5 comments about Quantum Physics.

1. I had to use Gasiorowicz for 8.04 at MIT which another reviewer metioned to imply that this book is a good text choice. 8.05 uses Griffith's book which is a much better introduction to QM. Gasiorowicz contains weak explanations and attempts to be terse but fails miserably. Use Libboff or Cohen and Tannouji or any other QM text youll learn much more conceptually with much less reading. The only reason somebody would use this book would be if they had read and understood another QM textbook and wanted to needlessly read a bad book on a subject they know. If I wanted to do that I would read "Cartoon Guide to Physics".



2. We used the first edition for both semesters of my undergrad course (it's always possible screw up a book in later editions, I suppose). We went through most of the book with our instructor page by page. This is not a chatty book. It is a very tightly written with no fat. You'll need to work through the book with pencil and paper as if you were doing a problem set. So I wouldn't suggest it for a first read, but it's a great book to have for review as there is no extraneous crap.



3. This is a simple as it gets. Good historical overview and intro.



4. This book isn't the greatest book in the world, but I actually liked it because I started quantum with Liboff, and I thought Liboff was horrible (it was so, so thick) and Gasiorowicz was a lot more smaller and concise and less daunting. I used the A.P. French introductory book, which was nice conceptually, as well as this book, which was more nice mathematically.



5. Don't even bother with this book, it's a miserable failure of an introductory text. Despite this being the chosen text for my QM course, I had to look elsewhere for any sort of understanding of the material as this book just didn't cut it.
   
   For future editions, the author might try justifying some of the mathematical leaps he makes or offering some clue as to how to move from one step in a "derivation" to the next instead of leaving the vaguest details up to the reader to figure out.

2 comments about Linear Operators for Quantum Mechanics (Dover Books on Mathematics).

1. This is a five stars book with a mortal sin.The book is a good introduction to functional analyses with quantum mechanics serving as motivation for definitions and theorems.It is very good for physics students that have already had a good course on quantum mechanics. Since it is intended to be a book to be used as described it is incomplete as a functional analysis book. Now the mortal sin: the author presents spectral theory using projection operators.This is fine. However to neglect the conection with the continuos spectrum will surely repel the intended audience. There are other books that do not do this and therefore are to be prefered.An old one is by Friedman( Lectures on applications oriented mathematics) . A new one is by Zeidler(Applied functional anlysis: applications to mathematical physics)



2. One cannot do quantum mechanics without a thorough knowledge of the geometry of Hilbert space and the linear transformations on them. This book gives a good introduction to operators on Hilbert space, and could be read by a beginning graduate student of physics.

   The theory of operators on Hilbert spaces could be viewed as a generalization of the theory of matrix transformations on finite-dimensional vector spaces. This viewpoint is readily apparent in chapter 1, wherein the author introduces Hilbert spaces as infinite-dimensional vector spaces (over the complex numbers) with an inner product. The author shows how to handle infinite sums of vectors, which requires the notion of convergence, and how to guarantee an infinite sequence of vectors converges to a limit vector that is also in the Hilbert space: the famous Cauchy sequences of vectors. The notion of a linear functional is also introduced, the author proving the one-to-one correspondence between continuous linear functionals and vectors, and connects this with the Dirac bra-ket notation.

   Observables in quantum mechanics are represented by operators on (separable) Hilbert spaces, and these are studied in chapter 2. It is straightforward to define a linear operator in finite dimensions, but in infinite dimensions one needs the notion of a continuous linear operator. The author proves that a linear operator is continuous if and only if it is bounded. Unitary operators, so crucial to the calculation of probabilities in quantum theory, are introduced in this chapter also. In addition, the author studies projection operators, which are very important in the measurement process in quantum mechanics. lastly, the author discusses unbounded operators, which are ubiquitous in quantum theory, especially in the theory of angular momenta.

   Obtaining measurement results in quantum theory corresponds to obtaining an eigenvalue of a Hermitian linear operator. Thus one must develop a notion of diagonalization (or "spectral resolution") of these operators, and this takes place in chapter 3. In infinite dimensions a Hermitian or unitary operator need not have any eigenvalues or eigenvectors, but the author shows how to obtain a spectral resolution using spectral families of projection operators. He proves that a self-adjoint operator is bounded if and only if its spectrum is bounded, and also Stone's theorem, which gives a representation of a unitary operator as an exponential of a unique self-adjoint operator. Such a representation is expected from the standpoint of how time evolution is characterized in quantum mechanics.

   Things become more abstract in chapter 4, wherein the author studies operator algebras. The goal of the chapter is to find conditions under which the functions of a set of noncommuting operators include all bounded operators. This problem motivates the definition of a von Neumann algebra or W*-algebra, this definition depending on the important notion of a weak topology on a set of bounded operators. It is this topology that is the most relevant for the connection of quantum theory with laboratory measurements.

