Author: David A. Shiang
Publisher: eBookIt.com
ISBN: 0980237343
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 117
Book Description
In this revolutionary and provocative work, David A. Shiang claims to offer final answers to many of humankind's most enduring mysteries. He argues that Einstein was right in rejecting the randomness of quantum theory, and he shows that Stephen Hawking (A Brief History of Time) and Brian Greene (The Fabric of the Cosmos) are mistaken in saying that evidence shows nature to be probabilistic. He takes on Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Daniel Dennett (Breaking the Spell), contending that Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is neither scientific nor correct. He also maintains that worry and regret can be overcome, following in the footsteps of T.S. Eliot and other pioneers of the mind. Odds are high that the logical and elegant solutions Shiang presents to our deepest riddles will cause you to rethink your most fundamental beliefs. "Very provocative, erudite, and solidly based on intelligent and logical thinking! Congratulations on making an excellent contribution to understanding the role of a higher intelligence in organizing the affairs of the universe!" - Pat McGovern, IDG Founder and Chairman, Co-founder of The McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT "His lucidity and logic are breathtakingly devastating. He is not afraid to defend the mind of God, either.... I cannot overstate the importance of Shiang's work and its deep influence." - Len Klikunas, Cultural Anthropologist
God Does Not Play Dice
Author: David A. Shiang
Publisher: eBookIt.com
ISBN: 0980237343
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 117
Book Description
In this revolutionary and provocative work, David A. Shiang claims to offer final answers to many of humankind's most enduring mysteries. He argues that Einstein was right in rejecting the randomness of quantum theory, and he shows that Stephen Hawking (A Brief History of Time) and Brian Greene (The Fabric of the Cosmos) are mistaken in saying that evidence shows nature to be probabilistic. He takes on Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Daniel Dennett (Breaking the Spell), contending that Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is neither scientific nor correct. He also maintains that worry and regret can be overcome, following in the footsteps of T.S. Eliot and other pioneers of the mind. Odds are high that the logical and elegant solutions Shiang presents to our deepest riddles will cause you to rethink your most fundamental beliefs. "Very provocative, erudite, and solidly based on intelligent and logical thinking! Congratulations on making an excellent contribution to understanding the role of a higher intelligence in organizing the affairs of the universe!" - Pat McGovern, IDG Founder and Chairman, Co-founder of The McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT "His lucidity and logic are breathtakingly devastating. He is not afraid to defend the mind of God, either.... I cannot overstate the importance of Shiang's work and its deep influence." - Len Klikunas, Cultural Anthropologist
Publisher: eBookIt.com
ISBN: 0980237343
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 117
Book Description
In this revolutionary and provocative work, David A. Shiang claims to offer final answers to many of humankind's most enduring mysteries. He argues that Einstein was right in rejecting the randomness of quantum theory, and he shows that Stephen Hawking (A Brief History of Time) and Brian Greene (The Fabric of the Cosmos) are mistaken in saying that evidence shows nature to be probabilistic. He takes on Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Daniel Dennett (Breaking the Spell), contending that Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is neither scientific nor correct. He also maintains that worry and regret can be overcome, following in the footsteps of T.S. Eliot and other pioneers of the mind. Odds are high that the logical and elegant solutions Shiang presents to our deepest riddles will cause you to rethink your most fundamental beliefs. "Very provocative, erudite, and solidly based on intelligent and logical thinking! Congratulations on making an excellent contribution to understanding the role of a higher intelligence in organizing the affairs of the universe!" - Pat McGovern, IDG Founder and Chairman, Co-founder of The McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT "His lucidity and logic are breathtakingly devastating. He is not afraid to defend the mind of God, either.... I cannot overstate the importance of Shiang's work and its deep influence." - Len Klikunas, Cultural Anthropologist
Does God Play Dice
Author: Ian Stewart
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631232513
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416
Book Description
The revised and updated edition includes three completely new chapters on the prediction and control of chaotic systems. It also incorporates new information regarding the solar system and an account of complexity theory. This witty, lucid and engaging book makes the complex mathematics of chaos accessible and entertaining. Presents complex mathematics in an accessible style. Includes three new chapters on prediction in chaotic systems, control of chaotic systems, and on the concept of chaos. Provides a discussion of complexity theory.
