-
Einstein's Unfinished Revolution
- The Search for What Lies Beyond the Quantum
- Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $28.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Quantum Labyrinth
- How Richard Feynman and John Wheeler Revolutionized Time and Reality
- By: Paul Halpern
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1939, Richard Feynman, a brilliant graduate of MIT, arrived in John Wheeler's Princeton office to report for duty as his teaching assistant. A lifelong friendship and enormously productive collaboration was born, despite sharp differences in personality. The soft-spoken Wheeler, though conservative in appearance, was a raging nonconformist full of wild ideas about the universe. The boisterous Feynman was a cautious physicist who believed only what could be tested. Yet they were complementary spirits.
-
-
A biography of two mad geniuses
- By Philomath on 10-19-17
By: Paul Halpern
-
Time Reborn
- From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe
- By: Lee Smolin
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Trouble with Physics argues that a limited notion of time is holding physics back. It's time for a major revolution in scientific thought. The reality of time could be the key to the next big breakthrough in theoretical physics. What if the laws of physics themselves were not timeless? What if they could evolve? Time Reborn offers a radical new approach to cosmology that embraces the reality of time and opens up a whole new universe of possibilities.
-
-
Probably the best Science book I've listened to
- By Gary on 07-29-13
By: Lee Smolin
-
The Quantum Universe
- (And Why Anything That Can Happen, Does)
- By: Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw approach the world of quantum mechanics in the same way they did in Why Does E=mc2? and make fundamental scientific principles accessible - and fascinating - to everyone.The subatomic realm has a reputation for weirdness, spawning any number of profound misunderstandings, journeys into Eastern mysticism, and woolly pronouncements on the interconnectedness of all things. Cox and Forshaw's contention? There is no need for quantum mechanics to be viewed this way.
-
-
Not suitable as an audio book
- By SPN on 03-29-22
By: Brian Cox, and others
-
The Order of Time
- By: Carlo Rovelli
- Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In lyric, accessible prose, Carlo Rovelli invites us to consider questions about the nature of time that continue to puzzle physicists and philosophers alike. For most listeners, this is unfamiliar terrain. We all experience time, but the more scientists learn about it, the more mysterious it appears. We think of it as uniform and universal, moving steadily from past to future, measured by clocks. Rovelli tears down these assumptions one by one, revealing a strange universe where, at the most fundamental level, time disappears.
-
-
Rovelli is a Genius
- By Mike on 05-11-18
By: Carlo Rovelli
-
Three Roads to Quantum Gravity
- By: Lee Smolin
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Three Roads to Quantum Gravity, Lee Smolin provides an accessible overview of the attempts to build a final "theory of everything." He explains in simple terms what scientists are talking about when they say the world is made from exotic entities such as loops, strings, and black holes and tells the fascinating stories behind these discoveries: the rivalries, epiphanies, and intrigues he witnessed firsthand.
-
-
Physics still in trouble
- By Philomath on 11-09-18
By: Lee Smolin
-
The Trouble with Physics
- The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
- By: Lee Smolin
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this illuminating book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that fundamental physics - the search for the laws of nature - is losing its way. Ambitious ideas about extra dimensions, exotic particles, multiple universes, and strings have captured the publics imagination -- and the imagination of experts.
-
-
Not just another rehash of Newton & Einstein
- By M. Burlingame on 01-17-11
By: Lee Smolin
-
The Quantum Labyrinth
- How Richard Feynman and John Wheeler Revolutionized Time and Reality
- By: Paul Halpern
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1939, Richard Feynman, a brilliant graduate of MIT, arrived in John Wheeler's Princeton office to report for duty as his teaching assistant. A lifelong friendship and enormously productive collaboration was born, despite sharp differences in personality. The soft-spoken Wheeler, though conservative in appearance, was a raging nonconformist full of wild ideas about the universe. The boisterous Feynman was a cautious physicist who believed only what could be tested. Yet they were complementary spirits.
-
-
A biography of two mad geniuses
- By Philomath on 10-19-17
By: Paul Halpern
-
Time Reborn
- From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe
- By: Lee Smolin
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Trouble with Physics argues that a limited notion of time is holding physics back. It's time for a major revolution in scientific thought. The reality of time could be the key to the next big breakthrough in theoretical physics. What if the laws of physics themselves were not timeless? What if they could evolve? Time Reborn offers a radical new approach to cosmology that embraces the reality of time and opens up a whole new universe of possibilities.
