Rating: 
Summary: I'm Uncertain
Review: * John Gribbin's SCHROEDINGER'S KITTENS & THE SEARCH FOR REALITY,
subtitled "Solving The Quantum Mysteries", is a follow-up to Gribbin's
IN SEARCH OF SCHROEDINGER'S CAT, and amounts to a discussion of
leading edge (at least as of 1995) concepts in fundamental quantum
physics.Gribbin begins with a prologue to set up the problem, discussing the
two-slit interference experiment; the tale of Schroedinger's Cat and
it relevance to quantum indeterminacy; and then goes on to the
murky waters of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox,
quantum entanglement, and Bell's theorem. He follows this up with a
historical narrative to show the emergence of these experiments and
concepts out of classical physics, illustrates their bizarre aspects
and contradictions, and outlines various approaches to their solution. It is a bit hard to know what to make of this book. The first issue
is: who is the target audience? The material in it is so difficult,
even at Gribbin's informal level of writing, that it appears to be a
casual essay for physicists, not something easily digested by the
general reader, even one such as myself with a lifelong active
interest in the sciences. This leads to the second issue: it is clear that Gribbin is tackling
difficult issues, but it is not clear that he does a very good job of
explaining them to the reader. On reading it, I kept thinking; "This
guy writes like a physicist!" -- to which the immediate answer popped
into my head: "Well duh, he *is* a physicist!" He seems to have a
good handle on what he is writing about, but not necessarily on the
glazed-eye reactions of readers trying to follow him. The title of
the book helps enhance such suspicions: if I were reading a book with
a title that claimed it was about THE SEARCH FOR REALITY in public,
I'd probably hide it in a brown-paper cover so people wouldn't think I
was that deep in the outfield. It makes me a little uneasy to think
that Gribbin didn't realize how pretentious the title was, but then
again maybe it was foisted on him by an editor. And that, finally, leads in turn to the third issue: the whole
subject of fundamental quantum physics is so far removed from ordinary
experience that while reading the book a question always seems to be
floating in the background: "Who but a physicist would care in the
slightest about any of this?" I already have a definition of reality
that works perfectly for me: It's what I don't want to face when I
wake up in the morning with a headache. I'm only really interested in
learning about the practical applications of quantum theory; having to
unavoidably struggle through theoretical issues just to figure out how
to simplify or ignore them do so feels like trying to take a plane
from London to Paris, and finding out the only connection is through
Honolulu. The fact that physicists have been able to conduct
experiments to *prove* some of these bizarre ideas only makes it
worse, since it makes them much harder to ignore. In the end, I am hard-pressed to come to clear conclusions about this
book. I think a serious student of physics would find it interesting.
It is much too difficult for a casual reader to be regarded as anything
approximating light reading -- Bob save us from the casual reader who
could read through it and claim: "I understand it perfectly!". I
doubt that any physicist would make such a claim. I did find this book valuable myself. I acquired some interesting
historical details, as well as some insights, most significantly an
understanding that the "many worlds" theory of quantum physics, which
I initially thought sounded like sheer science fiction, really isn't
any more preposterous than traditional quantum physics (or for that
matter any less). I will probably read through this book again, and I
will read other books by John Gribbin. But I will mutter nasty
things under my breath while I do it.
Rating: 
Summary: A little difficult
Review: Although I'm not really a math/physics type person, I enjoy the popular books on the subject and have read a number. John Gribbin's book Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality was a little harder for me to get into, but there was a fair amount of new-at least to me-material. Part of the problem was that the author tended to repeat himself. Although if I plowed onward I usually discovered his purpose in doing so. Part of the problem is that he covers a lot. The book has a fairly extensive history of the who's who of physics, starting with the early Greek philosophers for whom experiment was largely impossible (even the thermometer is a fairly new invention) to the likes of Galileo and Newton (for both of whom experiment was an imperative). The section on Modern Times is interesting in that it shows where thinking has gone wrong as well as right, and shows the interconnectedness of research in physics, one break through or thought experiment leading to further advances. I certainly found the degree to which Einstein was beholding to previous theorists surprising; he has become such an icon, that he seems to stand alone, head and shoulders above the rest. Just the idea that scientific understanding had reached a level at the turn of the century that the discovery of relativity was "ready" to be made was a surprise to me. It makes even more obvious that advances have their "time" and that much in science and technology moves forward in lock step. In Desperate Remedies the author discusses in greater depth the various interpretations of quantum theory including, for instance, the well known Copenhagen Interpretation, David Bohm's pilot wave theory, and the many worlds theories, putting them into perspective and describing how each is different from the others and how each stands up to experiment. He has his own biases, but he is fairly up front with it, explaining his reasons for them. To those with a greater background in physics and/or math, this may seem arrogant, but to those of us who haven't a clue, it's helpful. One of the benefits of the last chapters was that Dr. Gribbin points out clearly that all of the theories about "reality" are just paradigms that allow their authors to draw conclusions, design experiments and test results. He also points out that these same paradigms can confine thinking, confusing the metaphor with the described phenomenon, or channel thinking so much that experiments are designed to find certain things while neglecting other things. I thought his own idea of combining all of these theories and sifting out the relevant portions of each to make a master theory an interesting one. The bibliography is fairly extensive and annotated, which allows the interested to follow up on some of the areas of interest, whether particular theories or biographies. Most of these are quite current, from the 80's and 90's, the oldest being 1873 and 1934 (Tyndall, On light; and Dunne, An Experiment with Time.) I'm not sure I'd advise the first time dabbler to start with this book. I think it might be too confusing to start with, but it would definitely be a good one for those with at least some background in the genre. I agree with another reviewer; read 10, then go on to this one. The Universe Next Door: The Making of Tomorrow's Science by Marcus Chown, Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe by Martin J. Rees, Matter Myth by John Gribbin, and P. C. W. Davies, and About Time by P. C. W. Davies might interest the beginner.