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631232513
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416
Book Description
The revised and updated edition includes three completely new chapters on the prediction and control of chaotic systems. It also incorporates new information regarding the solar system and an account of complexity theory. This witty, lucid and engaging book makes the complex mathematics of chaos accessible and entertaining. Presents complex mathematics in an accessible style. Includes three new chapters on prediction in chaotic systems, control of chaotic systems, and on the concept of chaos. Provides a discussion of complexity theory.
God Does Play Dice with the Universe
Author: Shan Gao
Publisher: Theschoolbook.com
ISBN: 9781845492663
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Science has made a mighty advance since it originated in ancient Greece more than 2500 years ago. Yet we still live in Plato's cave today; we think everything around us moves continuously, but continuous motion is merely a shadow of real motion. This book will lead you to walk out the cave along a logical and comprehensible road. After passing Zeno's arrow, Newton's inertia, Einstein's light, and Schrödinger's cat, you will reach the real world, where every thing in the universe, whether it is an atom or a ball or even a star, ceaselessly jumps in a random and discontinuous way. In a famous metaphor, God does play dice with the universe. The new discovery may finally solve Zeno's paradoxes and the quantum puzzle, and it will deeply change our view of the world. Its very existence is at any rate, an excellent illustration of the extent to which physical data force us to depart from commonsense ideas when we try to depict reality "as it really is." ---- Bernard d'Espagnat, University of Paris, Orsay The idea of using discontinuous motion as a realist interpretation of quantum mechanics is original. ---- Reviewer of Foundations of Physics I fully agree with your idea of discontinuous movement. ---- Antoine Suarez, Center for Quantum Philosophy, Zurich If it goes through, this would be an original and significant contribution to the debate over the nature of motion. ---- Reviewer of American Philosophical Quarterly A sense of relief at last! Gao has done it, with no metaphysics and magic. He seems to have no life-style to justify and no axe to grind against any belief system. Then pure physics and objectivity prevails. ---- Ph.D. Philip P. Benjamin
Publisher: Theschoolbook.com
ISBN: 9781845492663
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Science has made a mighty advance since it originated in ancient Greece more than 2500 years ago. Yet we still live in Plato's cave today; we think everything around us moves continuously, but continuous motion is merely a shadow of real motion. This book will lead you to walk out the cave along a logical and comprehensible road. After passing Zeno's arrow, Newton's inertia, Einstein's light, and Schrödinger's cat, you will reach the real world, where every thing in the universe, whether it is an atom or a ball or even a star, ceaselessly jumps in a random and discontinuous way. In a famous metaphor, God does play dice with the universe. The new discovery may finally solve Zeno's paradoxes and the quantum puzzle, and it will deeply change our view of the world. Its very existence is at any rate, an excellent illustration of the extent to which physical data force us to depart from commonsense ideas when we try to depict reality "as it really is." ---- Bernard d'Espagnat, University of Paris, Orsay The idea of using discontinuous motion as a realist interpretation of quantum mechanics is original. ---- Reviewer of Foundations of Physics I fully agree with your idea of discontinuous movement. ---- Antoine Suarez, Center for Quantum Philosophy, Zurich If it goes through, this would be an original and significant contribution to the debate over the nature of motion. ---- Reviewer of American Philosophical Quarterly A sense of relief at last! Gao has done it, with no metaphysics and magic. He seems to have no life-style to justify and no axe to grind against any belief system. Then pure physics and objectivity prevails. ---- Ph.D. Philip P. Benjamin
Special & General Relativity (Concise Edition)
Author: Albert Einstein
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1804175730
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 130
Book Description
Einstein's pioneering work helped shape the cultural landscape of the world today. Now in a digestible, pocket format for the modern reader. A new, popular edition with a clear introduction, Special & General Relativity by Albert Einstein contains his core paper, 'Relativity, The Special & The General Theory: A Popular Exposition', which established his reputation as one of the greatest thinkers of our (and perhaps any) age. Also included are two of the Princeton University lectures he gave to explain his findings in more detail, on 'The Meaning of Relativity', as well as the early paper which led to his famous equation E = mc2. The FLAME TREE Foundations series features core publications which together have shaped the cultural landscape of the modern world, with cutting-edge research distilled into pocket guides designed to be both accessible and informative.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1804175730
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 130
Book Description
Einstein's pioneering work helped shape the cultural landscape of the world today. Now in a digestible, pocket format for the modern reader. A new, popular edition with a clear introduction, Special & General Relativity by Albert Einstein contains his core paper, 'Relativity, The Special & The General Theory: A Popular Exposition', which established his reputation as one of the greatest thinkers of our (and perhaps any) age. Also included are two of the Princeton University lectures he gave to explain his findings in more detail, on 'The Meaning of Relativity', as well as the early paper which led to his famous equation E = mc2. The FLAME TREE Foundations series features core publications which together have shaped the cultural landscape of the modern world, with cutting-edge research distilled into pocket guides designed to be both accessible and informative.
