States of Matter, States of Mind

Rating:
Summary: Models of matter, analogies in nature
Review: Barton has written a book that should be compulsory reading for all budding university physcists and chemists and their teachers. He deals with models, analogies and other conceptual aids that are used in describing nature. His non-mathematical text captures very essential ingredients of science which are usually omitted in textbooks proper. Is it obvious that students understand the implications of model simplifications and unspoken ideality assumptions ?. How is reality added and model enhanced ? One of the nice features is that the book really deals with various sorts of matter: not only solid, liquid and gas but also surfactants, thin films, foams, aerogels, adhesives, gels, ceramics, glasses, liquid crystals, ........

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful reference work for anyone studying "existence".
Review: I found "States of Matter, States of Mind" to be an insightful compilation of the known interpretations of "matter" and forces as perceived through our limited senses and through our more highly sensitive laboratory instruments of detection. Allan Barton has done a wonderful service to all that may come across this work. One is taken through the maze of interpretations of the multiplicity of the patterns of existence - into the Classical/Newtonian - through the Quantum - and then out into the future of perception.

I keep this work close by as a reference when I do my own research and writing. I highly recommend this work to all who endeavor to perceive "reality" in its true form.

Michael Spirit

Rating:
Summary: Models of matter, analogies in nature
Review: I found "States of Matter, States of Mind" to be an insightful compilation of the known interpretations of "matter" and forces as perceived through our limited senses and through our more highly sensitive laboratory instruments of detection. Allan Barton has done a wonderful service to all that may come across this work. One is taken through the maze of interpretations of the multiplicity of the patterns of existence - into the Classical/Newtonian - through the Quantum - and then out into the future of perception.

I keep this work close by as a reference when I do my own research and writing. I highly recommend this work to all who endeavor to perceive "reality" in its true form.

Michael Spirit

Rating:
Summary: A powerful thought anchor for non-science disciplines, too.
Review: States of Matter is a beautiful critique on the models we use to understand our reality. The text is really humbling stuff -- not because I thought I "knew", but rather because it highlights that we can barely know what we don't know. This leaves us to publish an understanding of our reality that may, of course, be rigorous and functional, but at the same time must be continually subject to even total collapse as we move closer to the truth. In whole and in part, I've found compelling analogies in this book that can be practically applied across disciplines -- business, literature, etc.