-
-
Probably the best Science book I've listened to
- By Gary on 07-29-13
By: Lee Smolin
-
The Quantum Universe
- (And Why Anything That Can Happen, Does)
- By: Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw approach the world of quantum mechanics in the same way they did in Why Does E=mc2? and make fundamental scientific principles accessible - and fascinating - to everyone.The subatomic realm has a reputation for weirdness, spawning any number of profound misunderstandings, journeys into Eastern mysticism, and woolly pronouncements on the interconnectedness of all things. Cox and Forshaw's contention? There is no need for quantum mechanics to be viewed this way.
-
-
Not suitable as an audio book
- By SPN on 03-29-22
By: Brian Cox, and others
-
The Order of Time
- By: Carlo Rovelli
- Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch
- Length: 4 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In lyric, accessible prose, Carlo Rovelli invites us to consider questions about the nature of time that continue to puzzle physicists and philosophers alike. For most listeners, this is unfamiliar terrain. We all experience time, but the more scientists learn about it, the more mysterious it appears. We think of it as uniform and universal, moving steadily from past to future, measured by clocks. Rovelli tears down these assumptions one by one, revealing a strange universe where, at the most fundamental level, time disappears.
-
-
Rovelli is a Genius
- By Mike on 05-11-18
By: Carlo Rovelli
-
Three Roads to Quantum Gravity
- By: Lee Smolin
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Three Roads to Quantum Gravity, Lee Smolin provides an accessible overview of the attempts to build a final "theory of everything." He explains in simple terms what scientists are talking about when they say the world is made from exotic entities such as loops, strings, and black holes and tells the fascinating stories behind these discoveries: the rivalries, epiphanies, and intrigues he witnessed firsthand.
-
-
Physics still in trouble
- By Philomath on 11-09-18
By: Lee Smolin
-
The Trouble with Physics
- The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
- By: Lee Smolin
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this illuminating book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that fundamental physics - the search for the laws of nature - is losing its way. Ambitious ideas about extra dimensions, exotic particles, multiple universes, and strings have captured the publics imagination -- and the imagination of experts.
-
-
Not just another rehash of Newton & Einstein
- By M. Burlingame on 01-17-11
By: Lee Smolin
-
Lost in Math
- How Beauty Leads Physics Astray
- By: Sabine Hossenfelder
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: Observation has been unable to confirm mindboggling theories, like supersymmetry or grand unification, invented by physicists based on aesthetic criteria.
-
-
A rare glimpse into the inner world of physics
- By Joe on 12-08-18
-
Reality Is Not What It Seems
- The Journey to Quantum Gravity
- By: Carlo Rovelli, Simon Carnell - translator, Erica Segre - translator
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the New York Times best-selling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Helgoland, a closer look at the mind-bending nature of the Universe. What are the elementary ingredients of the world? Do time and space exist? And what exactly is reality? Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli has spent his life exploring these questions. He tells us how our understanding of reality has changed over the centuries and how physicists think about the structure of the Universe today.
-
-
Most compelling physics book in at least 10 years!
- By Kyle on 02-03-17
By: Carlo Rovelli, and others
-
Something Deeply Hidden
- Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime
- By: Sean Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist and one of this world’s most celebrated writers on science, rewrites the history of 20th-century physics. Already hailed as a masterpiece, Something Deeply Hidden shows for the first time that facing up to the essential puzzle of quantum mechanics utterly transforms how we think about space and time. His reconciling of quantum mechanics with Einstein’s theory of relativity changes, well, everything. Most physicists haven’t even recognized the uncomfortable truth: Physics has been in crisis since 1927.
-
-
The Best Layperson Book on Quantum Physics
- By Conrad Barski on 09-11-19
By: Sean Carroll
-
Quantum Space
- Loop Quantum Gravity and the Search for the Structure of Space, Time, and the Universe
- By: Jim Baggott
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today we are blessed with two extraordinarily successful theories of physics. The first is Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which describes the large-scale behavior of matter in a curved spacetime. The second is quantum mechanics. This theory describes the properties and behavior of matter and radiation at their smallest scales.
