Scan barcode
A review by cloramagone
Physics on the Fringe: Smoke Rings, Circlons, and Alternative Theories of Everything by Margaret Wertheim
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
-somewhere between pop science, philosophy of science, and history of science. i argue the fringe theoretical physics theories contained herein should be considered science fiction to a degree.
-this book obliterated my worldview and opened not only my 3rd eye, but also the 4th and 5th ones.
-i love reading about theoretical physics and cosmology but i've always been alienated by the fact that i can never fully understand them without at least a phd in topology or quantum physics. the author makes a really good point: to the average person, a science crackpot's alternative physics theories on spring-shaped atoms is functionally no different from stephen hawking's theoretical physics theories on black holes.
-lots of excellent philosophical musings on the philosophy of science. specifically:
- 1) is science a field that advances through linear progression towards a greater truth, or is it more nonlinear and creative like art?; and
- 2) should science and modern physics experiments be kept only to a small group of very well-educated "elite", or should science be democratized so that any person with a theory to test can be allowed to conduct the experiment and to receive peer feedback?
-along with great summaries of current physics theories and alternative physics theories, the author offers a tasteful selection of summaries of superseded science theories, including my favorite, the vortex atom theory.
-this book obliterated my worldview and opened not only my 3rd eye, but also the 4th and 5th ones.
-i love reading about theoretical physics and cosmology but i've always been alienated by the fact that i can never fully understand them without at least a phd in topology or quantum physics. the author makes a really good point: to the average person, a science crackpot's alternative physics theories on spring-shaped atoms is functionally no different from stephen hawking's theoretical physics theories on black holes.
-lots of excellent philosophical musings on the philosophy of science. specifically:
- 1) is science a field that advances through linear progression towards a greater truth, or is it more nonlinear and creative like art?; and
- 2) should science and modern physics experiments be kept only to a small group of very well-educated "elite", or should science be democratized so that any person with a theory to test can be allowed to conduct the experiment and to receive peer feedback?
-along with great summaries of current physics theories and alternative physics theories, the author offers a tasteful selection of summaries of superseded science theories, including my favorite, the vortex atom theory.