Not Even Wrong PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Not Even Wrong PDF full book. Access full book title Not Even Wrong by Peter Woit. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Peter Woit
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 046500363X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Get Book Here
Book Description
At what point does theory depart the realm of testable hypothesis and come to resemble something like aesthetic speculation, or even theology? The legendary physicist Wolfgang Pauli had a phrase for such ideas: He would describe them as "not even wrong," meaning that they were so incomplete that they could not even be used to make predictions to compare with observations to see whether they were wrong or not. In Peter Woit's view, superstring theory is just such an idea. In Not Even Wrong , he shows that what many physicists call superstring "theory" is not a theory at all. It makes no predictions, even wrong ones, and this very lack of falsifiability is what has allowed the subject to survive and flourish. Not Even Wrong explains why the mathematical conditions for progress in physics are entirely absent from superstring theory today and shows that judgments about scientific statements, which should be based on the logical consistency of argument and experimental evidence, are instead based on the eminence of those claiming to know the truth. In the face of many books from enthusiasts for string theory, this book presents the other side of the story.
Author: Peter Woit
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 046500363X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Get Book Here
Book Description
At what point does theory depart the realm of testable hypothesis and come to resemble something like aesthetic speculation, or even theology? The legendary physicist Wolfgang Pauli had a phrase for such ideas: He would describe them as "not even wrong," meaning that they were so incomplete that they could not even be used to make predictions to compare with observations to see whether they were wrong or not. In Peter Woit's view, superstring theory is just such an idea. In Not Even Wrong , he shows that what many physicists call superstring "theory" is not a theory at all. It makes no predictions, even wrong ones, and this very lack of falsifiability is what has allowed the subject to survive and flourish. Not Even Wrong explains why the mathematical conditions for progress in physics are entirely absent from superstring theory today and shows that judgments about scientific statements, which should be based on the logical consistency of argument and experimental evidence, are instead based on the eminence of those claiming to know the truth. In the face of many books from enthusiasts for string theory, this book presents the other side of the story.
Author: Michael Harris
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691175837
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 468
Get Book Here
Book Description
An insightful reflection on the mathematical soul What do pure mathematicians do, and why do they do it? Looking beyond the conventional answers—for the sake of truth, beauty, and practical applications—this book offers an eclectic panorama of the lives and values and hopes and fears of mathematicians in the twenty-first century, assembling material from a startlingly diverse assortment of scholarly, journalistic, and pop culture sources. Drawing on his personal experiences and obsessions as well as the thoughts and opinions of mathematicians from Archimedes and Omar Khayyám to such contemporary giants as Alexander Grothendieck and Robert Langlands, Michael Harris reveals the charisma and romance of mathematics as well as its darker side. In this portrait of mathematics as a community united around a set of common intellectual, ethical, and existential challenges, he touches on a wide variety of questions, such as: Are mathematicians to blame for the 2008 financial crisis? How can we talk about the ideas we were born too soon to understand? And how should you react if you are asked to explain number theory at a dinner party? Disarmingly candid, relentlessly intelligent, and richly entertaining, Mathematics without Apologies takes readers on an unapologetic guided tour of the mathematical life, from the philosophy and sociology of mathematics to its reflections in film and popular music, with detours through the mathematical and mystical traditions of Russia, India, medieval Islam, the Bronx, and beyond.
Author: Lee Smolin
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618551057
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 420
Get Book Here
Book Description
Sample Text
Author: Peter Woit
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319646125
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 659
Get Book Here
Book Description
This text systematically presents the basics of quantum mechanics, emphasizing the role of Lie groups, Lie algebras, and their unitary representations. The mathematical structure of the subject is brought to the fore, intentionally avoiding significant overlap with material from standard physics courses in quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. The level of presentation is attractive to mathematics students looking to learn about both quantum mechanics and representation theory, while also appealing to physics students who would like to know more about the mathematics underlying the subject. This text showcases the numerous differences between typical mathematical and physical treatments of the subject. The latter portions of the book focus on central mathematical objects that occur in the Standard Model of particle physics, underlining the deep and intimate connections between mathematics and the physical world. While an elementary physics course of some kind would be helpful to the reader, no specific background in physics is assumed, making this book accessible to students with a grounding in multivariable calculus and linear algebra. Many exercises are provided to develop the reader's understanding of and facility in quantum-theoretical concepts and calculations.