   In chapter 5, the author makes clearer the concept of a state in quantum mechanics, this being done using the concept of a density matrix. States specify expectation values of bounded operators, and the author shows how to represent the expectation value of a bounded operator using a unique density matrix. Probabilities in quantum-mechanical calculations are then viewed as expectation values for projection operators, and the author uses Gleason's theorem to justify that projection operators are sufficient to determine the representation of a state. Having set up all this formalism, the author then derives the uncertainty principle for a quantity represented by a Hermitian operator. He then shows that real quantities which are simultaneously measurable with unlimited precision are represented by commuting Hermitian operators. lastly, the author addresses the implicit assumption that every bounded Hermitian operator can represent a measurable quantity. He gives an example of a system that cannot, this occurring because of 'superselection rules'. An operator that commutes with every Hermitian operator which represents a measurable quantity, but is not a multiple of the identity operator is then called a 'superselection operator'. He also discusses, but does not prove in detail, the representation of the expectation value of an element of a von Neumann algebra in terms of a density matrix. When a superselection rule is in place, the density matrix is not always unique. The author then shows how these facts enable one to view a von Neumann algebra alternatively as a collection of bounded operators that commute with all the projection operators.

   States of course evolve in time, and so do observables. In chapter 6 the author derives the equations of motion both for the states and the observables. For the states this is the 'Schrodinger picture', and for the observables the 'Heisenberg picture'. Wigner's theorem on unitary and antiunitary operators is used to show that the time evolution of states is linear. The Heisenberg picture is illustrated by an example of a single particle. A more complicated situation though is when the classical system is not integrable, and is still the topic of intense research. The author also includes, atypically for books at this level, a discussion of what happens to the Schrodinger picture when superselection rules are included.
   The mathematical tools used in this chapter are used in chapter 7 to study Galilean and Newtonian space-time transformations of states.

4 comments about Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning.

1. Meeting the Universe Halfway is a remarkable accomplishment. In it the author presents her philosophy-physics agential realism. As developed in this book, the power of agential realism to resolve paradoxes of quantum physics that have, until now, defied explanation is quite amazing; as is its application in fields such as sociology, epistemology, and ethics. In fact, there seems to be no realm of consideration that agential realism does not touch. Moreover, the repercussions for everyday living are profound. An agential realist point of view changes everything, including the entangled viewer's sense of self and place in world.
   
   I find agential realism's defeat of both determinism and absolute freedom to be essentially optimistic. In a recent discussion with a friend I defended science as the best hope for our survival as a species. Meeting the Universe Halfway, particularly agential realism's take on ethics, has confirmed my belief that this is indeed the case. This book is a challenging but immensely rewarding read. The importance of this work, in terms of our understanding of the world and the responsibility we all bear as integrated phenomena of and within it, cannot be overstated.



2. In the preface to Meeting the Universe Halfway, Karen Barad says, "This book is about entanglements. To be entangled is not simply to be intertwined with another, as in the joining of separate entities, but to lack an independent, self-contained existence."
   
   The subsequent pages are an elegant mesh of detailed explanations of social theories, scientific concepts and new pathways of technological innovation; all explored and then rewoven to form the carefully constructed foundation for her theory of agential realism. A theoretical framework wherein human, machine and interactions between, are all actually phenomenon that make up the world as agents in a dynamic of change, where "...knowing does not come from standing at a distance and representing but rather from a direct material engagement with the world."
   
   A scholar of Neils Bohr's writings and work, she explains how the man who won the Nobel Prize for his model of the atom did not believe "in the inherent distinction between subject and object, knower and known," and how he struggled to rectify problems with quantum theory, problems with measurement and even got Heisenberg to postscript an admission of inadequacy in his uncertainty principle (although it is for the most part ignored). Yet Bohr was too human-centric in his viewpoint to see a way out. With agential realism, she picks up where he left off and takes us to a post-humanist world where "reality is composed of things-in-phenomena." She "propose(s) an interpretation of quantum physics based on agential realism."
   
   While Barad is careful to maintain that she does not `write down' to a general audience, and that any reader must do the labor required to follow her descriptions of theoretical physics and several gedanken (thought) experiments performed by the likes of Einstein and Schrodinger, she encourages the work, and it is worth it.
   
   Examples of how recent advances in nanotechnology, biomimicry, cyborg development and quantum physics all predict a future (world as growing into a changed state) where the presumed boundaries between human and non-human may become blurred beyond recognition and new ways of thinking about relationships and the fabric of the world will become necessary. Like the discovery of the brittlestar, a cousin to the starfish and sea urchin, it is a creature that has no brain or eyes, and yet functions as an organism that is all eyes... a skeletal system that acts as a visual system. "Brittlestars don't have eyes; they are eyes."
   
   When viewed through Judith Butler's theory of performativity and body as matter, physicist Richard Feynman's call to question bodily boundaries and Leela Fernandes's study of the structural relationships of power on the shop floor of a Calcutta jute mill, Barad's call to a new way of looking at (and through) the world becomes an exciting herald of possibility. For if we are all a part of a reality, and every action, every measurement is a new event that effects all other aspects, no one should ever again feel isolated or removed from society or the world at large.
   
   "The point of challenging traditional epistemologies is not merely to welcome females, slaves, children, animals, and other dispossessed Others (exiled from the land of knowers by Aristotle more than two millenia ago) into the fold of knowers but to better account for the ontology of knowing. ...ethics cannot be about responding to the other as if the other is the radical outside to the self."



3. The description and reviews are enough to rate this. Any intellectually astute atheist since Spinoza could tell you absolute freedom was impossible, and determinism has been defeated both mathematically and by quantum mechanics. No recondite postmodern obfuscation is necessary.



