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Summary: Revealing the fundamental flaws of western thought
Review: Quantum mechanics, Zukav tells us reveal the fundamental flaws of wester logic. Whether what is happening at the subatomic level is real or not is not the issue, the issue is that physicists like Einstein, Plank, and Bell have told us that our language is limited in describing the seemingly paradoxical nature of the quantum world. This book shows us that science has proven its own impotence in the face of such "nonsensical" physical phenomenon at the quantum level and that the only truth that one can get at lies in experience itself and not in theory. Eastern philosophy is not based upon Western notions of absolute faith in a higher being, because that would mean that God is something apart from ourselves, or dualism, which is what quantum mechanics refutes. Eastern philosophies like Hinduism and Buddhism are similar to quantum mechanics in that they focus on the interconnectedness, or the oneness of all things, which is what actually occurs at the quantum level. Eastern thought claims that truth lies in experience and intuition not in theory or language because language and theories are only symbols of the real thing and not the real thing itself. Many physicists are loath to make connections between Eastern philosophy and physics, dismissing Buddhism as unprovable mysticism. And yet the great physicists of the twentieth century have proven that paradox is the nature of quantum mechanics. Therefore, our regular ways of thinking about reality cannot adequately explain the mysteries of the subatomic world, because the only real answers are those that lie within experience and not theory. But don't take it from me. Read the book, and Zukav will explain it himself.
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Summary: be very careful
Review: be very careful of trying to understand quantum mechanics (and all facets of science, for that matter) in terms of it being "like" something else. QM/QEM is not "like" anything, it simply is itself, which is why it is one of the most difficult branches of science to apprehend. it is vastly complex, truly bizarre in some regards, but quite logical and beautiful in its equations. this book may be a decent book to spark a layman's interest in the subject, but it is vastly inept in describing anything. especially obnoxious are the constant assertions that science and faith are the same thing because QM states nothing can be known to have "certainty", sweeping aside the obvious logical flaw that faith is a type of absolute certainty. i recommend that to TRULY get a grasp on QM, one begins by reading books written by actual, real live (or dead) physicysts. i cannot argue against THIS book enough. the philosophical implications of QM ARE important, but not in this neatly packaged and trite fashion. look elsewhere.
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Summary: zen and the art...
Review: zen and the art was interesting though kind of a cliche to read. this however, is less known and still highly fascinating. offers a great overview of this specific field in easy to understand terms. other than this...read other reviews for more help.
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Summary: great...
Review: this was a very happy great book full of wonder and happy tree frogs grazing on the alaskan tundra. i really liked how the moon was a bee keeper and she always took care of the two parakeets who would always say, "I SHOT JFK"! i love it... truly marvelous.
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Summary: Excellent!
Review: If you need a book that will explain, in a clear and detailed way, quantum mechanics, look no farther! Easy to read and fascinating. EXCELLENT!
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Summary: A Great Introduction to Physics and Chemistry
Review: I read this book back in 1984 or 1985 on the advice of my chemistry professor. I simply was "not getting" the quantum physics. It is an introduction to physics in the vein of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle repair. I think this book should be required reading for Freshmen.
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Summary: An easy book
Review: Very nice and easy introduction to modern Physics which includes Relativity and Quantum physics and beyond. It is a nice book for someone who does not have Physics background but interested to know things.
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Summary: eastern physics
Review: this book explained in a simple way, many of the complex matters of the new physics and got me thinking alot. this boook was not only educationally stimulating but spiritually as well, and i plan to pursue the topics of enlightenment and the concepts of the new physics with more books like this one. i highly recomend it. if i may also recomend, the tao of pooh by benjamin hoff.
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Summary: A Magnificent Obsession
Review: One day, years after obtaining my science degree, someone asked me, has anyone ever seen an atom? "That depends..." started my embarrassed answer to a question that I should have known, but did not. So began my interest and second attempt to navigate the impenetrable jungle known as physics - or as Gary Zukav implies - better descibed as philosophy. How else can you describe a scientific endeavour in which you cannot even see your subject. Religion? Perhaps. This book successfully establishes that physics when looked at with an oblique, nonscientific eye, is not what you were taught at school. School physics is about why the chair you sit on does not collapse. Philosophy is about why you sat down in that chair - but 'out of school physics' is all about 'are you really sitting in a chair, or is something else at work here?' Consider, the visible mass of the chair is one trillionth of the overall structure. What's the rest? Forces? What forces? The answer is that no-one really knows, but physics speculates what where and why they are there; and speculation ends up in strange places. Multiple Universes, 11 dimensional worlds - these are not the ideas of Star Trek - this is the reality of Physics, this is what we are. A friend may look fat, but remove the empty space secreted away in the atom, and that friend would not be visible with the naked eye, or a telescope or a microscope. Interesting? Magic? No, just physics.
Gary Zukov cries out from this wilderness, look everyone, look what I've found - physics is the most astounding subject in the world!. His book expands clearly on this theme. A great introductory read.
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Summary: Taught me what a Prof. couldn't...
Review: Let me start simply, by saying this book is no Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, even though a title-reviewer mentions ZMM in passing. It is, however, a discussion of quantum physics that you could have with a knowledgeable friend who lacks a pen and paper (well, perhaps an envelope and a pencil for some sketches). This book isn't the "definitive" discussion of QPhysics in simplistic terms, but it does do a nice job of introducing how QPhysics came to be from Plank to Einstein through Feynman... [Others have mentioned Feynman's "QED", which I haven't read but plan to.] What this book did for me was to solidify QM/Qphys after being taught by 3 Physics professors at one of the top universities in the country, as well as an electronics-materials prof. who couldn't seem to explain a single thing about Schrodinger's equation. And, for a book that's kept me reading it, that's quite a bit to say about it. I kept saying, "Ah! Well, why didn't those sillies [Prof's] ever tell us that?!" Agreeing with others here, I will admit at times it's slightly difficult to keep the whole particle/wave thing separate. If one stops to think about the book while reading it, it's not difficult in the least. It also helped me to solidify a thought that's begun for me in past readings... that on the edge of knowledge, all of us are putting faith in our ideas. Science is closer to philosophy than most will admit. This book, I agree, does not touch much on Eastern philosophies in the least. For that, I suggest reading Alan Watt's "Way of Zen", or perhaps the somewhat silly at times Benjamin Hoff's "Tao of Pooh" and "Te of Piglet", 3 classics for starters. [While you're at it, pick up Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig if you haven't yet - it's not really only about motorcycles.]
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