This book is very timely. With many Physicists opening the door to Quantum Foundational issues and wanting to know the true underlying reality, not content with merely shutting up and calculating, this book will be a supplement in any library concerning the history of Quantum Physics and the so called dissidents of the Copenhagen Interpretation mainly in David Bohm's Pilot-Wave Theory and Everett's Many-Worlds Interpretation but also though smaller GRW, in addition too as well John S. Bell.
Part I: This was a good start concerning the Copenhagen Interpretation and its founders. Also early dissidents like Einstein and Schrödinger. I think this book is very lay friendly and easy to follow along concerning the theory and early issues with it. You also find that there really was no singular Copenhagen Interpretation despite Heisenberg giving them a singular label. Also you start to see how politics and social issues really helped launch Copenhagen. I learned how charismatic Bohr was yet how his very own students said he had issues with comprehension but also how vague he was and how people like Heisenberg despite not being a Nazi supported Nazi Germany (indeed Pascual himself was a Nazi), you see how bad Heisenberg was with experimental physics despite his somewhat confidence in German physics above others. Einstein by contrast to these men took on no students as Bohr, as he wasn't as charismatic and though spoke well, sometimes he was misunderstood such as in the case with Bohr or the when others wrote on his behalf but not in as clear a way as he would have, he also wrote longer statements than say Bell and he helped the U.S. in the Nuclear Race.
Part II: This is where the major dissidents who made rival theories to Copenhagen appear but also others like Bell who advanced the conversation and gave scathing critics. These include mainly David Bohm and Hugh Everett. You find just how exiled Bohm was mainly for his communist affiliation but also for going against the status quo in the Copenhagen Interpretation. Also how Everett was with his prankster style yet sort of nonchalant attitude (interestingly you learn that Wheeler would try to help him get it out there and that Everett never cared to be an Academic but was content as a Cold War technocrat). Bohm would later abandon Communism but also his own Interpretation due to these many factors.
Part III: Here is where the story continues and the next generations picked up where the former one's left off. You get to see how Bohm picked up his own Theory and revived it again thanks to Basil Hiley and some students. And others who advanced the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Everett as well. Moreover many others who advanced Bell's inequalities via experiment. This chapter was very helpful as many of these figures are hardly as known to a more lay audience such as Dieter Zeh and John Clauser and others. Very informative. Also GRW Theory makes an appearance along with David Albert.
You see throughout this book how changes due to Social and Political issues affected many of these men, some not even having a job despite their importance in these Foundational Issues and how many did not give them a chance but in the end they made an impact unto today.
I also found Adam Becker's comments on Philosophy to be extremely needed and he rightly went against the notion that Philosophy is dead or of lesser importance but it is precisely these historical and social issues that pushed this wrong idea of Philosophy it seems into Academia to the chagrin of people like Einstein who held it in high esteem. This was a pleasant suprise to me. The issues concerning the "Shut up and Calculate!" approach he also addresses as problematic which I was very pleased with as well.
The last part an Appendix was concerning how these different Theories (including GRW) solve the Delayed-Choice experiment which is a very much discussed topic at least to a more lay audience and was very glad to see it included.
The only 2 minor problems I had with the book is that a lot of the stuff on Nazi Germany seemed to not be important concerning the history of these realist dissident interpreations. However it was still very fascinating and had very import things in it still, like how this War affected the Physics community and to learn more concerning the personal lives of these men who are often adored. The last issue was the footnotes. Since the book itself doesn't give you an inserted number reference in the text as you are reading it makes it hard to know if you need to check for one. I practically even forgot about them throughout the book however he does give a ton of references to practically everything in there which is extremely helpful.
Despite these small gripes, this is a book certainly needed. If you don't have it, make sure to add it to your collection, it is a must have.
What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics
4.5 | 1,092 ratings
Price: 15.02
Last update: 07-22-2024
Top reviews from the United States
Pricilla L. Martinez
The Dissidents prevail.
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Amazing book
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2024
dsmith
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4.9 stars
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