4. I think that all in all, this product lived up to all of my expectations.

3 comments about The Visionary Window: A Quantum Physicist's Guide to Enlightment.

1. Seventy years after the quantum revolution began, Amit Goswami peered through the visionary window to behold a truth that Eastern traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism have known for centuries: "Consciousness is the ground of all being". For him this revelation synthesized the two disciplines of science and spirituality.
   
   Traditional Western science has treated consciousness as an epiphenomenon of matter, an emergent property of the brain. But Goswami insists that this produces a paradox. If consciousness is necessary for decoherence, the process by which quantum possibilities become reality, how is it possible that consciousness can arise from the very material consciousness creates?
   
   If however, we turn this idea on its head, and show that matter is an epiphenomenon of consciousness, then the paradox disappears. Matter is within consciousness. "We don't have consciousness, rather consciousness has us" (52). It is only because of our memory that we have a secondary awareness, which creates the illusion that consciousness is an individual experience.
   
   A universal consciousness helps explain some quantum decoherence experiments in which a conscious observer has been illiminated from the experiment. For example, in an experiment called the "Quantum Pinball (Scientific American, November 1991) the results showed that just the mere possibility that knowledge could be gained, was sufficient to collapse the quantum potential into reality.
   Another advantage emerges from the hypothesis that consciousness is the ground of all being. It once and for all relieves us of the anthropocentric burden that the univese was created just for us. It isn't our own consciousness that has brought us into being, but rather the result of the constant self-referential communication between universal consciousness and matter, in an endless scurring toward greater and greater complexity and meaning.
   
   In the last portion of the book, Amit Goswami includes chapters on subjects such as reincarnation, angels, and quantum healing. If this makes you queasy, rest assured, Goswami is a physicist to the core. This book was well worth the read, and a very good follow-up to his book, "The Self-Aware Universe" (see my review on Amazon).
   
   This review by David Kreiter, author of Quantum Reality: A New Philosophical Perspective.



2. This is a truely remarkable read that makes the connection of eastern beliefs and quantum physics like Fritjof Capra's, "The Tao of Physics". It is written by someone who has a thorough grounding in Hindu tradition and ancient beliefs and the basis of his PhD, quantum physics. The spiritual beliefs are remarkably well reviewed in the rigorous manner of a scientist that Goswami is by profession.
   
   Basically this is a review of beliefs and his theses on consciousness but the link to quantum physics are wishy washy and his own concepts. To wit just a few.
   P 118: "Perhaps the best evidence of the quantum nature of thought, however, is its nonlocality, as demonstrated in telephathy" Really? Telepathy is still contentious and not substantiated and not referenced in his book.
   p 157: Goswami responds to a question of whether there are scientists that support cosmology as science. He responds with a reference to "several international conferences..." without naming them or anyone in particular.
   p 158. A similar question about biologists who have proposed ideas similar to his own whereupon he refers to his own books and citing just one man, contentious in his right, Rupert Sheldrake.
   Elsewhere he often refers to unpublished papers, conversations and unreferenced citations.
   
   Yet Goswami raises significant questions and solutions even if the connections between the beliefs and modern science upon which this book is based are weak and for these, I am still giving it 4 stars. After all, cutting edge evolution cannot always rely on previous research. Einstein only had theory in 1918. I learned much about the nature of the core religions and beliefs even if the links to quantum physics are at best, weak.



3. An excellent discussion of subjects way over my head but explained so that I can understand.

5 comments about The Spiritual Universe: One Physicists Vision of Spirit, Soul, Matter, and Self.

1. If you are curious about quantum physics, read books by Werner Heisenberg or Max Born or David Bohm. I you are curious about relativity, read books by Albert Einstein or Max Born or Hans Reichenbach or Wolfgang Pauli. Read books by Richard Feynman. A great source for these is the Dover books catalog.
   
   Learn about these topics from the masters. These "pop-physics" books have a certain appeal, but be careful about speculations and the combination of science with spirituality. It can be entertaining to read these books, but keep a healthy skepticism.



2. Fred Alan Wolf has brought his far out ideas down to earth again for the general audience. The Spiritual Universe is a worthwhile read showing a good comparison to historical spiritual mysticism and physics. The connections between the soul and quantum phenomena are a bit simplistic and must be taken by faith. Yet, the implications of his are ideas are staggering.



3. I found this book very difficult to read. The subject matter is part of the problem, but the author kept saying he would come back to this or that at a later time which tended to get me a bit lost. I also never was real clear in any specific way about the connections between quantum physics and the spiritual world.



4. Even if the way this book is written is a bit rough around the edges, the point booms out ferociously loud and eminently clear.
   
   Esoteric scientists and modern alchemists of the soul - like Wolf - are fostering and nurturing the growing spiritual movement and war on the modern and sometimes arrogant scientific mentality. This book among others of its kind (The Tao of Physics, The Invisible Landscape, The Holographic Universe) set the stage for this movement.
   