-
-
Misleading & Terrible
- By douglas on 12-16-20
By: Jim Baggott
-
The Fabric of Reality
- The Science of Parallel Universes - and Its Implications
- By: David Deutsch
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author of the New York Times best seller The Beginning of Infinity, David Deutsch, explores the four most fundamental strands of human knowledge: quantum physics, and the theories of knowledge, computation, and evolution - and their unexpected connections. Taken together, these four strands reveal a deeply integrated, rational, and optimistic worldview. It describes a unified fabric of reality that is objective and comprehensible, in which human action and thought are central.
-
-
Such a disappointment
- By Philip Cziao on 01-27-19
By: David Deutsch
-
Helgoland
- Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution
- By: Carlo Rovelli, Erica Segre - translator, Simon Carnell - translator
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the world's most renowned theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovelli has entranced millions of readers with his singular perspective on the cosmos. In Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving. Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the 23-year-old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution.
-
-
The cat is not sleeping
- By Anonymous on 05-30-21
By: Carlo Rovelli, and others
-
The Higgs Boson and Beyond
- By: Sean Carroll, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this 12-lecture masterpiece of scientific reporting, you'll learn everything you need to know to fully grasp the significance of this discovery, including the basics of quantum mechanics; the four forces that comprise the Standard Model of particle physics; how these forces are transmitted by fields and particles; and the importance of symmetry in physics.
-
-
Fascinating audiobook
- By Digitalmonster on 06-18-15
By: Sean Carroll, and others
-
The Big Picture
- On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
- By: Sean Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Already internationally acclaimed for his elegant, lucid writing on the most challenging notions in modern physics, Sean Carroll is emerging as one of the greatest humanist thinkers of his generation as he brings his extraordinary intellect to bear not only on the Higgs boson and extra dimensions but now also on our deepest personal questions. Where are we? Who are we? Are our emotions, our beliefs, and our hopes and dreams ultimately meaningless out there in the void?
-
-
Vaguely Antitheist
- By Beatrice on 06-23-18
By: Sean Carroll
-
Life’s Ratchet
- How Molecular Machines Extract Order from Chaos
- By: Peter M. Hoffman
- Narrated by: Paul Hodgson
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The cells in our bodies consist of molecules, made up of the same carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms found in air and rocks. But molecules, such as water and sugar, are not alive. So how do our cells - assemblies of otherwise "dead" molecules - come to life, and together constitute a living being? In Life’s Ratchet, physicist Peter M. Hoffmann locates the answer to this age-old question at the nanoscale.
-
-
For biologists to learn single molecule biophysics
- By A Synthetic Biologist on 09-04-14
By: Peter M. Hoffman
-
Fundamentals
- Ten Keys to Reality
- By: Frank Wilczek
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins, Frank Wilczek
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of our great contemporary scientists reveals the 10 profound insights that illuminate what everyone should know about the physical world.
-
-
Precious knowledge explained well
- By MP on 01-13-21
By: Frank Wilczek
-
Our Mathematical Universe
- My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality
- By: Max Tegmark
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy, and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and groundbreaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories, but he also shares with us some of the often surprising triumphs and disappointments that have shaped his life as a scientist.
-
-
Wow!
- By Michael on 02-02-14
By: Max Tegmark
-
Until the End of Time
- Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe
- By: Brian Greene
- Narrated by: Brian Greene
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Until the End of Time is Brian Greene's breathtaking new exploration of the cosmos and our quest to find meaning in the face of this vast expanse. Greene takes us on a journey from the big bang to the end of time, exploring how lasting structures formed, how life and mind emerged, and how we grapple with our existence through narrative, myth, religion, creative expression, science, the quest for truth, and a deep longing for the eternal.
-
-
Uneven
- By NJ on 03-03-20
By: Brian Greene
Publisher's Summary
A daring new vision of quantum theory from one of the leading minds of contemporary physics.
Quantum physics is the golden child of modern science. It is the basis of our understanding of atoms, radiation, and so much else, from elementary particles and basic forces to the behavior of materials. But for a century, it has also been the problem child of science: It has been plagued by intense disagreements between its inventors, strange paradoxes, and implications that seem like the stuff of fantasy. Whether it's Schrödinger's cat - a creature that is simultaneously dead and alive - or a belief that the world does not exist independently of our observations of it, quantum theory challenges our fundamental assumptions about reality.