Do Dice Play God?
Author: Ian Stewart
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 178283401X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
Uncertainty is everywhere. It lurks in every consideration of the future - the weather, the economy, the sex of an unborn child - even quantities we think that we know such as populations or the transit of the planets contain the possibility of error. It's no wonder that, throughout that history, we have attempted to produce rigidly defined areas of uncertainty - we prefer the surprise party to the surprise asteroid. We began our quest to make certain an uncertain world by reading omens in livers, tea leaves, and the stars. However, over the centuries, driven by curiosity, competition, and a desire be better gamblers, pioneering mathematicians and scientists began to reduce wild uncertainties to tame distributions of probability and statistical inferences. But, even as unknown unknowns became known unknowns, our pessimism made us believe that some problems were unsolvable and our intuition misled us. Worse, as we realized how omnipresent and varied uncertainty is, we encountered chaos, quantum mechanics, and the limitations of our predictive power. Bestselling author Professor Ian Stewart explores the history and mathematics of uncertainty. Touching on gambling, probability, statistics, financial and weather forecasts, censuses, medical studies, chaos, quantum physics, and climate, he makes one thing clear: a reasonable probability is the only certainty.
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 178283401X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
Uncertainty is everywhere. It lurks in every consideration of the future - the weather, the economy, the sex of an unborn child - even quantities we think that we know such as populations or the transit of the planets contain the possibility of error. It's no wonder that, throughout that history, we have attempted to produce rigidly defined areas of uncertainty - we prefer the surprise party to the surprise asteroid. We began our quest to make certain an uncertain world by reading omens in livers, tea leaves, and the stars. However, over the centuries, driven by curiosity, competition, and a desire be better gamblers, pioneering mathematicians and scientists began to reduce wild uncertainties to tame distributions of probability and statistical inferences. But, even as unknown unknowns became known unknowns, our pessimism made us believe that some problems were unsolvable and our intuition misled us. Worse, as we realized how omnipresent and varied uncertainty is, we encountered chaos, quantum mechanics, and the limitations of our predictive power. Bestselling author Professor Ian Stewart explores the history and mathematics of uncertainty. Touching on gambling, probability, statistics, financial and weather forecasts, censuses, medical studies, chaos, quantum physics, and climate, he makes one thing clear: a reasonable probability is the only certainty.
Quantum Reality
Author: Jim Baggott
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198830157
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313
Book Description
Quantum mechanics is an extraordinarily successful scientific theory. It is also completely mad. Although the theory quite obviously works, it leaves us chasing ghosts and phantoms; particles that are waves and waves that are particles; cats that are at once both alive and dead; and lots of seemingly spooky goings-on. But if we're prepared to be a little more specific about what we mean when we talk about 'reality' and a little more circumspect in the way we think a scientific theory might represent such a reality, then all the mystery goes away. This shows that the choice we face is actually a philosophical one. Here, Jim Baggott provides a quick but comprehensive introduction to quantum mechanics for the general reader, and explains what makes this theory so very different from the rest. He also explores the processes involved in developing scientific theories and explains how these lead to different philosophical positions, essential if we are to understand the nature of the great debate between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein. Moving forwards, Baggott then provides a comprehensive guide to attempts to determine what the theory actually means, from the Copenhagen interpretation to many worlds and the multiverse. Richard Feynman once declared that 'nobody understands quantum mechanics'. This book will tell you why.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198830157
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313
Book Description
Quantum mechanics is an extraordinarily successful scientific theory. It is also completely mad. Although the theory quite obviously works, it leaves us chasing ghosts and phantoms; particles that are waves and waves that are particles; cats that are at once both alive and dead; and lots of seemingly spooky goings-on. But if we're prepared to be a little more specific about what we mean when we talk about 'reality' and a little more circumspect in the way we think a scientific theory might represent such a reality, then all the mystery goes away. This shows that the choice we face is actually a philosophical one. Here, Jim Baggott provides a quick but comprehensive introduction to quantum mechanics for the general reader, and explains what makes this theory so very different from the rest. He also explores the processes involved in developing scientific theories and explains how these lead to different philosophical positions, essential if we are to understand the nature of the great debate between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein. Moving forwards, Baggott then provides a comprehensive guide to attempts to determine what the theory actually means, from the Copenhagen interpretation to many worlds and the multiverse. Richard Feynman once declared that 'nobody understands quantum mechanics'. This book will tell you why.