   Wolf comes up with fresh arguments for the existence of a single soul and single mind using technical jargon, wit, analogy, and metaphor that is sometimes confusing, but all the time intelligent. As a physicist he gives logic and science its due credit, but realizes its limitation in dealing with matters of the heart and spirit. He explains his ideas but bounces of other peoples work, from the likes of: Carlos Suarez, Frank Tipler, The Quabala, Plato, Aristotle, and the ancient prephilosophic Egyptians, a tale is woven about how the soul pushes itself into matter and being.
   
   Wolf uses logic and the A, B, C, to D reductionist elements of science but maintains a big heart and open mind while exploring his ideas. Everyone wants to reduce the spirit, but the soul-talk and other soulful ideas are presented as metaphors and stories to illuminate their paradoxical and oftentimes irrational nature. Thus is the nature of the soul, nonbeing, spirit, quantum spirituality, and so on. These things cannot be objectified, so logic has no say in the matter, but as humans, we can try as so long as we stay mindful of our limitations. We cannot and should not expect to know everything about reality through science or pure reason, because the heart forbids it.
   
   The idea that we are spiritual creatures - to some extent - runs rampant in these works, and is the overarching theme starting to surface in counter-academic and counter-cultural squares everywhere. I highly recommend any students of consciousness, spirituality, and religion to pick this up and swallow its content as soon as possible.



5. When I first received this book, I couldn't put it down. Even though a lot of it seemed to be going over my head, I knew it was resonating with me inwardly. I love the way Fred Alan Wolfe brought his own spirituality into the book mingled with his scientific mind. His vision of the Soul as a Universal Soul was an eye-opener for me. Seeing the Spirit as vibrations of energy with the Soul as a reflection of those vibrations in time was amazing! To read that the self is only an illusion arising from these reflections of Soul in matter.... leaves so much to ponder. I felt drawn to the Soul in a way I'd never felt before with this book. I felt the love and caring of the Soul even though it is a reflection of Spirit...falling from the heavenly realm to see the self and then dream or remember to return to that heavenly realm...WOW!!! I would recommend this book to anyone who desires to 'come out of the box' of conventional teaching and dare to broaden the vastness of their existence.

5 comments about Quantum Mechanics: Concepts and Applications.

1. This book is an excellent quantum book. It maintains the clarity and ease that a lot of undergraduate books have, but does not sacrifice mathematical rigor to get there. This book also contains a number of worked out examples in each chapter (good examples too, not the overly simple examples you find in a lot of books) that really help the learning process along. The combination of clarity, mathematical rigor, and excellent worked examples make this by far the best undergrad quantum book around.



2. Unlike David Griffiths' QM book, this one contains lots of relevant worked out examples and problems. Zettili also displays the theory in an open and honest way, i.e. no hiding.
   
   There's a wealth of information in this book, so as always when studying a book, you should focus on only those topics that are relevant to your course. Otherwise you might get lost and waste time on straying.
   
   If you find a topic of interest to you, e.g. Clebsch-Gordan coefficients (for addition of angular momenta), then you will face plenty of equations that may look frightening at first, but after struggling with those for a few hours, the payoff is absolutely fulfilling! Griffiths won't give you those Heureka-moments, but Zettili will give you the mental feedback you secretly desire to motivate why you're studying such a difficult subject like QM!
   
   I'm reviewing this QM book from a mathematical point of view, so if you're looking for a more conceptual QM book, then I recommend Feynman's books.
   
   If you haven't studied QM before, then I recommend McQuarrie's Physical Chemistry book. The first 8 chapters of that book will give you an easy and relevant tour of essential calculations in QM for beginners. I also recommend McQuarrie's Mathematical methods book, since it contains a section on the Gamma function, which I believe is crucial to be able to do calculations in QM.
   
   Zettili's book displays QM with Dirac's Bra-c-ket notation, which is Zuper great tool to do integrals. It looks difficult at first, but you'll be in pain if avoid it!
   
   The problem with Griffith's QM book is that you only get half the book for the full price, the other half is included in the Instuctor's solutions manual. That way you feel very cut off several times in every chapter and there's no flow in the book. In Zettili's book you get a Zuper complete set of theory and solutions, which is great for reference! Zettili will show you how it's done through multiple solved examples and solved problems , and after that you're so full of joy that you'll happily do the extra problems (with no answers) in the end of each chapter!
   
   If you only have money for one of these 2 books, then I thoroughly recommend Zettili's QM book. But if you're a newbie to QM, have a look at McQuarrie's Physical Chemistry book, it also has a student solutions manual sold separately, with ALL solutions.
   
   Sure, there are typos in Zettili's book. But are these really an obstacle for learning QM? No! It's just gratifying to be able to correct the author.
   
   The math needed for doing the problems in this book, is mainly Calculus and Linear Algebra, but since there are so many new concepts from Mathematical methods in this book I recommend owning a Mathematical methods book. This is not beacuse new math stuff like Legendre polynomials and Spherical harmonics, etc. offer new math. They don't! They're simply strange names that use Calculus in their calculations! But you might start wondering what they are and therefore forget to learn QM which you shouldn't, so this is why I recommend a Math methods book.
   
   Don't forget that physics and mathematics is just lots of simple things, with emphasis on LOTS! This is why it's so "difficult", it's difficult to comprehend.
   