In Einstein's Unfinished Revolution, theoretical physicist Lee Smolin provocatively argues that the problems that have bedeviled quantum physics since its inception are unsolved and unsolvable, for the simple reason that the theory is incomplete. There is more to quantum physics, waiting to be discovered. Our task - if we are to have simple answers to our simple questions about the universe we live in - must be to go beyond quantum mechanics to a description of the world on an atomic scale that makes sense.
In this vibrant and accessible audiobook, Smolin takes us on a journey through the basics of quantum physics, introducing the stories of the experiments and figures that have transformed our understanding of the universe, before wrestling with the puzzles and conundrums that the quantum world presents. Along the way, he illuminates the existing theories that might solve these problems, guiding us toward a vision of the quantum that embraces common-sense realism.
If we are to have any hope of completing the revolution that Einstein began nearly a century ago, we must go beyond quantum mechanics to find a theory that will give us a complete description of nature. In Einstein's Unfinished Revolution, Lee Smolin brings us a step closer to resolving one of the greatest scientific controversies of our age.
Critic Reviews
“Smolin is an extremely creative thinker who has been a leader in theoretical physics for many years. He is also a gifted writer who manages to translate his own insights about how science works into engaging language and compelling stories...Smolin's description of how quantum mechanics works is both elegant and accessible.” (NPR)
"[A]mbitious...upbeat and, finally, optimistic...Smolin is a lucid expositor.” (Nature)
“Lee Smolin has written a superb and sweeping book. He takes us to Bohr, Bohm, Everett and far beyond in a masterful assessment, then on to the struggle to go beyond quantum mechanics towards quantum gravity. Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution is truly a fine work.” (Stuart Kauffman, author of At Home in the Universe)
More from the same
What listeners say about Einstein's Unfinished Revolution
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richard E Seeger
- 08-26-19
A Brave Defense of Local Realism
Quantum Theory is the most comprehensive and accurate model of physics ever conceived, yet there are still no satisfying answers to: "Why is it so bizarre?" A modern-day physicist will likely respond "Don't ask", whereas we get a plethora of answers from the mystics like Deepak Chopra who profit off this misunderstanding of nature with fairy tales, satisfying as they are. Is there some satisfying middle ground that a scientifically-minded person can appreciate?
In this book, Lee Smolin promotes the more satisfying (albeit fringe) theory of local realism. Do particles really exist in multiple places at once? Do we really need a multi-verse (or other strange) models to interpret the consequences of Quantum Theory? No and no. Local realism says there is one objective universe "out there" that can be measured and that particles are "real" things with properties, not just ghostly consequences of an abstract mathematical model.
I respect Smolin's attempt to elucidate alternate theories that would be otherwise swept under the rug (as he does in his other books). Science would be less interesting without these alternate interpretations.
Here, it doesn't matter if the reader already has convictions about Quantum Theory that conflict with Smolin's - his attempt to square the circle of Quantum Physics with some more rational explanation still serves to inform the reader further about why this is so hard to do. The reader may come away a believer in local realism, or perhaps with an better appreciation for the still-yet-to-be explained inherent weirdness of Quantum Theory, but will be more informed either way.
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andras A Feszthammer
- 02-27-21
Suffered through it
The book’s content is great and something that I’m really interested in. But the narration is horrible and I had to force myself not to just give up and quit listening. It’s hard to know if this book is read by an actual person that has a delivery of a robot, or by a text-to-speech computer program. It almost sounds like she is reading and saying each word one be one with no regard to the flow of the sentence, with awkward pauses between words. Just simply bad. Probably the worst narration I’ve ever listen to. It’s a shame, because this book is actually really good. I will probably buy the book read it again.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael
- 05-14-19
Awesome Smolin
This is my favorite Smolin book so far. Most of the book is yet another historical survey of modern physics. There is much more focus on Bell and Bohm than in most such physics books. The last two chapters are the most awesome and leaves Bell and Bohm behind proposing a compelling causal network theory. This is the most interesting theory I have read in a very long time. There is often quite a bit of hand-waving and spinning of tall tales in popular physics books. This book keeps it as down to earth as a QM book can be.
QM foundations has seemed stalled and/or flailing for decades, this seems to me to be the first rational and coherent theory I have seen that has real potential to actually complete Einstein's Unfinished Revolution.
