Dreams of a Final Theory: The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of Nature

by Steven Weinberg

Book Overview

The Nobel Prize-winning physicist and bestselling author of The First Three Minutes describes the grand quest for a unifying theory of nature--one that can explain forces as different as the cohesion inside the atom and the gravitational tug between the sun and Earth. Wirting with dazzling elegance and clarity, he retraces the steps that have led modern scientists from relativity and quantum mechanics to the notion of super-strings and the idea that...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679744088
• ISBN13: 9780679744085
• Release Date: February 1994
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Very Good Overview of a Difficult Subject

Dreams of a final theory I believe this book's main propose was the Author, a Nobel prize winning physicist attempting to weigh in for Congressional funding of the Superconducting Super- Collider (SSC). This book is like reading two books in one. The first part of the book had some very good writing about atomic particle research and excellent explanations of the experiments. It also contains the author's surprisingly optimistic view that the theories being currently developed are the beginning of the correct path that will lead science to the "final theory". The remainder of the book is a promotion of the field of particle physics to show that by reduction all the sciences can benefit and share in what is learned in particle physics. Chemistry, Biology, etc at their lowest levels operate at an atomic level. Also some philosophical musings. The author has a knack for explaining complicated ideas for the layman.

Cogent objective & informative glimpse towards

Cogent objective & informative glimpse towards "Final Laws"This is a review of both the printed book & the fabulous book on tape. I discovered that the narrated unabridged (7 cassettes) book on tape is available after I read the printed book cover to cover. I quickly bought a copy & have since listened it more times than I can recall! The narrator's voice is pleasant to listen to. His voice come across clear, brisk & very articulate. The whole wonderful experience keeps my attention riveted & gratefully takes my mind off the infamous Southern California traffic during my hours long commute each day. There's always something different & interesting that captivates my attention each time I experience this great book. Keep in mind that I'm a veritable compulsive-obsessive autodidactic with a fanatical drive to understand physical reality at the most fundamental level - call me a PRE (Physical Reality Explorer). I don't have a formal "higher" education or the mathematical tools to speak the technical language - but, like I said, I'm a fanatical layman who's bent on understanding what the hell is REALLY going on "out there" - or "in there" as the case may be...Well, back to the book! You don't really need a deep understanding of mathematics or even an understanding of Quantum Physics to "get" what this book has to offer. Shoot, for that matter, maybe having an "empty cup" would make the experience of this book all the better! So, what's in the book? Glad you asked! Here's a brief table of contents with a few (parenthetical) comments:· Preface · Prologue· On a Piece of Chalk (great introduction to some basic principles in Atomic Theory)· Two Cheers for Reductionism ("...I am not an uncompromising reductionist, I'm a compromising reductionist!")· Quantum Mechanics & Its Discontents · Tales of Theory & Experiment (this has a nice history & synopsis of QED)· Beautiful Theories · Against Philosophy · Twentieth Century Blues · The Shape of a Final Theory · Facing Finality · What About God? (he admits that he's not a qualified Theologian here) · Down in Ellis County · Afterword (this might be titled something else like "...A Year Later...")The book on tape doesn't have the Preface or the Afterword, but don't let that stop you from getting a copy 'cause you won't miss anything really important in those sections.I liked Weinberg's description of the way the chain of questions "Why?" have arrows of explanation ever convergent towards ubiquitous laws of fundamental physics. It seems analogous to Faraday's lines of force in the fields he described. I see a metaphor here where the "field" of the "arrows of explanation" points in the direction of propagation towards answers to questions about the most fundamental aspects of physical reality. Weinberg's cutting logic & objective appraisal is cogently brought to bear on deep questions such as:What roles do quantum theories & symmetry principles in physics play in the search for a Final Theory?Wh

Perfect

It is really a perfect book. I enjoyed what Weinberg stated about elementary particle physics, reductionism and partly philosophy.In the case of philosophy, I think it's philosophers who are to be blamed not the whole method of intellectual reasoning without emperical evidence.I think his discussion on God is affected by western culture. He knows about religion as a christian. He'd better study more profoundly some other religions, what God is meant by in them, etc.