Einstein's Dice and Schrödinger's Cat
Author: Paul Halpern
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465040659
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282
Book Description
"A fascinating and thought-provoking story, one that sheds light on the origins of . . . the current challenging situation in physics." -- Wall Street Journal When the fuzzy indeterminacy of quantum mechanics overthrew the orderly world of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Erwin Schröger were at the forefront of the revolution. Neither man was ever satisfied with the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, however, and both rebelled against what they considered the most preposterous aspect of quantum mechanics: its randomness. Einstein famously quipped that God does not play dice with the universe, and Schröger constructed his famous fable of a cat that was neither alive nor dead not to explain quantum mechanics but to highlight the apparent absurdity of a theory gone wrong. But these two giants did more than just criticize: they fought back, seeking a Theory of Everything that would make the universe seem sensible again. In Einstein's Dice and Schröger's Cat, physicist Paul Halpern tells the little-known story of how Einstein and Schröger searched, first as collaborators and then as competitors, for a theory that transcended quantum weirdness. This story of their quest-which ultimately failed-provides readers with new insights into the history of physics and the lives and work of two scientists whose obsessions drove its progress. Today, much of modern physics remains focused on the search for a Theory of Everything. As Halpern explains, the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson makes the Standard Model-the closest thing we have to a unified theory- nearly complete. And while Einstein and Schröger failed in their attempt to explain everything in the cosmos through pure geometry, the development of string theory has, in its own quantum way, brought this idea back into vogue. As in so many things, even when they were wrong, Einstein and Schröger couldn't help but get a great deal right.
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465040659
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282
Book Description
"A fascinating and thought-provoking story, one that sheds light on the origins of . . . the current challenging situation in physics." -- Wall Street Journal When the fuzzy indeterminacy of quantum mechanics overthrew the orderly world of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Erwin Schröger were at the forefront of the revolution. Neither man was ever satisfied with the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, however, and both rebelled against what they considered the most preposterous aspect of quantum mechanics: its randomness. Einstein famously quipped that God does not play dice with the universe, and Schröger constructed his famous fable of a cat that was neither alive nor dead not to explain quantum mechanics but to highlight the apparent absurdity of a theory gone wrong. But these two giants did more than just criticize: they fought back, seeking a Theory of Everything that would make the universe seem sensible again. In Einstein's Dice and Schröger's Cat, physicist Paul Halpern tells the little-known story of how Einstein and Schröger searched, first as collaborators and then as competitors, for a theory that transcended quantum weirdness. This story of their quest-which ultimately failed-provides readers with new insights into the history of physics and the lives and work of two scientists whose obsessions drove its progress. Today, much of modern physics remains focused on the search for a Theory of Everything. As Halpern explains, the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson makes the Standard Model-the closest thing we have to a unified theory- nearly complete. And while Einstein and Schröger failed in their attempt to explain everything in the cosmos through pure geometry, the development of string theory has, in its own quantum way, brought this idea back into vogue. As in so many things, even when they were wrong, Einstein and Schröger couldn't help but get a great deal right.
Does God Roll Dice?
Author: Joseph Bracken
Publisher: Liturgical Press
ISBN: 0814680534
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying that "God does not play dice," claiming an orderly and predictable structure to the universe. Today, advances and presumptions in the field of quantum mechanics pose a serious challenge to such a position. It's a challenge not only for nuclear physicists, but also for Christian theologians who work to explain God's providence for the world. In Does God Roll Dice? noted Jesuit scholar Joseph Bracken claims that something like "directed chance" (Teilhard de Chardin) is God's normal mode of operation in a world always perilously poised between order and chaos. Bracken adopts the relatively new concept of self-organizing or self-correcting systems out of the natural and social sciences to deal with controversial issues in the ongoing religion and science debate. At the same time he deliberately keeps the language and context of the book suitable for the intelligent non-professional reader.
