Scan barcode
A review by sarsaparillo
Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime by Sean Carroll
5.0
This is one of the most lucid books I've read on one of the most difficult to understand topics. I listened to Carroll narrate the audiobook himself. He has a very warm and gentle persona.
The book is partially an introduction to the theory and mysteries of quantum mechanics and partially a thesis outlining Carroll's own philosophical take on it, which he's up-front about.
The early chapters - especially the history of discoveries and evolution of ideas in quantum theory - are easily the most well-explained summaries I've heard on this subject.
As the book progresses it gets into more and more difficult terrain, and while Carroll makes are valiant effort to keep the concepts accessible to a lay readership, he is also reluctant to dumb things down in misleading ways. As such I eventually started to lose my grasp on some of the explanations. There's just too much prerequisite math and theory required to grok some of the key points being made. He makes it clear that you shouldn't confuse the quantum "wave function" with waves propagating in space, like electromagnetic waves. But I can't help myself doing that! Perhaps being able to see diagrams would have helped me.
That said it was worth persevering through to the end and this is one of the few books I've read where I've made a mental note to read it again one day to see if I can glean more out of it.
Recommended as a clear, fascinating, no-bullshit introduction to the mysteries of fundamental physics, and the oft-ignored philosophical debates that still rages at its heart.
The book is partially an introduction to the theory and mysteries of quantum mechanics and partially a thesis outlining Carroll's own philosophical take on it, which he's up-front about.
The early chapters - especially the history of discoveries and evolution of ideas in quantum theory - are easily the most well-explained summaries I've heard on this subject.
As the book progresses it gets into more and more difficult terrain, and while Carroll makes are valiant effort to keep the concepts accessible to a lay readership, he is also reluctant to dumb things down in misleading ways. As such I eventually started to lose my grasp on some of the explanations. There's just too much prerequisite math and theory required to grok some of the key points being made. He makes it clear that you shouldn't confuse the quantum "wave function" with waves propagating in space, like electromagnetic waves. But I can't help myself doing that! Perhaps being able to see diagrams would have helped me.
That said it was worth persevering through to the end and this is one of the few books I've read where I've made a mental note to read it again one day to see if I can glean more out of it.
Recommended as a clear, fascinating, no-bullshit introduction to the mysteries of fundamental physics, and the oft-ignored philosophical debates that still rages at its heart.