is also an internal light - the one from our minds that helps us interpret objects. To see, one needs more than just light and an apparatus for seeing (the eye). The mind's eye too plays an integral role. Zajonc then builds this premise in his book taking the reader through a fascinating journey - Empedocles, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Newton, Young, Euler, Faraday, Maxwell, Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Feynman, Wheeler and Bell. Personally, this has been a deeply satisfying read over the last couple of days - it takes me one step closer in my endeavour to comprehensively understand Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Thank you Arthur Zajonc.
November 25, 2019
The book is a good, long history on the nature of light. In the early years, light was about the emanations of God, bathing the earth with its divine beauty. In the last few centuries, light emerged as a natural entity that reflected this divine origin. Or, as it was in many quarters, light was stripped of its sacred origins altogether.
Though I found the writing of the divine nature of light tedious, if not overdone, Zajonc does an excellent job of describing the natural basis of light. Light covers the electro-magnetic spectrum, only a portion of which is visible to humans. Light is emitted via oscillation in discrete, quantized units. These are the massless and chargeless photons that move in a straight line unless acted upon. Light in a vacuum moves at a speed that is independent of all external phenomena. This means that the speed of light is independent of the speed of its sources (Einstein’s second postulate). But as a material entity, it was never clear until Einstein whether light (energy) is a particle (albeit, massless) or a wave. Einstein helped to resolve this debate by saying that matter and energy were different forms of each other. I think what this might mean is that energy is the cosmic essence that is expressed in massless (pure energy along the electro-magnetic spectrum) or particle form (some mass, as seen as atoms and molecules and gravitational collections of such). This raises an interesting question. Energy and mass are said to be equivalent, but could it be that (“pure”) energy is primary and matter is secondary?
Even with these advances in the understanding of light, Zajonc argues that we do not know what a photon (electro-magnetic energy) is. Here, he moves back into light’s divine potential. He sees light as something more than a natural entity and the cosmos as more than matter in motion. Zajonc draws upon both Plato and Einstein to make his case that light is the expression of a cosmic intelligence. It is a divine cause. It is Plato’s “mind” that is “good, fair,” and separate from physical “necessity.” It’s Einstein’s doubt about the quantum world (and his statement that “God doesn’t play dice”). At the heart of Zajonc’s argument is that photons are entangled. They operate holistically; the whole is greater than the parts (it’s only the human mind that disentangles, via “measurements”). Wholes are, simultaneously, one and many, particle and wave, and “a single thing with the universe inside.”
In the end, while Zajonc separates the cosmos into the sacred and profane, he sees the “nitty-gritty” physical world of nature is an expression of the rationality of the universe. With this, he claims Reality’s crown. Today’s science is instrumental nihilism, he says. It’s applied knowledge without going deeper to the realm of True Knowledge. The photon is nature’s expression of the divine. It doesn’t operate by attraction (pull) or repulsion (push) like gravity. Rather, photons are “self-moving.” They are the vehicles for divine energy. They are a fusion of physical reality with spiritual reality. They are the candle, solid matter ‘“that takes flight to wing.’” “Coarse matter,” Zajonc writes, “is purified in the flame becoming light.” Lux ensouls space. Lumen is our perception of divine light. Human consciousness, he summarizes, has evolved and is evolving yet today. Its task has been, and is, to more fully understand this history of light. We are moving toward “an ecological consciousness,” an integration of human, animal, plant and mineral communities.”
Zajonc ties together all pieces of evidence and constructs a good narrative that is neither exclusively sacred nor secular. It is both. It is a “felt unity.” Yet, it’s also clear that like Plato and Hegel, the sacred for him trumps the secular. Does he give up too easily in sticking to a secular agenda? And, I wonder, what deep inner needs might be driving him to see the physical world as but the expression of the divine.