Author: Joseph Conlon
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482242494
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Get Book Here
Book Description
Physics World's 'Book of the Year' for 2016 An Entertaining and Enlightening Guide to the Who, What, and Why of String Theory, now also available in an updated reflowable electronic format compatible with mobile devices and e-readers. During the last 50 years, numerous physicists have tried to unravel the secrets of string theory. Yet why do these scientists work on a theory lacking experimental confirmation? Why String Theory? provides the answer, offering a highly readable and accessible panorama of the who, what, and why of this large aspect of modern theoretical physics. The author, a theoretical physics professor at the University of Oxford and a leading string theorist, explains what string theory is and where it originated. He describes how string theory fits into physics and why so many physicists and mathematicians find it appealing when working on topics from M-theory to monsters and from cosmology to superconductors.
Author: Jesper Møller Grimstrup
Publisher: Dansk Isbn-Kontor
ISBN: 9788797286807
Category : Meaninglessness (Philosophy)
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Get Book Here
Book Description
Does a final theory really exist? And what does it feel like to spend your life searching for it? These are some of the questions the theoretical physicist Jesper Møller Grimstrup writes about in Shell Beach. It is a book about quantum gravity, about white-water kayaking, and about a life in science. It is about conferences and smoky offices, about the quest for a final theory, and about hitchhiking illegally through Tibet. Jesper Møller Grimstrup has been an active researcher in theoretical physics for the past 20 years and in Shell Beach, he combines his research in high energy physics with his personal adventures. It is a story that involves not only the science but also Kafka's novels, sci-fi movies, and surfing giant waves off the southern shores of Iceland. Shell Beach consists of several intertwined tracks, where hardcore meets soft-core. First, there is the science, which starts with quantum mechanics and relativity and then passes through the standard model of particle physics to end up with modern topics such as noncommutative geometry and loop quantum gravity. Second, there the philosophy, the idea of a final theory, and what we might expect to find, should our search one day come to an end. And finally, there is the personal journey, that begins with a young scientist with independent ideas, who is eventually pushed into an orbit without a job and funded by crowdsourcing. In fact, Shell Beach is the outcome of a crowdfunding campaign that Jesper Møller Grimstrup ran in 2016 - it is one of the perks to his supporters. A key theme in Shell Beach is the idea, that the theory of everything could turn out to be conceptually empty and tell us little of significance. That it will not provide us with answers to our most urgent questions such as "why are we here?" This idea, which Grimstrup's own candidate for a final theory exemplifies, is illustrated through literature and film, and is followed by the question: "what will it do to us if we find that theory?" What will happen to us, seekers of truth, if we actually find what we have been searching for and it turns out to be different than what we had hoped for? Where will we go when there is nowhere else to look for answers? Shell Beach is a rare peek behind the scenes of contemporary high-energy physics and mathematics, where Jesper Møller Grimstrup has been an insider in several of the key research communities such as loop quantum gravity and noncommutative geometry. In his book, Grimstrup invites the reader into the engine room of modern theoretical physics to see how this world works, who is in power, and what the struggle among researchers for ideas and academic position feels like. Shell Beach ends with the author taking the highly unusual step of creating a crowdfunding campaign for then as the first in the world to conduct his research outside of academia financed by private sponsors. Above all Shell Beach is a book about waterfalls. According to Grimstrup, doing research in theoretical physics is like kayaking huge waterfalls in slow-motion: "Our waterfalls are the ideas we pursue and like all big waterfalls you cannot scout them thoroughly from the riverbank - the only way to find out is to enter the main current and go over the edge". THE PRESS WROTE ABOUT THE DANISH EDITION: "Jesper Møller Grimstrup has written a formidable book. I have read many books about physics and science but none that compares to his book" - Jens Ramskov, Science Editor, Ing.dk" It hits the bullseye ... I followed all the trails, fascinated and nicely included. This is not an easy book to reference ... but if you seek the big question you'll end up with even more" - Maria Helleberg, POV-international
Author: Dean Rickles
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642451284
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Get Book Here
Book Description
During its forty year lifespan, string theory has always had the power to divide, being called both a 'theory of everything' and a 'theory of nothing'. Critics have even questioned whether it qualifies as a scientific theory at all. This book adopts an objective stance, standing back from the question of the truth or falsity of string theory and instead focusing on how it came to be and how it came to occupy its present position in physics. An unexpectedly rich history is revealed, with deep connections to our most well-established physical theories. Fully self-contained and written in a lively fashion, the book will appeal to a wide variety of readers from novice to specialist.
