Indiespensable 73: The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
Used, New, and Out of Print Books - We Buy and Sell - Powell's Books
Cart |
|  my account  |  wish list  |  help   |  800-878-7323
Hello, | Login
MENU
  • Browse
    • New Arrivals
    • Bestsellers
    • Award Winners
    • Signed Preorders
    • Signed Editions
    • Digital Audio Books
    • Daily Dose
    • Newsletters
    • See All Subjects
  • Used
  • Staff Picks
    • Staff Picks
    • Picks of the Month
    • Staff Top Fives 2017
    • Boox
    • Indiespensable
    • 25 Memoirs to Read Before You Die
    • 25 Global Books to Read Before You Die
    • 25 Women to Read Before You Die
    • 25 Books to Read Before You Die
  • Gifts + Gift Cards
    • Gift Cards & eGift Cards
    • Powell's Souvenirs
    • Read Rise Resist Gear
    • Journals & Notebooks
    • Games
    • Socks
  • Sell Books
    • Sell Books Online
    • Sell Books in Our Stores
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Find A Store
McAfee Secure

Don't Miss

  • International Tabletop Day
  • BOOX #8: Cycle City
  • Indiespensable #73:
    The Mars Room
  • Kids' Robots!
  • National Poetry Month
  • Short Stories Sale
  • Spring B2G1 Free Sale
  • Live at Powell's: Spring Events
  • Libro.fm Audiobooks

Visit Our Stores


Carys Davies: West (0 comment)
Soon — perhaps as early as 2019 — we will see the creation of the first woolly mammoth in almost 4,000 years. At least that’s what a team of Harvard researchers is hoping...
Read More»
  • Damon Young: 'The Art of Reading' (0 comment)
  • Paige Embry: Hunting for Bees (0 comment)

{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##

How the Hippies Saved Physics Science Counterculture & the Quantum Revival

by David Kaiser
How the Hippies Saved Physics Science Counterculture & the Quantum Revival

  • Comment on this title and you could win!
  • Synopses & Reviews

ISBN13: 9780393342314
ISBN10: 039334231X



All Product Details

View Larger ImageView Larger Images
$17.95
New Trade Paperback
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Cart
Add to Wishlist
QtyStore
2Local Warehouse
11Remote Warehouse

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

Today, quantum information theory is among the most exciting scientific frontiers, attracting billions of dollars in funding and thousands of talented researchers. But as MIT physicist and historian David Kaiser reveals, this cutting-edge field has a surprisingly psychedelic past. How the Hippies Saved Physics introduces us to a band of freewheeling physicists who defied the imperative to shut up and calculate and helped to rejuvenate modern physics.

For physicists, the 1970s were a time of stagnation. Jobs became scarce, and conformity was encouraged, sometimes stifling exploration of the mysteries of the physical world. Dissatisfied, underemployed, and eternally curious, an eccentric group of physicists in Berkeley, California, banded together to throw off the constraints of the physics mainstream and explore the wilder side of science. Dubbing themselves the Fundamental Fysiks Group, they pursued an audacious, speculative approach to physics. They studied quantum entanglement and Bell's Theorem through the lens of Eastern mysticism and psychic mind-reading, discussing the latest research while lounging in hot tubs. Some even dabbled with LSD to enhance their creativity.

Unlikely as it may seem, these iconoclasts spun modern physics in a new direction, forcing mainstream physicists to pay attention to the strange but exciting underpinnings of quantum theory. A lively, entertaining story that illuminates the relationship between creativity and scientific progress, How the Hippies Saved Physics takes us to a time when only the unlikeliest heroes could break the science world out of its rut.

Review

"Meticulously researched and unapologetically romantic, How the Hippies Saved Physics makes the history of science fun again." Science

Review

"It's rare to find quantum physics mentioned in the same breath with sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll....I heartily enjoyed How the Hippies Saved Physics." Wall Street Journal

Review

"It is hard to write a book about quantum mechanics that is at once intellectually serious and a page-turner. But David Kaiser succeeds....Illuminating." Nature

Review

"[Kaiser] does an admirable job of making the very concepts of quantum mechanics palpable." Christian Science Monitor

Review

"An entertaining tale." Philadelphia Inquirer

Synopsis

In the 1970s, an eccentric group of physicists in Berkeley, California, banded together to explore the wilder side of science. Dubbing themselves the "Fundamental Fysiks Group," they pursued an audacious, speculative approach to physics, studying quantum entanglement in terms of Eastern mysticism and psychic mind reading. As David Kaiser reveals, these unlikely heroes spun modern physics in a new direction, forcing mainstream physicists to pay attention to the strange but exciting underpinnings of quantum theory.

Synopsis

In the 1970s, an eccentric group of physicists in Berkeley, California, banded together to explore the wilder side of science. Dubbing themselves the "Fundamental Fysiks Group," they pursued an audacious, speculative approach to physics, studying quantum entanglement in terms of Eastern mysticism and psychic mind reading. As David Kaiser reveals, these unlikely heroes spun modern physics in a new direction, forcing mainstream physicists to pay attention to the strange but exciting underpinnings of quantum theory.

About the Author

David Kaiser is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he teaches in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society and the Department of Physics. He lives near Boston.

4.5 2

What Our Readers Are Saying

Share your thoughts on this title!
Average customer rating 4.5 (2 comments)

`
Michael Barton , August 05, 2012 (view all comments by Michael Barton)
What do spoon-bender Uri Geller, coed hot tubs on the California coast, the CIA’s interest in Russian parapsychology, Richard Feynman and the book The Dancing Wu Li Masters all have in common? That’s easy: hippie physicists! David Kaiser’s seriously documented history of science book How the Hippies Saved Physics details the at-first surprising notion that some physicists working on quantum information theory in the 1960s and 70s were also devoted followers of “psi” phenomena: telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, remote viewing and much more. They were also interested in the similarities between their scientific work and Eastern religions and mysticism. It was quantum entanglement and Bell’s theorem describing non-locality (“action at a distance”) that convinced many members of the fringe Fundamental Fysiks Group in Berkeley that they were on to something. Despite their efforts in psi research amounting to mostly speculation, Kaiser does well to write seriously about what some may consider pseudoscience. The validity of the science is not of concern here, but rather the academic and cultural context of the New Physics movement, one that stressed theoretical work over pragmatic, post-WWII “number crunching”. These counterculture physicists refused, as a common moniker of the time demanded, “to shut up and calculate”. This review was originally done for The Portland Book Review.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment

`
Miss Twist , January 19, 2012 (view all comments by Miss Twist)
A fascinating look at the young group of starry-eyed physicists who fought for the bigger questions in quantum theory and not only won, but changed the way the world is viewed forever.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

report this comment




Product Details

ISBN:
9780393342314
Binding:
Trade Paperback
Publication date:
07/16/2012
Publisher:
W W NORTON & CO
Pages:
378
Height:
.98IN
Width:
5.51IN
Thickness:
1.25
Illustration:
Yes
Author:
David Kaiser
Subject:
History
Subject:
Physics-Quantum Mechanics
Subject:
History of Science-General

Ships free on qualified orders.
Add to Cart
$17.95
New Trade Paperback
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
QtyStore
2Local Warehouse
11Remote Warehouse
Used Book Alert for book Receive an email when this ISBN is available used.
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Instagram

  • Help
  • Guarantee
  • My Account
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Security
  • Wish List
  • Partners
  • Contact Us
  • Shipping
  • Newsletters
  • Sitemap
  • © 2018 POWELLS.COM Terms
  • 800-878-7323

{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##