Though I found the writing of the divine nature of light tedious, if not overdone, Zajonc does an excellent job of describing the natural basis of light. Light covers the electro-magnetic spectrum, only a portion of which is visible to humans. Light is emitted via oscillation in discrete, quantized units. These are the massless and chargeless photons that move in a straight line unless acted upon. Light in a vacuum moves at a speed that is independent of all external phenomena. This means that the speed of light is independent of the speed of its sources (Einstein’s second postulate). But as a material entity, it was never clear until Einstein whether light (energy) is a particle (albeit, massless) or a wave. Einstein helped to resolve this debate by saying that matter and energy were different forms of each other. I think what this might mean is that energy is the cosmic essence that is expressed in massless (pure energy along the electro-magnetic spectrum) or particle form (some mass, as seen as atoms and molecules and gravitational collections of such). This raises an interesting question. Energy and mass are said to be equivalent, but could it be that (“pure”) energy is primary and matter is secondary?
Even with these advances in the understanding of light, Zajonc argues that we do not know what a photon (electro-magnetic energy) is. Here, he moves back into light’s divine potential. He sees light as something more than a natural entity and the cosmos as more than matter in motion. Zajonc draws upon both Plato and Einstein to make his case that light is the expression of a cosmic intelligence. It is a divine cause. It is Plato’s “mind” that is “good, fair,” and separate from physical “necessity.” It’s Einstein’s doubt about the quantum world (and his statement that “God doesn’t play dice”). At the heart of Zajonc’s argument is that photons are entangled. They operate holistically; the whole is greater than the parts (it’s only the human mind that disentangles, via “measurements”). Wholes are, simultaneously, one and many, particle and wave, and “a single thing with the universe inside.”
In the end, while Zajonc separates the cosmos into the sacred and profane, he sees the “nitty-gritty” physical world of nature is an expression of the rationality of the universe. With this, he claims Reality’s crown. Today’s science is instrumental nihilism, he says. It’s applied knowledge without going deeper to the realm of True Knowledge. The photon is nature’s expression of the divine. It doesn’t operate by attraction (pull) or repulsion (push) like gravity. Rather, photons are “self-moving.” They are the vehicles for divine energy. They are a fusion of physical reality with spiritual reality. They are the candle, solid matter ‘“that takes flight to wing.’” “Coarse matter,” Zajonc writes, “is purified in the flame becoming light.” Lux ensouls space. Lumen is our perception of divine light. Human consciousness, he summarizes, has evolved and is evolving yet today. Its task has been, and is, to more fully understand this history of light. We are moving toward “an ecological consciousness,” an integration of human, animal, plant and mineral communities.”
Zajonc ties together all pieces of evidence and constructs a good narrative that is neither exclusively sacred nor secular. It is both. It is a “felt unity.” Yet, it’s also clear that like Plato and Hegel, the sacred for him trumps the secular. Does he give up too easily in sticking to a secular agenda? And, I wonder, what deep inner needs might be driving him to see the physical world as but the expression of the divine.
March 17, 2016
I highly recommend this gem of a book to anyone interested in Light, the history of physics, quantum physics, vision (optics), the nature of reality, poetry, or photography. I kept re-reading entire pages just because they were remarkably intriguing. The book is well written - I was captivated by the words and the subjects covered throughout. I will absolutely be reading this again!
A few of the topics/people mentioned include, but are certainly not limited to:
- Rainbows
- Camera Obscura
- Linear perspective
- EPR Experiments regarding photons
- Zoroastrianism
- Physicists, including Faraday, Einstein, Bohr, Planck, Newton
- Artists, including Goethe, Keats, Kandinsky
- etc. etc.!
A few of the topics/people mentioned include, but are certainly not limited to:
- Rainbows
- Camera Obscura
- Linear perspective
- EPR Experiments regarding photons
- Zoroastrianism
- Physicists, including Faraday, Einstein, Bohr, Planck, Newton
- Artists, including Goethe, Keats, Kandinsky
- etc. etc.!
