realreads's review against another edition
5.0
I am not a huge fan of the historical perspective (since it wasn't new to me) but once we got to the meat of this book, I love it. What I found particularly interesting and useful is building an understanding of how the different theories fit with one another. as his previous book, this one is beautifully written and leaves you pondering both physics and philosophy.
thetarantulalounge's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
extragravy's review against another edition
4.0
Rovelli's subtitle is apt, he does take us on a journey, one I enjoyed thoroughly. This is a journey in four parts. The first two bring the lay-reader up to speed with "what is known", so that the author can then dig into what he really lives for, to explain and open up what he has learned and suspects about the quantum reality. Parts three and four is where he takes us down this particular rabbit hole, and it is quite the ride.
I enjoyed the daily reading/thinking/struggle with trying to grasp, imagine and absorb what he was showing me. No math was required but imagination and willingness to go on this journey surely are required. Some of what he has to say will be difficult to understand and sometimes I was so aware that I was not getting it that I would get distracted with my own revealed ignorance, but really this is fine, this is not easy stuff and the fun of a roller coaster is the little feeling of panic as you look over the edge.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be introduced to the reality in which we live.
I enjoyed the daily reading/thinking/struggle with trying to grasp, imagine and absorb what he was showing me. No math was required but imagination and willingness to go on this journey surely are required. Some of what he has to say will be difficult to understand and sometimes I was so aware that I was not getting it that I would get distracted with my own revealed ignorance, but really this is fine, this is not easy stuff and the fun of a roller coaster is the little feeling of panic as you look over the edge.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be introduced to the reality in which we live.
gothwin's review against another edition
4.0
This book gives an overview of an approach to quantum gravity known as 'loop quantum gravity LQG'. The first half of the book brings readers up to speed with the ideas that lead to LQG. This takes us from the ancient Greeks, through Galileo and Newton, onto Maxwell and finally General Relativity and quantum field theory. This covered about the right amount of detail and presented some alternative interpretations to quantum theory not covered in other popular books (or indeed university when I was studying).
The remainder of the book looks at LQG itself and some of its implications. It's good to read a book about quantum gravity that isn't just about String Theory and to finally get a popular account of (one of) the alternatives.
The reason it doesn't get 5 stars is that it felt a bit too brief to me. I'd have like to have seen a more detailed explanation of some of the ideas and I think it would have been interesting to compare/contrast to other approaches such as string theory.
Overall a good and interesting read though.
The remainder of the book looks at LQG itself and some of its implications. It's good to read a book about quantum gravity that isn't just about String Theory and to finally get a popular account of (one of) the alternatives.
The reason it doesn't get 5 stars is that it felt a bit too brief to me. I'd have like to have seen a more detailed explanation of some of the ideas and I think it would have been interesting to compare/contrast to other approaches such as string theory.
Overall a good and interesting read though.
rory_b's review against another edition
Will get back to it, now just isn't the right moment. This needs full attention.
pavram's review against another edition
4.0
Roveli čovek dosta voli poeziju, te je gura i tamo gde ne treba, tojest kada piše o nečemu gde je, za potrebu lakoće razumevanja relativnih laika kao što sam ja, najbolje biti koncizan i precizan. Sa te strane mu se ima šta zameriti, kao i to što ne daje baš potpun prikaz svih fenomena (posebno) kvantne mehanike i opšteg relativiteta, već samo onih koji mu odgovaraju. Medjutim, sa druge strane, kao jedan od proponenata i osnivača loop quantum gravity teorije (te je malo i prodaje ovde), ovo je potpuno fascinantno štivo koje daje uvid u jedno od potencijalnih rešenja diskutabilno najveće nepoznanice teorijske fizike – kako spojiti nespojivo, odnosno šta se desi i šta može da se desi kada se sretnu kvantna mehanika i opšti relativitet. E sad, zašto je to toliko zanimljivo, mogao bih dugo i sa verovatno puno grešaka, pa neću. No, u par crta: beskonačnost ne postoji, prostorvreme ima strukturu, vreme je izmišljotina i, uz možda najradikalnije poredjenje knjige, nalik je na toplotu. Ne postoji stvarno, već je posledica naših aproksimacija, našeg nepotpunog razumevanja. A zna se šta je Ajnštajn rekao o ljudskom nerazumevanju (hint: beskonačno je).
Roveli priznaje da je sama završnica knjige, kao i kod većine sličnog štiva, izrazito spekulativna, ali ima li išta zanimljivije od tog nagadjanja? Drugačije se, na kraju, ni ne može pogoditi.
4+
Roveli priznaje da je sama završnica knjige, kao i kod većine sličnog štiva, izrazito spekulativna, ali ima li išta zanimljivije od tog nagadjanja? Drugačije se, na kraju, ni ne može pogoditi.
4+
ababoglo's review against another edition
5.0
I am in absolute awe. Best read of the year for me. More detailed review to follow.
This book is incredible!
This book is incredible!