Something Deeply Hidden

 

Something Deeply Hidden by Sean Carroll (2019 Oneworld Publications Kindle 365p)

 

 

If there’s any single bonus to the explosion of popular science/history/science-history books over the last couple of decades its that books on topics like this that you’d previously only find gathering dust on library shelves are now readily available in your local bookshop and/or online eBook service.

I don’t have too much to say on this one – I enjoyed reading part of it and the very idea of it but something about the execution lost me part-way in.

Carroll sets out to explain the basic concepts of quantum physics, then with that under our belts he goes on to describe why he believes the “Many Worlds” interpretation is the best of several options developed over the last century or so. In doing so he points out that explanations for the very basis of our world have been lacking over that time as scientists have been exhorted to just “Just do the calculations!” rather than work out why things work as they do.

Following detailed explanations of “Many Worlds” theory he continues with connected theories related to things such as black holes, gravity and the concept of spacetime being an emergent result of quantum forces.

I read and understood about the first 40-50% of this book. To start with there were easy explanations and diagrams but soon the concepts and equations came thick and fast and my eyes and mind glazed over to some extent. Soon I was only half taking in the text and skim reading ahead until I found something more interesting or understandable. Your experience might well be different - I ended up feeling a little more stupid than I thought I was.

The main text ends fairly suddenly and is followed by an appendix covering Feynman diagrams and virtual particles. Then there’s a list of suggested further reading and a decent sized index.

If you’re interested in physics and want a good explanation how things stand at the lowest-level this is probably a good place to start but prepare to scratch your head a bit...