March 5, 2020
Written in 1993, this is very much of its time. Quantum Physics has moved on considerably since. But the book represents a vital line of thought, a line not prepared to sink into what Blake described as "single vision and Newton's sleep". Zajonc holds the two cultures, Art and Science, together in a way that much modern writing does not - and does so by refusing to hero worship scientific progress:
"Our success or failure in fashioning a nonidolotrous science will determine much for our future."
"Our success or failure in fashioning a nonidolotrous science will determine much for our future."
May 30, 2024
Catching the Light
19/2024.
Hank Williams was wrong: he didn’t “see the light,” he saw the reflection of photons on other objects. Zajonc here reminds us how special sight is, and hints at the process, which is a learned manner of processing information- the nearly incomprehensible power of the brain. It’s the combination of information (light) and analysis (brainpower) that leads to the conscious activity we call sight.
By looking at the cultural and historic views of light as well as the scientific ones, our intimate relationship with a poorly understood part of the cosmos comes into contrast. It’s a love letter to scientific pursuit. It ends with a plea to look at physics in an wholistic way- no more atomization of all the features of the cosmos! (How else can we cope with chaos theory?)
Regarding the change from a spiritual world to a rational one as a massive paradigm shift: “The shift in view is a simple fact. This may be seen as progress by and a fall from grace by others, but we simply do inhabit a different world from that of the Australian aboriginal or ancient Sumerian. It differs less because of technical advances in our external world than because of a revolution in our way of thinking and seeing, a revolution located within us.” (P181)
19/2024.
Hank Williams was wrong: he didn’t “see the light,” he saw the reflection of photons on other objects. Zajonc here reminds us how special sight is, and hints at the process, which is a learned manner of processing information- the nearly incomprehensible power of the brain. It’s the combination of information (light) and analysis (brainpower) that leads to the conscious activity we call sight.
By looking at the cultural and historic views of light as well as the scientific ones, our intimate relationship with a poorly understood part of the cosmos comes into contrast. It’s a love letter to scientific pursuit. It ends with a plea to look at physics in an wholistic way- no more atomization of all the features of the cosmos! (How else can we cope with chaos theory?)
Regarding the change from a spiritual world to a rational one as a massive paradigm shift: “The shift in view is a simple fact. This may be seen as progress by and a fall from grace by others, but we simply do inhabit a different world from that of the Australian aboriginal or ancient Sumerian. It differs less because of technical advances in our external world than because of a revolution in our way of thinking and seeing, a revolution located within us.” (P181)
January 15, 2018
Just now thought I would add this to my Goodreads list of books I've read. Can't believe it has been 13 years since I read this. Here is my review.
It has all the things I like in a book: ancient history, science, religion, poetry, great prose ... It is "Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind" by Arthur Zajonc. It is a kind of history of how we humans have perceived the nature of light since the time of the Greeks and it has nearly always been at that juncture between what we conceive of as the divine and the material. It is full of metaphor and unexpected turns of thought. I'll give one example of something interesting. He discusses how several poets and artist types were depressed (my word) by Newton's reduction of the phenomenon of the rainbow to a mere scientific explanation. He quotes a poem by a Thomas Campbell (not the RM one) that captures their attitude
"When Science from Creation's face
Enchantment's veil withdraws,
What lovely visions yield their place
To cold material laws"
And John Keats wrote also
"...In the dull catalogue of common things,
Philosophy will clip an angel's wing's,
Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,
Empty the haunted air, the gnomed mine ...
Unweave a rainbow..."
It struck me as I read this that it may bear a relation to why so many American's have such a resistance to what science has learned about our origins. We love mystery, we desire wonder, we do not want to believe in what many perceive to be a cold, remote and random process based material law. Comfort is sought in the miraculous.
But there may be a third way and books like this one help illumine the path to it.