Publisher: Liturgical Press
ISBN: 0814680534
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying that "God does not play dice," claiming an orderly and predictable structure to the universe. Today, advances and presumptions in the field of quantum mechanics pose a serious challenge to such a position. It's a challenge not only for nuclear physicists, but also for Christian theologians who work to explain God's providence for the world. In Does God Roll Dice? noted Jesuit scholar Joseph Bracken claims that something like "directed chance" (Teilhard de Chardin) is God's normal mode of operation in a world always perilously poised between order and chaos. Bracken adopts the relatively new concept of self-organizing or self-correcting systems out of the natural and social sciences to deal with controversial issues in the ongoing religion and science debate. At the same time he deliberately keeps the language and context of the book suitable for the intelligent non-professional reader.
Einstein and the Quantum
Author: A. Douglas Stone
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691168563
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
The untold story of Albert Einstein's role as the father of quantum theory Einstein and the Quantum reveals for the first time the full significance of Albert Einstein's contributions to quantum theory. Einstein famously rejected quantum mechanics, observing that God does not play dice. But, in fact, he thought more about the nature of atoms, molecules, and the emission and absorption of light—the core of what we now know as quantum theory—than he did about relativity. A compelling blend of physics, biography, and the history of science, Einstein and the Quantum shares the untold story of how Einstein—not Max Planck or Niels Bohr—was the driving force behind early quantum theory. It paints a vivid portrait of the iconic physicist as he grappled with the apparently contradictory nature of the atomic world, in which its invisible constituents defy the categories of classical physics, behaving simultaneously as both particle and wave. And it demonstrates how Einstein's later work on the emission and absorption of light, and on atomic gases, led directly to Erwin Schrödinger's breakthrough to the modern form of quantum mechanics. The book sheds light on why Einstein ultimately renounced his own brilliant work on quantum theory, due to his deep belief in science as something objective and eternal.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691168563
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
The untold story of Albert Einstein's role as the father of quantum theory Einstein and the Quantum reveals for the first time the full significance of Albert Einstein's contributions to quantum theory. Einstein famously rejected quantum mechanics, observing that God does not play dice. But, in fact, he thought more about the nature of atoms, molecules, and the emission and absorption of light—the core of what we now know as quantum theory—than he did about relativity. A compelling blend of physics, biography, and the history of science, Einstein and the Quantum shares the untold story of how Einstein—not Max Planck or Niels Bohr—was the driving force behind early quantum theory. It paints a vivid portrait of the iconic physicist as he grappled with the apparently contradictory nature of the atomic world, in which its invisible constituents defy the categories of classical physics, behaving simultaneously as both particle and wave. And it demonstrates how Einstein's later work on the emission and absorption of light, and on atomic gases, led directly to Erwin Schrödinger's breakthrough to the modern form of quantum mechanics. The book sheds light on why Einstein ultimately renounced his own brilliant work on quantum theory, due to his deep belief in science as something objective and eternal.
The Gods Do Not Play Dice
Author: Wolf Kunert
Publisher: tredition
ISBN: 3384064216
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 93
Book Description
Do the old myths still have something to tell us? What experiences could the figures from the Trojan War convey to us today? The author wanted to find out. He set out to talk to them. They answered his questions. He was able to win over prominent interlocutors such as Cassandra, Penthesilea and Odysseus. You can look forward to the answers and immerse yourself in the magical world of Greek mythology. This book "The Gods do not play dice" takes you into fictional dialogs with figures and creatures who are willing to share their stories and their lives with you. Homer's "Illiad" is considered humanity's first war report. However, he did not always clearly separate what had been handed down from poetry. My dialogues through time deal with this period through the person of Cassandra. I was sometimes surprised at how little the means and methods of war have changed to this day. "Writing is public thinking. "Look what I was thinking!" There will always be someone later who is convinced that they could have formed these sentences, these thoughts better. But then it is too late, then the order and the selection are fixed and therein lies the writer's crime. The reader accuses him of this whenever possible. Excerpt: "The gods don't play dice" – ("Kassandra") "So you learned that Menelaus would never let a spoiled boy take his wife. You had seen it and you had warned them. You had told them again and again. Beware of the Greeks, you are said to have shouted, more likely to stammer in one of these fits, even when they bring gifts. But they didn't believe you. Apollo's curse has long since worked against you. Your father punished you for these words. They were not beneficial for Troy, he had said. The truth is of little use in war. And doubts, whether justified or not, only ever benefit the enemy. You had to learn these words, war and enemy and before that, attack. That