   If you're seriously studying QM for your Master's degree, then you will face almost all the topics within Zettili's book. So you cannot avoid the difficult math in serious QM, because QM IS difficult math!
   
   And Zettili's QM book is one of the best books for undergraduate physics students.



3. This a very good book to people that is starting the studies in quantum mechanics, although the book has some mistakes in the text.



4. We were assigned Gasiorowitz as our textbook, and without Zettili I wouldn't have understood anything.
   
   This book explains the material clearly and then offers ample examples to help the reader learn how to apply the concepts to quantitative problems.
   
   The only problem I have with this book is that there are errors in the worked problems, but these are usually easy to catch and are to be expected with a first edition.



5. This textbook combines an unusually good treatment of exactly the standard undergraduate topics in quantum mechanics with a well-integrated collection of solved and unsolved problems. It begins with a relatively standard discussion of the origins of, and motivation for, quantum theory. Chapter 2 covers the formalism (function spaces, representations, the eigenvalue problem, operators). The level of this section is sufficiently comprehensive and mathematical to allow a "real" understanding of the subsequent discussion. Zettili's treatment of the mathematics is greatly superior to some other texts (where, for example, the term "Hilbert space" is not defined, or not even mentioned). The discussion of the matrix mechanics versus wave mechanics is also well done. The later treatment of symmetries, unitary transformations, and rotation operators is also very good for this level, although Zettili doesn't discuss the Runge-Lenz vector.
   
   The exposition remains clear throughout. Oddly, Zettili neglects to present the coordinate basis solution of the harmonic oscillator, and solves this problem only using the more elegant ladder operator method (probably for brevity). The propagator isn't discussed, although this isn't yet a standard undergraduate topic. The writing is relatively brief and direct without being "cryptic" or "dry."
   
   The numerous exercises, though sometimes trivial or slightly repetitive, are useful for a first introduction, when the reader must gain an effortless mastery over the "mechanics" as well as the "theory" (the solved problems are considerably better in this respect). After Chapter 2, the problem selection emphasizes the physical, rather than the mathematical - even too much. This is rather the opposite of books like Bransden and Joachain, where the problems are largely proofs of recursion relations, and so on. The ideal would be somewhere between the two, neither sacrificing the physical meaning of QM nor downplaying the mathematical manipulations it so frequently requires.
   
   As others have noted, there are numerous typos. However, these are mostly noticeable if the reader pays close attention, and extensive errata lists can be found on the internet. A minor nuisance at worst.
   
   In summary, an ideal first text or supplement to another. This text, rather than covering various advanced topics, provides a concise and logical, yet accessible, coverage of the standard undergraduate topics in QM. Highly recommended. I wish I'd first learned from it.

5 comments about Introductory Quantum Mechanics (4th Edition).

1. Liboff's quantum mechanics text is fairly complete, covering most of what should be covered in an undergraduate quantum mechanics course. That's about the only good thing I have to say about it. After two semesters of using this text in my undergraduate quantum course, I was happy to sell it back to my university's bookstore; it is the only textbook I have sold back so far.
   
   While working problems from Liboff, I spent nearly as much time trying to decipher what Liboff was really asking me to do and correcting his typographical errors as I did actually working problems. To be fair to Professor Liboff, these problems with his book may be due to poor copy editing rather than to poor writing, but the point is the errors are still there. Nothing justifies spending multiple hours slaving over a single problem only to discover that the source of the difficulty is a typo in the book, rather than your own error.
   
   I was also very frustrated at the organization of the text. For example, the material on angular momentum, rather than being presented together is a unit, is scattered amongst several chapters. Liboff is also fond of referring the reader to previous sections of the text. While there is nothing really wrong with this in itself, I found it grew tiresome rapidly to flip back hundreds of pages for a single equation that could easily have been reproduced. This is especially frustrating when Liboff refers to several equations from various previous sections in quick succession, a procedure necessitated by his peculiar organization of the material.
   
   On the whole, Liboff's text confused me more than it clarified anything. I was fortunate to have a good professor for the course, and good lecture notes to draw from. Had I been relying on Liboff's book for my understanding, I would have understood nothing. I'm going to purchase Griffiths' book and see if it will help fill the gaps in my understanding that Liboff's left.



2. It's a bit old school but very complete. No book is as thick or helpful.
   Add this to your bookshelf.



3. I was dissapointed to find large deep scratches on the front cover of my "new" book. Other than that it was fine.



4. Griffiths is clearly a better choice than this book; while it covers the material in an introductory undergraduate course, it definitely does not have good organization. Typographical errors are abound, and there are essentially very little helpful examples presented. I had to refer to multiple sources to learn QM, and as this was my first true book I read on quantum mechanics for self study, it definitely did a terrible job of a presentation.
   
   The reason I think this book gets two stars instead of one is that it gives a pretty good (decent) explanation of the fundamentals; even then, deciphering what he's trying to say can be difficult at times.



5. This is definitely the most comprehensive QM textbook out there. That said, I disagree with the majority of the reviews that claim this is a good text to learn QM from in an independent study environment. If you want to learn QM on your own, I recommend Griffiths. The layout of that text is more logical and the reader isn't constantly told to refer to equations in chapter 3 when he/she is on chapter 7.
   