It has all the things I like in a book: ancient history, science, religion, poetry, great prose ... It is "Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind" by Arthur Zajonc. It is a kind of history of how we humans have perceived the nature of light since the time of the Greeks and it has nearly always been at that juncture between what we conceive of as the divine and the material. It is full of metaphor and unexpected turns of thought. I'll give one example of something interesting. He discusses how several poets and artist types were depressed (my word) by Newton's reduction of the phenomenon of the rainbow to a mere scientific explanation. He quotes a poem by a Thomas Campbell (not the RM one) that captures their attitude
"When Science from Creation's face
Enchantment's veil withdraws,
What lovely visions yield their place
To cold material laws"
And John Keats wrote also
"...In the dull catalogue of common things,
Philosophy will clip an angel's wing's,
Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,
Empty the haunted air, the gnomed mine ...
Unweave a rainbow..."
It struck me as I read this that it may bear a relation to why so many American's have such a resistance to what science has learned about our origins. We love mystery, we desire wonder, we do not want to believe in what many perceive to be a cold, remote and random process based material law. Comfort is sought in the miraculous.
But there may be a third way and books like this one help illumine the path to it.
December 20, 2010
Well worth reading for anyone interested in the history of science or the history of ideas and/or the interaction of the two -- especially how the scientific understanding of the phenomenon of light has been tied to spiritual/religious understanding of ultimate reality. As usual, I understood the discussion of pre-1800 science better than more recent developments, but if I understood correctly the bottom line is this: scientists still have not unraveled the mystery of what light is and how it works, so it remains as much as ever a valid metaphor for the mystery of Ultimate Reality.
June 18, 2017
Fantastic book. About how our understanding of light - and simultaneously our world-views - changed over the course of humanity (and keep on changing). About how essential light is to our understanding of reality. About the mystery that keeps us digging deeper. About the need to develop new senses and new organs of cognition.
September 11, 2013
This is the most extraordinary book I have ever read. Exploring the physics and spirituality of light, this book is beautifully (almost poetically) written, truly interdisciplinary, fascinating, moving and inspiring. Physicist Arthur Zajonc is also a longstanding practitioner of meditation (he moderated the 2003 conversations about the science of meditation at MIT with the Dalai Lama).
September 13, 2007
This is a fascinating history of how light, vision and consciousness have been studied since the Greeks, written by an eminent quantum physicist.
October 25, 2007
A book on the science of light for anyone who hates science. This book mixes equal parts of beauty and art and science without getting lost in metaphysics. You'll forget you're reading science.
June 14, 2021
“What are light quanta? Of course today every rascal thinks he knows the answer, but he is deluding himself.” – Einstein
After reading this remarkable history of light, you’ll know much, much more than when you started, yet you’ll still end up sympathizing with Einstein.
Light has proven to be an onion of limitless layers - every advance we have made in understanding its true nature – be it the particle theory of Newton, the wave theory that replaced it, light as an electromagnetic wave, or the quantum mechanical and quantum electrodynamical advances in the twentieth century – have brought forth as many questions as answers. Light remains as fundamentally mysterious as ever.
That’s one theme of this great book. The second is that two lights brighten our world – the outer light of nature, and the inner light of the mind. Light can only be understood by considering the interaction between these two. You don’t get many books written by someone on the cutting edge of quantum optics who also spends time with the Dalai Lama and devotes much of his work to understanding the cultural and spiritual dimensions of science. And not in a New Age way at all – any hard science student will find a lot to learn in this book. Zajonc believes that a broader perspective may help us make the breakthrough needed to make sense of the current quantum absurdities that bedevil us: “It requires that we imagine light, ourselves, and the world as richer and deeper than the mechanical imagination can capture”.
After reading this remarkable history of light, you’ll know much, much more than when you started, yet you’ll still end up sympathizing with Einstein.
Light has proven to be an onion of limitless layers - every advance we have made in understanding its true nature – be it the particle theory of Newton, the wave theory that replaced it, light as an electromagnetic wave, or the quantum mechanical and quantum electrodynamical advances in the twentieth century – have brought forth as many questions as answers. Light remains as fundamentally mysterious as ever.