Author: Graham Farmelo
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571250076
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 554
Get Book Here
Book Description
'A monumental achievement - one of the great scientific biographies.' Michael Frayn The Strangest Man is the Costa Biography Award-winning account of Paul Dirac, the famous physicist sometimes called the British Einstein. He was one of the leading pioneers of the greatest revolution in twentieth-century science: quantum mechanics. The youngest theoretician ever to win the Nobel Prize for Physics, he was also pathologically reticent, strangely literal-minded and legendarily unable to communicate or empathize. Through his greatest period of productivity, his postcards home contained only remarks about the weather.Based on a previously undiscovered archive of family papers, Graham Farmelo celebrates Dirac's massive scientific achievement while drawing a compassionate portrait of his life and work. Farmelo shows a man who, while hopelessly socially inept, could manage to love and sustain close friendship.The Strangest Man is an extraordinary and moving human story, as well as a study of one of the most exciting times in scientific history. 'A wonderful book . . . Moving, sometimes comic, sometimes infinitely sad, and goes to the roots of what we mean by truth in science.' Lord Waldegrave, Daily Telegraph
Author: Emanuel Derman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439165017
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Get Book Here
Book Description
Now in paperback, “a compelling, accessible, and provocative piece of work that forces us to question many of our assumptions” (Gillian Tett, author of Fool’s Gold). Quants, physicists working on Wall Street as quantitative analysts, have been widely blamed for triggering financial crises with their complex mathematical models. Their formulas were meant to allow Wall Street to prosper without risk. But in this penetrating insider’s look at the recent economic collapse, Emanuel Derman—former head quant at Goldman Sachs—explains the collision between mathematical modeling and economics and what makes financial models so dangerous. Though such models imitate the style of physics and employ the language of mathematics, theories in physics aim for a description of reality—but in finance, models can shoot only for a very limited approximation of reality. Derman uses his firsthand experience in financial theory and practice to explain the complicated tangles that have paralyzed the economy. Models.Behaving.Badly. exposes Wall Street’s love affair with models, and shows us why nobody will ever be able to write a model that can encapsulate human behavior.
Author: Michio Kaku
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385542755
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 159
Get Book Here
Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The epic story of the greatest quest in all of science—the holy grail of physics that would explain the creation of the universe—from renowned theoretical physicist and author of The Future of the Mind and The Future of Humanity. When Newton discovered the law of gravity, he unified the rules governing the heavens and the Earth. Since then, physicists have been placing new forces into ever-grander theories. But perhaps the ultimate challenge is achieving a monumental synthesis of the two remaining theories—relativity and the quantum theory. This would be the crowning achievement of science, a profound merging of all the forces of nature into one beautiful, magnificent equation to unlock the deepest mysteries in science: What happened before the Big Bang? What lies on the other side of a black hole? Are there other universes and dimensions? Is time travel possible? Why are we here? Kaku also explains the intense controversy swirling around this theory, with Nobel laureates taking opposite sides on this vital question. It is a captivating, gripping story; what’s at stake is nothing less than our conception of the universe. Written with Kaku’s trademark enthusiasm and clarity, this epic and engaging journey is the story of The God Equation.
