Have you ever been baffled or intimidated by what physicists tell us about the fundamental structures of the universe? Well, snap. Without a very sophisticated understanding of mathematics most of it is over our heads. Some leading physicists have tried to offer books for the general reader. One was Richard Feynman with his celebrated best-seller Six Easy Pieces (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Six-Easy-Pieces-Essentials-Explained/dp/0465025277/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449310751&sr=1-1&keywords=six+easy+pieces). Now Carlo Rovelli (http://www.cpt.univ-mrs.fr/~rovelli/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Rovelli) offers a potted summary of modern physics, the universe and your place in the world in seven enlightening lessons. He says : ‘Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world. And it’s breathtaking’.
In seven short lessons he guides us, with simplicity and clarity, through the scientific revolution that shook physics in the twentieth century and still continues to shake us today. Rovelli explains Einstein’s theory of general relativity, quantum mechanics, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, elementary particles, gravity, and the nature of the mind. In under eighty pages, readers have a chance to understand the most transformative scientific discoveries of the twentieth century and what they mean for us. This is a gift of a read and shouldn’t be missed.
Enquire at your local library or consult http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seven-Brief-Lessons-Physics-Rovelli/dp/0241235960/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449309065&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+brief+lessons+on+physics for full bibliographic detail.
Get a brief introduction into the thinking of Carlo Rovelli by listening to a ‘Philosophy Bites’ podcast available at the link http://philosophybites.com/2015/11/carlo-rovelli-on-philosophy-and-physics.html This deals with fundamental questions about the history and progress of science. Rovelli suggests that time is an illusion, or at best a local subjective perspective on existence.
96 pages in Allen Lane
First published 2015
ISBN 978-0241235966
Professor Carlo Rovelli