Dismantling Space and Time [Review of book by Brian Greene]

Tech Central Station ^ | 09 March 2004 | Kenneth Silber

[PatrickHenry]

Space, time, relativity, Mach's Principle, quantum mechanics, branes ... oodles of subjects to mull over.

[PatrickHenry]

Science list Ping! This is an elite subset of the Evolution list.
See the list's description in my freeper homepage. Then FReepmail me to be added or dropped.

[linear]

I'm reading this book now - its very good.

[Gefreiter]

I have some other stuff to read ahead of this one, but it just bumped to the head of the queue.

[Shryke]

Would I need an advanced degree in physics to understand the book? I must admit that I had a difficult time understanding alot of Hawking's book.

[js1138]

...understanding why eggs get scrambled requires consideration of the earliest moments of the universe.

So ultimately, the grand unified theories might be tested by their ability to explain the most ordinary of events?

[Shryke]

So ultimately, the grand unified theories might be tested by their ability to explain the most ordinary of events?

I think that is a damned good way to start, don't you?

[linear]

Universe in a Nutshell is an easier read than A Brief History of Time, if you want to go the Hawking route. I find Greene's writing much more engaging than Hawking's. I think you'll do fine with Greene. I'm a lawyer (generally defined as an engineer with math anxiety) and I'm managing to wade through it. Don't bother trying to keep up with the footnotes though. Here there be dragons. lol.

[Shryke]

Good, thanks. Me hate things make me feel like dumbhead.

[Constitution Day]

I just started reading this. So far, it's excellent.

[linear]

It all depends on what level you examine it. There are some wonderful and mysterious things going on in them there eggs. Personally I prefer mine over easy, with enchiladas beneath.

[MDspinboyredux]

This thread has got me interested in the book. Quite an cool topic.

[krb]

One of the things that Brian Greene is known for is his ability to write about this stuff in way that non-physicists can grasp it.

His show on PBS "The Elegant Universe" was amazingly easy to follow.

[Rhetorical pi2]

I find this fascinating, and have some thoughts on the subject(s) myself.

Unfortunately, I have neither the space nor time to expound on these matters now. :o)

OK....I hear the groans from here! But I couldn't help myself!!! :o)

[js1138]

I could take some comfort in a theory that explained dust bunnies, and why I can't fix overcooked food by putting it back in the fridge for a while.

[linear]

I agree, it is fantastic stuff.

I wish there was a way to express things on paper in a 3-dimensional manner. It would make some of the illustrations a tad easier to follow. It must not be easy to mass-produce holograms. lol.

[linear]

I agree, it is fantastic stuff.

I wish there was a way to express things on paper in a 3-dimensional manner. It would make some of the illustrations a tad easier to follow. It must not be easy to mass-produce holograms. lol.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[linear]

I don't have a theory, but if you decrease your cooking time and increase your dust-bunny hunting time, perhaps then your universe will be in sync. ;-)

[MDspinboyredux]

Heh-heh. I agree. What I'd like to see is a video produced by Greene that has him explaining his theories.

I've always thought that the arguement that time was a mental construct was interesting. Although I'm of the opinion that time is the waste product of entropy (sorta like heat is the by-product of rapid oxidation).

Time 'happens'.