Rating:
Summary: A little difficult
Review: Although I'm not really a math/physics type person, I enjoy the popular books on the subject and have read a number. John Gribbin's book Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality was a little harder for me to get into, but there was a fair amount of new-at least to me-material. Part of the problem was that the author tended to repeat himself. Although if I plowed onward I usually discovered his purpose in doing so. Part of the problem is that he covers a lot. The book has a fairly extensive history of the who's who of physics, starting with the early Greek philosophers for whom experiment was largely impossible (even the thermometer is a fairly new invention) to the likes of Galileo and Newton (for both of whom experiment was an imperative). The section on Modern Times is interesting in that it shows where thinking has gone wrong as well as right, and shows the interconnectedness of research in physics, one break through or thought experiment leading to further advances. I certainly found the degree to which Einstein was beholding to previous theorists surprising; he has become such an icon, that he seems to stand alone, head and shoulders above the rest. Just the idea that scientific understanding had reached a level at the turn of the century that the discovery of relativity was "ready" to be made was a surprise to me. It makes even more obvious that advances have their "time" and that much in science and technology moves forward in lock step. In Desperate Remedies the author discusses in greater depth the various interpretations of quantum theory including, for instance, the well known Copenhagen Interpretation, David Bohm's pilot wave theory, and the many worlds theories, putting them into perspective and describing how each is different from the others and how each stands up to experiment. He has his own biases, but he is fairly up front with it, explaining his reasons for them. To those with a greater background in physics and/or math, this may seem arrogant, but to those of us who haven't a clue, it's helpful. One of the benefits of the last chapters was that Dr. Gribbin points out clearly that all of the theories about "reality" are just paradigms that allow their authors to draw conclusions, design experiments and test results. He also points out that these same paradigms can confine thinking, confusing the metaphor with the described phenomenon, or channel thinking so much that experiments are designed to find certain things while neglecting other things. I thought his own idea of combining all of these theories and sifting out the relevant portions of each to make a master theory an interesting one. The bibliography is fairly extensive and annotated, which allows the interested to follow up on some of the areas of interest, whether particular theories or biographies. Most of these are quite current, from the 80's and 90's, the oldest being 1873 and 1934 (Tyndall, On light; and Dunne, An Experiment with Time.) I'm not sure I'd advise the first time dabbler to start with this book. I think it might be too confusing to start with, but it would definitely be a good one for those with at least some background in the genre. I agree with another reviewer; read 10, then go on to this one. The Universe Next Door: The Making of Tomorrow's Science by Marcus Chown, Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe by Martin J. Rees, Matter Myth by John Gribbin, and P. C. W. Davies, and About Time by P. C. W. Davies might interest the beginner.
Rating: 
Summary: A must
Review: Gribbin had the talent in explaning the unexplained. The book is a must for those who are interested in Quantum Mechanics. Worth Buying
Rating: 
Summary: Good historical background, but a hazy view of quantum.
Review: Gribbin's book is strong in introduction, but seems tofall short in properly addressing theissues of the quantum theory itself. The introduction is extremely good: one is drawn into important historical advances in theoretical physics, particularly in the study of light. Unfortunately, the transition to quantum theory is quite abrupt, and the author does not make good use of this material. It seems that the historical study of light was written almost independently of the section addressed to quantum mechanics. One is left with a hazy conception of Quantum Theory.
