Dreams of a Final Theory - Steven Weinberg, Pantheon, Hardcover, DJ, 1st Edition

Description: Dreams of a Final Theory The Search for the Fundamental Laws of Nature by Steven Weinberg Pantheon, 1992, First Edition, First Printing, 0679419233, Hardcover, Dust Jacket, VG/VG condition, no marks, no underlining, no highlighting, 334 pages. From one of the world's most distinguished scientists, here is the story of a great intellectual adventure of our time: the search for nature's final laws. The success of physics in this century has been stunning, transforming our views of space and time, of reality and knowing, changing the very language we use to describe nature. At the close of the century we stand in possession of a new view of the universe, one in which the old centrality of matter is gone, and nature's symmetries lie at the core of our understanding. The driving force behind these revolutions in thought has been the search for the ultimate laws of nature - for the final answer to our questions about why nature is the way it is. In Dreams of a Final Theory, Steven Weinberg imagines the shape of a final theory, and the effect its discovery will have on the human spirit. Along the way he gives a spirited defense of reductionism - the impulse to trace the explanations of natural phenomena to deeper and deeper levels - and examines the curious relevance of beauty in scientific theories. He gives us a compelling personal account of the search for the laws of nature as a part of the intellectual history of our times, and shares with us the glimpses that scientists have had from time to time that there is something behind the blackboard - a deeper truth foreshadowing a final theory. As a Nobel Prize winner (1979) and science writer ("The First Three Minutes", 1977), Weinberg brings both intellect and accessibility to the daunting subject of particle physics. He rests his argument for an eventual discovery of a unified physical theory on a history of the achievements of this century--a pattern of progress that Weinberg fears can be inhibited by "positivism," the scientific conviction that only that which can be measured can be known. Frankly, his discussion of complex physical concepts skirts the edge of even an educated layperson's grasp. Yet he succeeds brilliantly in delineating the notions that must be solved before science proclaims finality: integrating gravity into the theories; cancelling out "infinities" in calculations of properties such as mass and temperature; proving the "symmetry" of all fields, waves, and particles; and hanging them on "strings," thought to be the promising route to a final theory. Anticipating that event, Weinberg speculates about God in a world completely understood by humans. Despite its intrinsic difficulty, this is a premiere, uncondescending work--a magnitude of quality ahead of those by the science popularizers. CONTENTS Preface I Prologue II On a Piece of Chalk III Two Cheers for Reductionism IV Quantum Mechanics and Its Discontents V Tales of Theory and Experiment VI Beautiful Theories VII Against Philosophy VIII Twentieth Century Blues IX The Shape of a Final Theory X Facing Finality XI What About God? XII Down in Ellis County Notes Index Permissions Acknowledgments nthdegree books

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