   For any graduate level engineer or physicist, this text is a must have. I constantly refer to this book when I'm stuck on a problem, or when I need to refresh my memory in general. If you're an undergraduate or high schooler who wants to learn QM in their spare time, I'd get Griffiths and Shankar, the standard QM texts for undergraduate courses in the subject.

4 comments about Suspended In Language : Niels Bohr's Life, Discoveries, And The Century He Shaped.

1. Science teachers have a large number of stories - some true, some apocryphal, and some somewhere in between - to regale their students with. We have Einstein's demands of the deity concerning dice, Rutherford's booming voice that trashed lab apparatus, Oppenheimer's Indian verse quoting at Trinity, and Teller's strangelovian life among others, but no good stories from the life of Niels Bohr. Jim Ottaviani, Leland Purvis, et al. have saved us with their intelligent, witty, and spacey cartoon retelling of Niles Bohr's life - Suspended In Language.
   
   If you choose to dip into this very cool science biography, prepare to learn some physics along with the story of Bohr's life. The authors have supplied a generous number of footnotes and endnotes [done as cartoons] to explain the harder points. The book is indexed and referenced to the extreme. This is not some casual cartoon compilation, but a serious piece of graphic scholarship.
   
   I highly recommend Suspended In Language to anyone interested in physics, scientists, or the history of the 20th Century. I also recommend the other books about scientists from G.T. Labs, including Safecracker [Richard Feynman] and Fallout [Oppenheimer, Szilard, and the Bomb].



2. Ottaviani's Suspended in Language operates on a number of different levels and is appealing with just the right mixture of intellect and humor. While managing to create a biographical text on the life of Niels Bohr the story also delves into the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. Ottaviani created a piece that could be solely read as a primer on quantum mechanics while managing to focus on Bohr's life. The facts are elucidated in illustrations that are intentionally reminiscent of a comic-strip. Just when you begin to feel like you're cramming a bit too much information into your brain all at once the book will take a several page detour into the every day dealings of Bohr's life, and having given you the chance to collect your wits, rev back up to an intellectual furor. What truly makes the book remarkable though is the concise yet vivid description of the various other physicists that Bohr interacted with and influenced. Ottaviani obviously felt compelled to tell the story of Bohr's life because he impacted so many different areas of science and revolutionized fields whose true merit has yet to be realized. Everyone should read this book in order to have a basic understanding of how the scientific notions that guide our lives today were first conceived of and then put into widespread implementation. It's a great read and an even better learning experience.



3. To his colleagues, Niels Bohr was the "Pope of Physics." Razor-edged minds like Dirac, Franck, Frisch, Gamow, Klein, Mott, Oppenheimer, Pauli, Planck, Schrödinger, and others -- many of whom would later become Nobel laureates themselves -- to proud to say they had studied with Bohr. He was a poor lecturer because he never knew where his thoughts would take him and would often stop in the middle of an explanation when a new idea occurred to him. Without him, there would be no modern physics, no quantum mechanics, no basic understanding of the atom. And while Bohr sometimes entertained theories that turned out to be wrong -- which he was the first to admit -- even Einstein was wrong in areas where Bohr was right. Ottaviani is a very uneven graphics chronicler of modern science and scientists, but this is a very well thought out book, as successful an attempt as I have seen to explain Bohr's thought (as well as his humane and internationalist personal beliefs) and the basics concepts of quantum physics.



4. This is really a good example of tough physics made accessible! I enjoyed reading the book and will definitely recommend it to students and colleagues.

5 comments about Alice in Quantumland: An Allegory of Quantum Physics.

1. I was really excited by the idea behind this book- making learning about quantum physics interesting and entertaining. The problem was, the analogies were just too imprecise and seemed to muddle things up. I got incredibly bored with the book as things were never explained properly. The best part of the book is the little blurbs and notes at the end which actually explain what is going on. The actual content of the book just seems to confuse rather than explain.



2. Alice in Quantumland is an entertaining novel that is sure to get the basics of quantum physics across to its readers. Gilmore teaches his readers the basics of complex concepts through lovable characters that are sure to hook his readers. While the concepts are hard to grasp without formal teaching Gilmore presents them in a way that makes it easier to understand. Characters such as the kind and lovable Quantum Mechanic or even the Classics Mechanic help to keep the readers entertained while teaching them new concepts.
   
   However, if you have never taken any type of physics course and have no background in chemistry, this book may come across as very confusing. The concepts can be very difficult to grasp. It is hard to understand how someone can be in six different places at once without having a physicist standing behind you explaining quantum physics while you read about Alice's adventures. As Gilmore explains in the Preface, "Neils Bohr, the father figure of quantum mechanics in its early days is said to have remarked that anyone who did not feel dizzy when thinking about quantum theory had not understood it."
   
   Yet, once the concepts are understood there is an underlying bit of humor that makes the book amusing. There are characters such as the ugly duckling, the little mermaid, and even the emperor with new clothes. Bad puns and old storybook characters appear in this book making the adventures of Alice rather humorous.
   
   As a junior in high school with two older siblings majoring in physics I recommend reading this book (provided you have some physics knowledge or siblings that can explain quantum mechanics). If you are able to understand the concepts of quantum mechanics the book is hilarious and will call you back to read it again and again.



