Rating: 
Summary: Scaled up quantum theory that tries...
Review: ...and almost succeeds in uniting the dissimilar worlds of Biochemistry/cellular mechanics with the subatomic and atomic worlds. Undoubtedly if this book (series of essays/thoughts/lectures) had been written twenty years later, it would be quite different, but as is, it makes some startlingly accurate predictions about the nature of heredity in biological systems. This book is NOT 'quantum mechanics explains life', it is however, the masterwork of one of quantum theories brightest stars, relating the abstract world of subatomic particles to, well, DNA, before anyone knew what it did. Alas, for poor Schrodinger, probabalistic interpretation is much less useful at such a macroscopic level, and the mathematics behind even 'good approximations' of VERY SMALL macromolecules are nearly infinitely more complex than those for, say helium, which cannot be solved exactly (too many variables) itself. But he knew that already, and shows it here. But regardless of any 'after-the-fact' criticism, Schrodinger built something palpable and incredible out of scaling and deduction from the quantum level up. The fact that he struck so close to the mark speaks volumes for the man and for quantum theory in general. Biology is rather more difficult to quantify with wave equations than an alpha particle...not that Schrodinger attempts such an undertaking here, but the point should be understood as pertaining to his background, at least. At any rate, this book is probably not the most pedestrian work one could find on the subject, nor the easiest read. It is however, some awfully foresighted ideas about nature, and is heartily recomended reading for anyone with an in-depth knowledge of biology and chemistry (quantum chemistry/physics would be a good *background* course here), and should be required reading for any molecular biology/biochemistry regimen. This book deserves five stars, and if it wasn't for that article in the late fifties that used quantum tunneling theory to dispute the fact that DNA could be the genetic material of the cell, (not authored by Schrodinger, but using an extension of his ideas, as in most quantum computation) it would have gotten them. Barring that, this is, to my knowledge, the best book about life ever written by a physicist, and contains philosophical insight befitting the greatest sages and philosophers. Or Dr. Schrodinger.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, not opinionated, balanced.
Review: Dr. Schrodinger has put together a book of dna (life) for absolutely anyone interested. Origins is the keel of the write but there is something here I would like to describe as the lifeforce of our atoms when we reached a point in our evolution that allowed us to manipulate at the first stages of awareness. Almost like our genes have a sense to evolve quicker than actual environmental influences have real effect on the species in question. The book is short but covers a great deal more than that. I do recommend buying it if you are at all interested in origins and advancement.
Another good book I strongly recommend that is worth it, which speaks of how the Dna actually found it's way to the first living organism and also speaks of this type of molecular force is SB 1 or God by Karl Mark Maddox, supports evolution.
Rating: 
Summary: A physicist's essay on a topic he knows not
Review: I'm wondering why scientists are allowed to give their opinion as scientists about topics they know nothing about as scientists. If you want to understand what Life is just go outside and feel Life instead of reading books full of speculations. This book gives yet another personal view that reduces Life to a scientist's perspective. Science does not understand Life because it reduces Life to an inanimate thing. It is funny to read passages when scientists give their opinion on mystics and philosophers accounts on Life. As scientists pretend that Science is objective, then let it deal with the objective world. And keep silent about subjective phenomena like Life. Life is far larger than what Science will ever know.
Rating:
Summary: Not leading edge, but a highly readable classic.
Review: It is not surprising that a genius would have interesting things to say. Physicist Erwin Schrodinger was an affable genius whose comments about life, molecular biology, mind, qualia, and a number of topics are interesting and relevant even today.This edition of 'What is Life?' by Cambridge University Press also contains Schrodinger's essay entitled 'Mind and Matter,' along with some autobiographical notes. What is Life? is a well paced 1944 version of molecular genetics that is still valid today. Crick and Watson didn't discover the structure of DNA til 1953, so Schrodinger didn't know of replisomes and error correcting polymerase III, but this essay shows how well developed molecular biology was by this time. Crick and Watson were certainly in the right place at the right time by clearing up a minor bottleneck in the broader science of molecular genetics. Mainly what Schrodinger, the formulator of the quantum mechanical wave equation of atoms, wants to accomplish is to reconcile quantum effects with biology. What is Life? makes an excellent synthesis of quantum physics and biology. Where modern scientists like physicist Roger Penrose and chemist Graham Cairns-Smith fail at this correlation Schrodinger is eminently successful. Although this essay is somewhat dated it is stimulating and rewarding to read. The second essay entitled 'Mind and Matter' written in 1956 is very similar to modern efforts in describing abstract neuro and cognitive science. It tackles many of the same topics as moderns Daniel Dennett, Gerald Edelman, and Antonio Damasio do. Schrodinger artfully blends the idealism of Schopenhauer with his own personal physicist's point of view and crafts a perfectly enjoyable, reflective discussion on the concept of mind. I actually enjoyed Mind and Matter more than What is Life? as it showed the intellectual range of Schrodinger better. His discussion of what he calls objectivation, or how the subjective and objective dynamics of the scientific observer influence one another was great. Lastly, a brief selection of Schrodinger's writing about his own life rounds out this brief, thoughtful collection of essays by a world class scientist. This relaxing little book still exhibits the ability to invoke serious thought about the nature of life and the implications of consciousness.
