A review by tonstantweader
The Flicker Men by Ted Kosmatka
5.0
The Flicker Men is science-fiction, hard science-fiction. It is rooted in the real world science of Feynman’s double slit experiments that proved the duality of light, that light is both wave and particle. Coincidentally, just one year ago, the very first photo was taken of this duality of light. I know sometimes people run in fear of hard science and quantum physics in particular, but Ted Kosmatka does an excellent job of making it easy to understand in his book. If only the people who wrote textbooks could write with such clarity. For those who are still afraid of the science, this short video explains the experiment and even a little more, explaining how they were able to photograph light as both wave and particle.
The double slit experiment in the book and in real life demonstrates the observer effect, because when light goes through the slits unobserved, they are waves. When they are observed, they are particles. Observing a phenomenon changes the phenomenon. All of this is real science, rooting this novel deeply in reality, which makes its progression into speculative fiction more exciting.
The speculation begins when the scientists discover than frogs observing the light do not change its nature, nor do cats, dogs, chimps or apes. Is it possible that the difference is explained by human consciousness, maybe even the human soul? Of course, our scientist Eric Argus is only thinking of the science, not its implications in society.
The rest of my review is at https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2016/02/06/the-flicker-men-by-ted-kosmatka/
The double slit experiment in the book and in real life demonstrates the observer effect, because when light goes through the slits unobserved, they are waves. When they are observed, they are particles. Observing a phenomenon changes the phenomenon. All of this is real science, rooting this novel deeply in reality, which makes its progression into speculative fiction more exciting.
The speculation begins when the scientists discover than frogs observing the light do not change its nature, nor do cats, dogs, chimps or apes. Is it possible that the difference is explained by human consciousness, maybe even the human soul? Of course, our scientist Eric Argus is only thinking of the science, not its implications in society.
The rest of my review is at https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2016/02/06/the-flicker-men-by-ted-kosmatka/