seemed to have become the most important word in Troy: "assault," or rather "cowardly assault." His question then hit you with full force, whether you wanted the victory of the Greeks and the downfall of Troy. It hit you like an ax and split your mind. How could he have thought that question? Then how could he even pronounce them? Had he denied you your love for him, for yours, at that moment? Really? Whether asked this way or another, this question silenced you forever. You never spoke out loud to others again. You never really confided in others again. Hints, fragments at best, and then immediately being silent again. Your dearest brother, Helenos, your twin, was still on your side. He saw what you saw, saw the inevitable. But he remained silent in the face of his angry father. He seemed blind, like his priests. All men who only whispered to the king what he was ready to hear. Hecuba often scolded her for this and left no doubt about Priam's decisions, which were actually hers. You had often overheard them, Kassandra, heard them talking when they were conferring together, when they were conferring in the palace. You could still move freely. After all, you were one of them. It was like that until the first time you loudly disagreed with them. You heard that they knew that your father's sister Hesione was not stolen by the Greeks, but willingly became Telamon's wife. You heard that this marriage without the king's consent was treason in your father's eyes. He could not allow a Greek to come to an agreement with a Trojan of her status without his consent. That had to be seen as an insult... ...But then he made his most fatal mistake. Your brother Paris was commissioned to bring Hesione to Troy without properly informing him. He couldn't do that with this dispatch accompanying him. So he decided, untrained in dealing with kings and politics, to kidnap Helena in return for the perceived insult. As if he could make up for one mistake with another."
Publisher: tredition
ISBN: 3384064216
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 93
Book Description
Do the old myths still have something to tell us? What experiences could the figures from the Trojan War convey to us today? The author wanted to find out. He set out to talk to them. They answered his questions. He was able to win over prominent interlocutors such as Cassandra, Penthesilea and Odysseus. You can look forward to the answers and immerse yourself in the magical world of Greek mythology. This book "The Gods do not play dice" takes you into fictional dialogs with figures and creatures who are willing to share their stories and their lives with you. Homer's "Illiad" is considered humanity's first war report. However, he did not always clearly separate what had been handed down from poetry. My dialogues through time deal with this period through the person of Cassandra. I was sometimes surprised at how little the means and methods of war have changed to this day. "Writing is public thinking. "Look what I was thinking!" There will always be someone later who is convinced that they could have formed these sentences, these thoughts better. But then it is too late, then the order and the selection are fixed and therein lies the writer's crime. The reader accuses him of this whenever possible. Excerpt: "The gods don't play dice" – ("Kassandra") "So you learned that Menelaus would never let a spoiled boy take his wife. You had seen it and you had warned them. You had told them again and again. Beware of the Greeks, you are said to have shouted, more likely to stammer in one of these fits, even when they bring gifts. But they didn't believe you. Apollo's curse has long since worked against you. Your father punished you for these words. They were not beneficial for Troy, he had said. The truth is of little use in war. And doubts, whether justified or not, only ever benefit the enemy. You had to learn these words, war and enemy and before that, attack. That seemed to have become the most important word in Troy: "assault," or rather "cowardly assault." His question then hit you with full force, whether you wanted the victory of the Greeks and the downfall of Troy. It hit you like an ax and split your mind. How could he have thought that question? Then how could he even pronounce them? Had he denied you your love for him, for yours, at that moment? Really? Whether asked this way or another, this question silenced you forever. You never spoke out loud to others again. You never really confided in others again. Hints, fragments at best, and then immediately being silent again. Your dearest brother, Helenos, your twin, was still on your side. He saw what you saw, saw the inevitable. But he remained silent in the face of his angry father. He seemed blind, like his priests. All men who only whispered to the king what he was ready to hear. Hecuba often scolded her for this and left no doubt about Priam's decisions, which were actually hers. You had often overheard them, Kassandra, heard them talking when they were conferring together, when they were conferring in the palace. You could still move freely. After all, you were one of them. It was like that until the first time you loudly disagreed with them. You heard that they knew that your father's sister Hesione was not stolen by the Greeks, but willingly became Telamon's wife. You heard that this marriage without the king's consent was treason in your father's eyes. He could not allow a Greek to come to an agreement with a Trojan of her status without his consent. That had to be seen as an insult... ...But then he made his most fatal mistake. Your brother Paris was commissioned to bring Hesione to Troy without properly informing him. He couldn't do that with this dispatch accompanying him. So he decided, untrained in dealing with kings and politics, to kidnap Helena in return for the perceived insult. As if he could make up for one mistake with another."