Rating:
Summary: The transition from Physics to Biology
Review: Of all the books on my bookshelf, this tiny book which can be read in just a few hours, is one of the most important. Not only to me, but to science. In it, Schrodinger perdicts the structure of DNA years before Watson and Crick built their model: "...the chromosome fibre - may be called an aperiodic crystal." This book is where physics and biology first met. It really is one of the great classics of the twentieth century. It will never go out of print.
Rating:
Summary: The transition from Physics to Biology
Review: Of all the books on my bookshelf, this tiny book which can be read in just a few hours, is one of the most important. Not only to me, but to science. In it, Schrodinger perdicts the structure of DNA years before Watson and Crick built their model: "...the chromosome fibre - may be called an aperiodic crystal." This book is where physics and biology first met. It really is one of the great classics of the twentieth century. It will never go out of print.
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Summary: An article in the magazine of Life
Review: Schrodinger states early in the book that the book does not attempts to explain life, but rather touches a very small part of the explanation - he endorses the hypothesis that Mendel's genes (not attributed to DNA at that time) have the order and stability (in spite of being microscopic enough to be directly affected by uncertainity principle) because each gene is ONE molecule. The book is easily readable in just a few hours, and whole book brings out only a few ideas. Treat the book more like a magazine article in the magazine of Life. As an example of the ideas spoken about in the book, Schrodinger asks, "Why are atoms so small?". He then reasons that the question is same as "Why are humans made of so many atoms". And then hints at the answer - Maybe just as making computers requires a certain number of components, humans could not be made out of smaller number of atoms! It is said that the book inspired a lot of research. It inspired mee too.
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Summary: Exceptionally complicated, and brilliantly written
Review: Step by step detailed analysis of the origin of life that covers everything from physics to biology to quantum mechanics. In depth, intricate, full of twists and turns writing so typical to the Eastern European authors of the time. Having an extensive back ground in physics and chemistry I found myself re-reading paragraphs just to comprehend the underlying assumptions. The theoretical concepts were not complicated, but to appreciate Schrodingers writing required an extensive background in philosophy, not in physics or chemistry. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to read his original writing!
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Summary: "Negative Entropy"
Review: Strange that the only thing biologists see in this book is Schroedinger's vague prediction of DNA. I honestly can't find this anywhere in the book, and believe it's the result of people simply attaching Schroedinger's name to the title without reading it. Even stranger is that biologists are unable to see how powerful and simple Schroedinger's call for a fundamentally new type of statistical mechanics is. Current stat mech predicts the diffusion of order; yet the overwhelming observation of biology is that systems of fantastic order arise of their own, all the time. Therefore, a new branch of physics, mathematics, and biology will need to arise to predict systems of 'negative entropy'. And it is; Prigogne was the first to classify entropy producers, and the subject is growing. *This* is the important, clear prediction of Schroedinger's classic book. He was so far ahead of his times, modern biology has yet to catch up.
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Summary: It's all there, before the elucidation of DNA via x-rays
Review: This beautiful little book was based on a sequence of popular lectures given in Dublin during WWII, and in turn on an earlier paper given in Vienna. In the book Schrödinger coins the idea of a genetic code carried by linear molecules with his phrase 'code-script'. He asks how, in the absence of validity of a large n limit required by statistical physics for the validity of any macroscopic biological laws, can the chromsome molecules that carry the code-script yield stable genetic rules. Then, he gives the answer: chemical bonding as predicted by quantum theory ala Heitler-London (Schrödinger identifies quantum jumps in the chrosomes as the origin of mutations, which are also discrete). He refers to the chromosome fibers as linear 'aperiodic crystals' (to emphase their stability in the face of thermal fluctuations) and encourages physicists to study them: he boldly asserts that both the instructions and mechanism for generating organisms via molecular replication are contained in the chromosome molecules (and there is where the "complexity" lies). This book encouraged physicists to study problems of complexity long before the term complexity had become the catchword that it is today. Indeed, our first ideas of 'complexity' were developed parallel in the same era by Turing and von Neumann. Schrödinger is buried in Alpbach (Tirol), where he lectured and enjoyed the Alps frequently after WWII in a school organized by one of two brothers who, according to a very well-informed source, formed nearly the only Resistance in Austria during the war. On his grave is a pretty little plaque bearing the Schrödinger equation. This review refers to the 1969 edition of 'What is Life'.
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