Rating:
Summary: New twists in the world of the quantum
Review: I enjoyed "In search of schrodingers cat", so I had to read "In search of Schroedingers kittens" as well. Sure Gribbin has his pet theories, but all in all I think he just tells the story of what is actually mainstream physics. Or more precisely - problems facing mainstream physics. This brings you to the concept of "truth". Actually, the books conveys a picture where the only difference between physicists and novelists is that the physicist thinks that his story might actually be true. Where a physicist spends his time seeking out physical models of already discovered mathematical structures hoping that they comply with experiment. Reality ? Who knows, seems to be the message. Perhaps thats the truth ? Along the road towards this "clarification" comes a lot of very exciting thought experiments. Where Gribbin twists the standard interpretations just a little to give you a new insight. I particular enjoyed one about special relativity, Where Gribbin twists it one step further than usual and comes up with a logical consequence of the standard Lorentz transformation: How does time flow for a photon? Answer: It doesn't ! According to the standard Lorentz contraction the space interval between two objects does not exist for a photon. And so, from the point of view of the photon, it takes no time to travel this distance. Gribbin remarks that most people are just so stunned by what the equations say that they have not fully thought out the implications. Some understatement ! -Simon
Rating:
Summary: New twists in the world of the quantum
Review: I enjoyed "In search of schrodingers cat", so I had to read "In search of Schroedingers kittens" as well. Sure Gribbin has his pet theories, but all in all I think he just tells the story of what is actually mainstream physics. Or more precisely - problems facing mainstream physics. This brings you to the concept of "truth". Actually, the books conveys a picture where the only difference between physicists and novelists is that the physicist thinks that his story might actually be true. Where a physicist spends his time seeking out physical models of already discovered mathematical structures hoping that they comply with experiment. Reality ? Who knows, seems to be the message. Perhaps thats the truth ? Along the road towards this "clarification" comes a lot of very exciting thought experiments. Where Gribbin twists the standard interpretations just a little to give you a new insight. I particular enjoyed one about special relativity, Where Gribbin twists it one step further than usual and comes up with a logical consequence of the standard Lorentz transformation: How does time flow for a photon? Answer: It doesn't ! According to the standard Lorentz contraction the space interval between two objects does not exist for a photon. And so, from the point of view of the photon, it takes no time to travel this distance. Gribbin remarks that most people are just so stunned by what the equations say that they have not fully thought out the implications. Some understatement ! -Simon
Rating: 
Summary: Total waste of time. Reviewers below fooled me.
Review: I have no idea what the point of this book is. I bought it because I've read many cosmology books that go into quantum theory in enough detail to make their points and wanted a fuller discussion. Instead I got the following: a few dozen pages describing some quantum-related experiments and thought exercises; two chapters of very dry and pointless biographies of physicists having nothing to do with quantum mechanics; an incredibly bizarre attack on the foundations of science that argues that everything physics says is wrong and that Einstein was an idiot for not moving from special relativity to general relativity more quickly; and finally, after much buildup, a lame interpretation of quantum observations. I think as soon as the author argued that the many universes interpretation was more plausible than the Copenhagen interpretation, I realized that he was a crackpot. Reading further only convinced me more. This is not so much a book as a collection of random, pointless essays that could be read in any order and still have no value. A total waste of my time. I will be looking a little more carefully when I buy another book that actually is about quantem theory, which this mess is certainly not.
Rating:
Summary: A must
Review: I have now read this book four or five times. Although Dr. Gribbin repeats himself a bit throughout the text, he has a purpose in doing so; the subject matter doesn't conform to our everyday experience, and by restating certain issues in different ways, he ensures that the reader "gets" it. I especially enjoyed his concluding chapters; he actually went out on a limb to suggest a viable explanation for quantum physics, based on John Cramer's interpretation of the Wheeler-Feynman theory... something that very few science writers are willing to do. And he writes well enough that (over several readings), it becomes understandable. I would like Dr. Gribbin to expand those last few chapters into an entire book so that I may understand it even better.
Rating:
Summary: In Search of Schrödinger's Kittens: A Myth for our Times
Review: I have now read this book four or five times. Although Dr. Gribbin repeats himself a bit throughout the text, he has a purpose in doing so; the subject matter doesn't conform to our everyday experience, and by restating certain issues in different ways, he ensures that the reader "gets" it. I especially enjoyed his concluding chapters; he actually went out on a limb to suggest a viable explanation for quantum physics, based on John Cramer's interpretation of the Wheeler-Feynman theory... something that very few science writers are willing to do. And he writes well enough that (over several readings), it becomes understandable. I would like Dr. Gribbin to expand those last few chapters into an entire book so that I may understand it even better.
| 