That’s one theme of this great book. The second is that two lights brighten our world – the outer light of nature, and the inner light of the mind. Light can only be understood by considering the interaction between these two. You don’t get many books written by someone on the cutting edge of quantum optics who also spends time with the Dalai Lama and devotes much of his work to understanding the cultural and spiritual dimensions of science. And not in a New Age way at all – any hard science student will find a lot to learn in this book. Zajonc believes that a broader perspective may help us make the breakthrough needed to make sense of the current quantum absurdities that bedevil us: “It requires that we imagine light, ourselves, and the world as richer and deeper than the mechanical imagination can capture”.
September 19, 2022
This book could be considered a bit of a biography of light, in so much as it provides an overview of our understanding of light through history. At its best, this book does an excellent job of describing the changing ways in which we have understood light and in pointing out how little we really know about the true nature of light, even today. And to a lesser degree, the book also demonstrates how the changes in our understanding of light both impact and are impacted by our changing worldviews. However, from time to time, the author indulges in discussions of spirituality that suggest that light is somehow mystical, in ways that are less coherent than the rest of the book, and detract from the overall argument. The discussions of the questions raised by modern quantum theory are interesting and the author's argument that new worldviews may well be necessary to unravel these mysteries are actually somewhat persuasive. And the discussion of how we perceive light, and especially color, was really interesting and could have been better explored. Overall, this was an interesting read, even if it wasn't my favorite science book I've read recently.
October 15, 2023
I have read a multitude of books on physics over the years and confess a consistent inability to comfortably comprehend. “Catching the Light” also lost me in places, but what an inspiring breath of fresh air. Simultaneous with enlightening one on the mysteries of light, the author illuminates how the explanation of light is as much art as it is science.
Seems like expanding on that would be a spoiler and I really do not want to reduce the sparkle. For me the book started off brilliantly by illustrating how ‘seeing’ is much more than a mechanical process, but then lost me (with its rating hovering around three stars for a long patch). But once the notion of how our conception of light needs to rely upon artistic inclinations, this book compelled me to begin pondering, always a strong point.
Can only recommend this with the caveat to push ahead when things seem to get tedious. The ending is energizing and best of all, Zajonc reinforces that all the scientists trying to unravel the profound mysteries of light are still rather clueless! :^)
Seems like expanding on that would be a spoiler and I really do not want to reduce the sparkle. For me the book started off brilliantly by illustrating how ‘seeing’ is much more than a mechanical process, but then lost me (with its rating hovering around three stars for a long patch). But once the notion of how our conception of light needs to rely upon artistic inclinations, this book compelled me to begin pondering, always a strong point.
Can only recommend this with the caveat to push ahead when things seem to get tedious. The ending is energizing and best of all, Zajonc reinforces that all the scientists trying to unravel the profound mysteries of light are still rather clueless! :^)
May 23, 2025
I think of physics as "pure poetry," and like some poetry, I usually struggle to understand it. First published in 1993, it is hard for me to accept the often horrendous copy editing of an otherwise exceptional work, especially the word usage in chapter 6, the various redundancies throughout, and the blatant mathematical confusion in chapter 10, in which three columns of numbers are given, the third presumably the differences between each line in the first two, all of which are wrong mathematically as well as wrong conceptually given the postulation offered for the differences.
Apart from those annoying distractions, the book IS almost pure poetry. It is an attempt to not only compare the evolving "scientific" explanations of the phenomena of light with the assorted historical cosmological explanations of it, but also an attempt to find the common ground. No mean feat, concerning the glaring deficiencies inherent in human perception, logic, experience and endless denial.
Apart from those annoying distractions, the book IS almost pure poetry. It is an attempt to not only compare the evolving "scientific" explanations of the phenomena of light with the assorted historical cosmological explanations of it, but also an attempt to find the common ground. No mean feat, concerning the glaring deficiencies inherent in human perception, logic, experience and endless denial.
