Philosophy of Space and Time

Rating:
Summary: unrewarding
Review: I picked this book up in search of some insights and a way to think about this thing that is "space and time". However I found it rather uninspiring. Firstly Reichenbach is too much of a positivist, trying to be too general about the relativity of geometry, and he is overly concerned about debating the view that Euclidean space is more natural. Related to this the flow of the book gets bogged down in the problem of visualisation. For example there is an extended analysis of a spherical geometry using a ridiculous geometric construction, which by the way is very hard to get through until you realise he has used the same definition for two different things. I wasn't pleased to go through that effort so as to know what being trapped between two spherical shells looks like in a spherical world! Although he does have a minor point to argue here.
Anyway, though the first two chapters were largely a waste of time over trivialities and geometric fantasies, at least the arguments were constructed well and without large gaps, and I was looking forward to getting into the chapter on space-time combined. However the section 27 came with a footnote: "We shall present at this point only a summary, for a complete presentation we must refer to A". Arrggh!!! Not only does it now become unreadable without a knowledge of "A", I can't find what "A" is, so this book does not stand on its own. At this point I'm afraid I gave up, I cannot read this sort of stuff in "summary", but must follow an argument, so I cannot tell whether Reichy in the end had some interesting insights.

Rating:
Summary: Excellently written and still relevant today
Review: Reichenbach writes with clarity, reason and passion on a topic that is in much need of this still today. It is accessible to the astute layperson - there is some occasional math, but the text handles most of the important concepts. It is useful for anyone interested in the combined scientific and philosophical perspective of space and time.

Reichenbach, in the Introduction, rues the current estrangement of philosophy and science, longing for the "natural philosophy" of the past, where thinkers were well-versed in both areas.

So this book takes us through the philosophy of space and time accompanied and supported by empirical and theoretical scientific work. He seems to have little in the way of agenda or "-isms" to tout, nor is he inclined to spend much ink on rehashing historical debates or trivial examples. And although the book winds it way eventually to General Relativity, we are thankfully not dragged through the typical "Aristotlean view -> Galilean view -> Einsteinian view" that is so commonly used.

Instead, he begins by discussing Euclidean space, the nature of geometry and so on. Throughout, the notion of topology is a common thread. Time, simultaneity, Lorentz, Principle of Equivalence, and gravitational effects on the topology of spacetime, are some of the steps through the book.

In section 39, for example, he guides us on a detour entitled "The Analytic Treatment of Reimannian Spaces", just to carry "...the treatment of general geometry a little further." In four short pages and a modicum of equations, the nature of tensors as a natural mathematical consequence appear, effortlessly and painlessly.

All along, woven in, are cogent philosophical treatments of the topic currently under discussion. The book is a good example of the author's desire to see philosophy and science melded again, and good example of his prowess in both areas.

Rating:
Summary: A COMPLEX AND COMPREHENSIVE BOOK ON THE SUBJEST
Review: This book is a science book and as such most of the people who may have something to say would be people along that line. However, I wish to show the value of this book from a business perspective! The heading of "Time & Space" would certainly catch the atention of any Wall Street expert who is familiar with the teachings of the great legendary expert W.D. Gann who popularized the use of space and time in his market theories.

Persons who have bought the four-book set written by Brad Cowan would find this book being of some help in understanding his work. Infact, this book has Chapter 29 listed as "Four Dimensional Representation Of The Space-Time Geometry" which has a bearing on Mr. Cowan book by the name of "Four Dimension Stock Market Structures & Cycles" I hope that others can see that there is a scientific connection the way the business world operates.

Rating:
Summary: A COMPLEX AND COMPREHENSIVE BOOK ON THE SUBJEST
Review: This book is a science book and as such most of the people who may have something to say would be people along that line. However, I wish to show the value of this book from a business perspective! The heading of "Time & Space" would certainly catch the atention of any Wall Street expert who is familiar with the teachings of the great legendary expert W.D. Gann who popularized the use of space and time in his market theories.

Persons who have bought the four-book set written by Brad Cowan would find this book being of some help in understanding his work. Infact, this book has Chapter 29 listed as "Four Dimensional Representation Of The Space-Time Geometry" which has a bearing on Mr. Cowan book by the name of "Four Dimension Stock Market Structures & Cycles" I hope that others can see that there is a scientific connection the way the business world operates.

Rating:
Summary: Forgotten jewel?
Review: This is an absolutely fabulous book about the foundations of special and general relativity. The author's deep understanding of and insight to these complex structures is beautifully displayed and explained using simple but nontrivial examples and very readable text. If you really want to understand relativity, you must read this book. The focus is not on formal mathematics but on the real, intuitive, content of the concepts and the mathematical theory.

If you have been confused by discussions of rigid rods, clocks, simultaneity etc. in other sources, check out Reichenbach's construction of the light geometry and his discussion of the indefinite space type. Want to understand how gravity affects spacetime but do not want to study differential geometry? Read Reichenbach's sections on the Riemannian spaces and his chapter about space and time in gravitational fields. No other source explains these relationships as clearly and without resorting to silly or trivial examples.

A beautiful scholarly book which is thoroughly accessible. The author's great love of the subject is much in evidence.