3. This book is an excellent guide for understanding the quantum theories that abound. The allegory provides an amusing and interesting perspective which both the casual reader of physics and the advanced student could perhaps profit from. Well worth the money.



4. I bought Alice in Quantumland for my bright soon-to-be 12-year-old daughter. She's very interested in quantum physics, but I'm afraid this book will be daunting for her.
   
   The writing style is generally good -- smart but accessible and witty. My main complaint is that all of the complicated points are explained purely through words, in fact, through long blocks of text.
   
   Even most adult-oriented books on quantum physics that I've seen in the past come with plenty of diagrams to explain concepts like interference, uncertainty, etc. This book features some amusing (and well-drawn) illustrations of the characters, but the absence of explanatory diagrams is a major weakness.
   
   The concepts explained here are paradoxical and difficult. The narrative helps make them a little easier to understand, but the lack of visual aids keeps this book from being truly great.
   
   Suggestion to the author and publisher: Add some simple diagrams of quantum phenomena in the next edition!



5. I read this book as a junior in high school and loved it. It's a wonderful introduction to quantum physics for those whose interests are pique but just simply don't know much about the topic. It isn't meant for those who already know the basic nor those who analyze every word of a text; it is meant to be a very basic beginner's book. As that, I think it works very well. It's witty while trying to explain difficult topics. It doesn't talk down to you. Overall, a good book.

5 comments about Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World Revised.

1. As I read this book I gain flashes of insight from almost every page. I am an engineer and, while not expert in the scientific fields Wheatley discusses, I had read quite a bit about them. As I venture into unfamiliar organizational territory, I find that we have been instinctively using Wheatley's approaches. They seem especially suited to what we are endeavoring to do. Reading her book has clarified and affirmed what we are doing and allowed me to more deeply understand the processes.
   Reading the reviews here, I see that some people 'get' what Ms. Wheatley is saying and some people don't. The ones who 'get it' are going to change the world.



2. I had a migraine for three days reading this in 1990. Since then I've struggled to find a way to apply this knowledge to improve organizations. Well, I finally found it. This is the the science of culture. Self-organization, strange attractors, emergence, nonlinear interactions of agents in a system, sensitivity to initial conditions, fractals . . . and so on, are much easier to apprehend with a view of organization as organisms, and even easier to see as the underlying science of the intangible dimension of organizations. We all owe a special debt to Meg Wheatley for her pioneering work in this area . . .
   
   also read Superperformance



3. As CEO Coach, Poet and author of a leadership book that helps leaders learn how to unleash the genius of teams and corporations, I feel this book is a must read. If you want to know how the universe works so that you can live more effectivly in that universe, this is the book to read. She extends scientific understanding into life. Great book. Paul David Walker Unleashing Genius: Leading Yourself, Teams and Corporations



4. Margaret Wheatley's Leadership and the New Science book is a paradigm shifting book about the changing accountabilities of leaders in the 21st century.
   
   Margaret provides a bridge between the old sciences that our current world view is based on, and the new sciences that we have yet to understand and integrate into our thinking. She points out implications such as the importance of relationships, chaos as an important part of evolution as we reorganize to a more evolved level as a result, and self-reference as an opportunity for growth and development for leaders.
   
   I like that she provides clues as to the implications vs. solutions - she leaves us in an essential inquiry about how to foster environments that open to, and integrate, new paradigms for leadership and organizational development.
   
   It's also a great book for stimulating conversation that connects science-oriented leaders with those who have a more qualitative or intuitive approach.
   
   It's a must read for all!



5. 1. Why aren't organizations working well? Organizations fail because they devalue the relationship networks that exist within their organization. This world of relationships is rich and complex. None of us exists independent of our relationships with others. Systems influence individuals, and individuals call forth systems. It is the relationship that evokes the present reality. Which potential becomes real depends on the people, the events, and the moment. There is a growing demand for spiritual experiences in peoples relationships and work environments.
   
   2. Why is progress coming from unexpected places or synchronistic events? Space is everywhere, filled with fields that exert influence and bring matter into form. Sheldrake has postulated the existence of morphic fields that influence the behavior of the species. Morphic fields are built up through the skills that accumulate as members of the same species learn something new. Leaders are encouraged to consider the impact of non-material forces in organizations: culture, values, vision, ethics. Each of these concepts describes a quality of organizational life that can be observed in behavior. What influences employee behavior to practice things like excellent customer service? We might discover while we want outstanding customer service there are forces exerting reversing pressure. Perhaps, people are signaled that they must make certain quotas this quarter no matter what. We can see the influence of the field by looking at behavior.
   
   3. Why do projects fail to achieve any significant results? More advocates are now speaking about strategic thinking rather than planning. They are focusing on acquiring new skills, instead of analyzing and predicting, says Jack Welch, "predicting is less important than reacting." Our environment and future remains uncreated until we engage with the present. We must interact with the world in order to see what we might create. Without a clear sense of who they are, and what they are trying to accomplish, organizations get tossed and turned by shifts in the environment.
   
   4. There exists in the Universe an inherit orderliness
   
   5. Present ways of organizing are outdated. There exists better ways causing change in complex systems.
   
   6. We are all searching for a simpler way to organize
   
   7. We must embrace our despair as a step to wisdom
   
   8. No one person knows everything about a complex system. However, there exists individuals who know much about the system.
   
