Thinking about Physics (Princeton Paperbacks)

It takes a certain daring to challenge the views of Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman on purely scientific grounds--and great skill to make that challenge accessible to a general audience. Roger Newton does just that in Thinking About Physics, a book suited to readers with undergraduate-level training in the physical sciences and mathematics, which he deems "the only language capable of describing nature unambiguously." In his survey of modern physics, Newton examines some of the assumptions underlying the ways in which we think about the world. He argues, briefly, that the insistence on the primacy of the particle discounts the more important quantum field from which particles issue--and, he adds, understanding that field may one day yield a quantum geometry of space-time. Among other topics, Newton guides his readers through current theories about the directionality of time ("nature without a universal causal arrow of time," he writes, "could not be orderly," inasmuch as causes have to precede effects); examines models of symmetry and "supersymmetry"; and considers how theories are made, emphasizing the role of probabilistic reasoning in shaping hypotheses and explanations. Joining elegant equations and readable prose, Newton's overview is sure to interest students of modern science. --Gregory McNamee