December 28, 2018
Libro de ensayos en relación al concepto de "la luz", su desarrollo primario desde una interpretación mítica en los primeros pueblos de la cultura euroasiática, pasando por los primeros atisbos de explicación mecánica, hasta su desarrollo como una visión más científica del concepto de luz e imagen. La historia de la humanidad pareciera estar asociada al concepto de la visualización, y la luz deviene en algo más que fotones, trasciende el fenómeno físico para relacionarse con lo espiritual. En definitiva, es un libro sobre la historia de la humanidad desde la perspectiva de la luz, así como también un libro de la historia de la ciencia en occidente, y de algunos de los científicos y pensadores más importantes en el desarrollo de la luz tanto como fenómeno físico, como espiritual.
Want to read
December 27, 2023Short review published in New York Times, magazines of December 24, 2023, page 19. Somewhat edited and changed for concision and readability.
This book is a cheerfully heretical study of how humans have contemplated light and vision throughout time. The author touches on the Egyptians, and roam through various scientists. It renders a procession of theories persuasive, while showing how each reflects the priorities consumptions of its error: material, spiritual, and temporal. Like any history of science, the book is most humbling and wandering inducing.
This book is a cheerfully heretical study of how humans have contemplated light and vision throughout time. The author touches on the Egyptians, and roam through various scientists. It renders a procession of theories persuasive, while showing how each reflects the priorities consumptions of its error: material, spiritual, and temporal. Like any history of science, the book is most humbling and wandering inducing.
April 2, 2020
Great book. A poetic and insightful read.
December 24, 2020
Titolo in italiano: “Dalla candela ai quanti - La storia della luce nella filosofia, nell’arte, nella scienza”.
January 11, 2023
A great book on light as seen from the early philosophers and on through modern quantum theory (up to the 90’s).
July 13, 2024
Probably more 5 stars but purple prose causes me conniptions so sadly had to knock it down a peg. But v. good otherwise.
November 25, 2024
Being an optics researcher I was into the technicalities of light. But this book is something different, it mixes the physics and metaphysics of light in a unique that I found in nowhere else. It started by giving an introduction of the 'act of seeing' then it deeply dives into the historical perspectives of light and analogous phenomena from ancient Greece to Romans and the Egyptians. Then comes the Renaissance age where everything starts to get methodological. From that it creates a unique path about the evolution of the physical picture of 'light' and the human 'mind' and the 'observation in scientific thinking'. It's a great book for whoever is interested in the phenomenology of optics!
January 21, 2013
This book is in one of my favorite non-fiction genres: the single subject (or seemingly single subject) history, in this case of light and our perception of it. Of course like many single subject histories, it's primarily focused on the Western history, and it's mostly an intellectual history of the study of light.
I liked that Catching the Light started with a history of more spiritual conceptions of light, and moved to more scientific ones from there. Zajonc also covered interesting topics like the perception and conceptions of color. It was disappointing that it was so relentlessly focused on Europe, other than going into the work of Islamic philosophers' and scientists' research into optics and some mentions of other cultures' spiritual conceptions of light, it was pretty much all Europe all the time. Also, while I could see what Zajonc was trying to do in terms of going beyond just an intellectual history by delving into scientists' religious and spiritual perspectives, it added an element of woo-woo that Zajonc got a little purple prosey about. I was also disappointed that Zajonc didn't go into the biology of our perception of light, it seemed like a real missing piece of the book.
All that said, this is still a readable and easy to follow look at the history of the science of light. It was written in the early 90s, so I imagine there may be some new advances in quantum optics/quantum mechanics. I was amused to see Zajonc basically go, "ahahaha this quantum shit is crazy and challenges our every belief about reality and we are adrift in a baffling universe isn't it great?" by the end.
I liked that Catching the Light started with a history of more spiritual conceptions of light, and moved to more scientific ones from there. Zajonc also covered interesting topics like the perception and conceptions of color. It was disappointing that it was so relentlessly focused on Europe, other than going into the work of Islamic philosophers' and scientists' research into optics and some mentions of other cultures' spiritual conceptions of light, it was pretty much all Europe all the time. Also, while I could see what Zajonc was trying to do in terms of going beyond just an intellectual history by delving into scientists' religious and spiritual perspectives, it added an element of woo-woo that Zajonc got a little purple prosey about. I was also disappointed that Zajonc didn't go into the biology of our perception of light, it seemed like a real missing piece of the book.