   9. We expect to be predictable and are searching for better methods of objectively measuring and perceiving the world.
   
   10. Curiosity not certainty is the saving grace within complex systems. An environment where employees are constantly learning.
   
   11. Learn how to engage creativity that exists in the organization
   
   12. How do complex systems change? Systems change when a critical business need emerges. Systems change as companies begin identifying core values and promoting core values from the top. Systems change as core ideologies are discovered and explained. Discovery and recruitment of talent helps the system to change by empower talent with the ability to implement change within the system and change the culture of the company. System change to allow organizational fit, creating more adaptive and flexible structures to service customers and employees. System change occurs through small improvements, increased housekeeping, and removal of waste. Core ideology and beliefs stimulate system change over time. Network relationships give power to the system and facilitate change. System change occurs as barriers are removed. As people understand the big picture, system change will occur. Positive feedback loops cause system change. System based on living system dynamics will change constantly. Systems change when they players listen to the customer. Organization crisis often stimulates system change. Preventing organizational components from becoming to large, reduces complexity, increase communication and coordination, and facilitates rapid system change. Incongruence between one or more organization building block causes incremental system change.
   
   13. How can we create structures that are flexible and adaptive? Self organizing system have the great capacity to adapt as needed, to create structures that fit the moment. Process structures, reorganized into different forms in order to maintain their identity. The system may maintain itself in its present form or evolve to a new order, depending on what is required. Temporary teams are created to deal with specific and ever-changing needs and eliminate rigidity in the organization. If an organization is to acquire qualities of adaptability, it needs to open itself to information. "Information must actively be sought from everywhere, from places and sources people never thought to look. Then it must be circulated free for people to interpret. The purpose of the information is to keep the organization off balance, alert to what might need to be changed. Self Organizing systems are more stable over time. Here is why. Participation leads to effective organizational strategy. Organizational data is rich in potential interpretation and completely dependent on observers to evoke different meanings. As each observer interacts with the data, he or she develops their own interpretation. The richness of the interpretations result from the powers of participation. It is the participation process that brings a plan to life. Participation, ownership, and subjective data brings one to the central truth that "we live in a Universe where relationships are primary." The world of process, the process of connecting coming into existence because of relationship. Roles mean nothing without understanding the networks of relationships and the resources that are required to support the work of that person. The agents of the system get smarter and comprehension increases. In this relationship world, it is foolish to think we can define any person solely in terms of isolated tasks and accountabilities. We need to conceptualize the parts of energy flows required for the person to do their job.
   
   14. How do we simplify without losing what we value about complexity?
   
   15. A system can descend into chaos and unpredictability, yet within that state of chaos the system is held within boundaries that are well-ordered and predictable.
   
   16. Chaos is necessary to create new creative order
   
   17. Order and form are not created by complex controls, but by the presence of a few guiding formulas or principles repeating back on themselves through the exercise of individual freedom. A few key principles combined with high levels of autonomy within the system is the recipe for success.
   
   18. We are beginning to recognize organizations as whole systems and notice people exhibiting self-organizing behavior.
   
   19. If we want progress, then we must provide energy to reverse decay. By sheer force of will, because we are the planet's intelligence, we will make the world work. Erich Jantsch said, " any living system is never resting structure that constantly seeks its own self-renewal".
   
   20. Information can create such a strong disturbance that the system can no longer ignore it. When a system can maintain its identity, it can self-organize to a higher level of complexity, a new form of itself that can deal better with the present.
   
   21. A system is defined as chaotic when it becomes impossible to know what it will do next. However, if we look at a system over time, it demonstrates an inherent orderliness. Its wild gyrations are held within an invisible boundary.
   
   22. A system is a set of processes that are made visible in temporary structures.
   
   23. If we believe that there is no order to human activity except that imposed by the leader, that there is no self-regulation except that dictated by policies, if we believe that responsible leaders must have their hands into everything, controlling every decision, person, moment, then we cannot hope for anything except what we already have-a treadmill of frantic efforts that end up destroying our individual and collective vitality.
   
   24. "I always want more people, from more diverse functions and places, to be there. I am always surprised by what people can create as they explore the webs of relation and caring that connect them...I learn a great deal from other people. I expect them to see things differently from me, to surprise me."
   
   25. Vision must permeate through the entire organization as a vital influence on the behavior of all employees.
   
   26. At equilibrium, there is nothing left for the system to do; it can produce nothing more. Everything living is an open system that engages with its environment and continues to grow and evolve. To stay viable, open systems maintain a state of non-equilibrium, keeping themselves off balance so that the system change and grow. They participate in an open exchange with their world, using what is there for their own growth. Disturbances could create disequilibrium, but disequilibrium could create growth. If the system had the capacity to react and change, then disturbance was not necessarily fearsome opponent. Faced with increasing levels of disturbance, these systems possess the innate ability to reorganize themselves to deal with the new information, self-organizing systems.
   
   27. Self-reference is the key to facilitating orderly change in the midst of turbulent environments. In organizations, a clear sense of identity, values, traditions, history, dreams, experience, competencies, culture - is the only route to achieving independence from the environment.