This is a must read for anyone who believes there must be an underlying reality beyond QM and the world is not curiouser than we can imagine.
The difficult narration was excellent with clarity and great pacing.
22 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matthew harnden
- 06-14-19
Good history, good explanations
Lee Smolin does a good job of presenting the less popular historical interpretations on quantum mechanics that fell by the wayside before coming to the current mainstream understanding. He shows their comparative strengths and weaknesses and uses them as a springboard for possible future realist theories. Chapters 14 and 15 are worth listening to at least twice because he covers a lot of ground and the details matter. I am very happy wit this book.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Market Maven
- 06-05-19
Keepin Up with Quantum Physics
For those that like to follow current updates on quantum physics, this book is for you. Lee Smolin clarifies the issues that still remain in the weird quantum world, and suggests new areas of inquiry to get to the bottom of it all. This book is not too technical, and can easily be read by someone with basic familiarity of the landscape. Smolin asks tough questions, and challenges those currently in the field to go beyond our current understanding/lack of understanding.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Don Dean
- 07-12-19
Lee Smolin's Best Book
Smolin has done an extraordinary job of challenging some physicists obsession in telling the public stories of "quantum weirdness " rather than doing the hard work of trying to move forward with our understanding of the universe.
Smolin' does a very nice job in explaining to the non-physicist the pilot wave theory as championed by David Bohm. This is one of the very few books written for non-physicists that has explained the pro and cons of the pilot wave theory.
While not for the neophyte to this type of science literature, you will find the book well written with good metaphors for understanding the foundations of physics.
Best wishes
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dean
- 01-17-21
Nothing Truly New Here
I was disappointed because it’s written by a self-proclaimed “realist” who rejects the Copenhagen, MWI and other interpretations of quantum physics that don’t line up with their point of view. It’s essentially a very long treatise on why they believe what they believe. The only bright spot is that the narrator is excellent.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mike
- 06-27-20
Beyond (Relational) Quantum Mechanics
Smolin believes quantum mechanics is fundamentally incomplete. In particular, he says, our notion of space is wrong, such that space is emergent from what is missing. This is extremely profound because the originators of quantum mechanics - Einstein and Bohm in particular - wrestled with apparent non-localities in their models, i.e. instances where faster-than-light interaction was required. According to Smolin, these apparent violations of special relativity are resolved because what we consider "near" or "at a distance" at the quantum level is illusory, i.e. locality and thus non-locality are not fundamental. We merely need to figure out what *is* fundamental, and Smolin offers his intriguing hypothesis at the end of his book, what he calls the Causal Theory of Views.
Thus, all "interpretations" of quantum mechanics are doomed because quantum mechanics itself is not quite right. Smolin does go through a few of these interpretations, elucidating their strengths and weaknesses. Particularly good is his review of Rovelli's Relational Quantum Mechanics, and this is no surprise because Smolin himself contributed to this formulation and indeed remains a relationalist (meaning that observables must describe relationships, not absolutes, as he explains in Chapter 14). His review of hidden variables theories is also quite salient, and due to the timing of his book, his critique of the Many Worlds interpretation almost feels like a critique of Sean Carroll's book "Something Deeply Hidden", although as I said, Smolin's critique strikes much deeper to the heart of QM.
Overall, this is an amazing read, and has made me a huge fan of Smolin and his work. His assessment of "information" and "meaning" in Quantum Information Theory (Chapter 12), in particular, is the most lucid I've yet read. A must-read for anyone following Quantum Foundations.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Brian W. Veit
- 10-10-19
Lee Smolin’s unique brand of deep musings
If you enjoy reading different approaches to trying to understand the “measurement problem” and other quantum weirdness, Lee Smolin is your iconoclastic “realist” guide. I hafta admit I didn’t quite follow all of this, particularly Lebniz’ “monads” but it’s well worth a listen because he is so open to various branches (e.g., Everett-ian many worlds) that he argues their case well enough to provide a primer, while also disagreeing with them. Then the last couple chapters summarize his view which seems more like a lighthouse than a road map. Fascinating read.
PS I am TOUGH on narrators and this one is very good.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- L. Carter
- 08-08-19
Great content but narration was monotonic
A fantastic, thought provoking book but very monotonic narration that I found difficult to get through.
4 people found this helpful