All that said, this is still a readable and easy to follow look at the history of the science of light. It was written in the early 90s, so I imagine there may be some new advances in quantum optics/quantum mechanics. I was amused to see Zajonc basically go, "ahahaha this quantum shit is crazy and challenges our every belief about reality and we are adrift in a baffling universe isn't it great?" by the end.
January 15, 2015
James Gleick's quoted comment on the cover, "A small gem of a book," encapsulates well the deft treasure this book is. It provides a thoughtful, knowledgeable and somehow at the same time, if you'll pardon the pun, warm summary of the study of light across human history. But that's only part of it. Because what Zajonc also does is inflect that history of the science of light with the story of the culture around it -- the philosophers and spiritualists, artists and poets who, as the understanding of light's physicality changed, were meanwhile contributing to our view of light as metaphysical symbol, evoker of beauty, God's shorthand, speaker of other truths. Having read a lot on this topic, I think some of Zajonc's intentionally brief overviews of certain phases of the changing science of light require that previous familiarity. But it is a meaningful, expansive and at times even sweet contribution to that history.
April 21, 2016
Though written by a physicist, this book was very much a cross-disciplinary approach. Light is considered scientifically (physics), perceptually (cognition), symbolically (comparative religion), and aesthetically (colour theory/art history). Since the subject matter is presented chronologically rather than categorically, it might be apropos to describe this work as a brief history of light – or at least the human endeavour to grasp its true nature (something the final chapters on quantum theory reveal is still very much elusive).
This was one of those books that I was expecting to thoroughly enjoy before I started reading it which then proceeded to fail to meet my expectations. There is certainly a lot of interesting material in this book but it was at times bracketed by long, plodding sections that seemed to go on forever. Perhaps it is rather like the playing out of history itself in that regard?
This was one of those books that I was expecting to thoroughly enjoy before I started reading it which then proceeded to fail to meet my expectations. There is certainly a lot of interesting material in this book but it was at times bracketed by long, plodding sections that seemed to go on forever. Perhaps it is rather like the playing out of history itself in that regard?
May 7, 2020
Demonstrating historical perspectives of philosophy, art, optics and spirituality, this is easily one of my favorite books of all time. Filled with inspiring quotes and mini-biographies of scientists, poets, artists, musicians, philosophers, the author weaves many studies together for a complete scope of what Light is. One of my favorite chapters is in the beginning, where he exampines artwork from ancient cultures to demonstrate the unique perspectives that once existed and now are all but lost in today's education. Covering a broad range of topics using very particular examples of the past and present, Zajonic wonderfully weaves them together to make the Ideas of Light that much more mysterious. Easy reading, Inspiring, Thought Provoking.
June 19, 2015
Has anybody really understood the nature of light? What is light? Is light really what we have been taught in schools and colleges or is there more which meets the eye? Arthur takes us along a wonderful journey of how men have seen light from the ancient times to our modern views of light. The primal Question asked above still remains unanswered though but the book does push the reader to imaginative realms of light. I did not give it a 5 rating only because the book is incomplete having completely left out Walter Russell. Nevertheless, a book worth reading for those who wish to think.
February 10, 2016
Certainly a brain workout, but a very rewarding one. Author is far better versed in physics and the history of his chosen field that we will ever be, and narrates well the history of the understanding of light, and it's corollary with the age of understanding of the cultures within which that understanding was embedded.
October 28, 2023
This is an important, slim, well written survey of the history, philosophy & science of light. What could be more important than light? Only a few pages on Grosseteste , but why complain...you can always find further reading, and everyone should read Grosseteste On Light. This is an inspired survey.
August 29, 2013
I loved this history of our understanding of what light is. I also loved the authors poet segues into the poetic nature and consciousness of light within. A must read for anyone in love the current movement in physics and the inner light of consciousness.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews