When We Cease to Understand the World
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- Create Date：2021-10-18 11:21:18
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Benjamín Labatut
- ISBN：1666527823
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Summary
A fast-paced， mind-expanding literary work about scientific discovery， ethics and the unsettled distinction between genius and madness。
Albert Einstein opens a letter sent to him from the Eastern Front of World War I。 Inside， he finds the first exact solution to the equations of general relativity， unaware that it contains a monster that could destroy his life's work。
The great mathematician Alexander Grothendieck tunnels so deeply into abstraction that he tries to cut all ties with the world， terrified of the horror his discoveries might cause。
Erwin Schrödinger and Werner Heisenberg battle over the soul of physics after creating two equivalent yet opposed versions of quantum mechanics。 Their fight will tear the very fabric of reality， revealing a world stranger than they could have ever imagined。
Using extraordinary， epoch-defining moments from the history of science， Benjamín Labatut plunges us into exhilarating territory between fact and fiction， progress and destruction， genius and madness。
Albert Einstein opens a letter sent to him from the Eastern Front of World War I。 Inside， he finds the first exact solution to the equations of general relativity， unaware that it contains a monster that could destroy his life's work。
The great mathematician Alexander Grothendieck tunnels so deeply into abstraction that he tries to cut all ties with the world， terrified of the horror his discoveries might cause。
Erwin Schrödinger and Werner Heisenberg battle over the soul of physics after creating two equivalent yet opposed versions of quantum mechanics。 Their fight will tear the very fabric of reality， revealing a world stranger than they could have ever imagined。
Using extraordinary， epoch-defining moments from the history of science， Benjamín Labatut plunges us into exhilarating territory between fact and fiction， progress and destruction， genius and madness。
Reviews
Don Shiffrin
，
One of the most unusual and fascinating novels I've read even if I didn't always understand it and even if it begins almost as pure non-fiction。 One of the most unusual and fascinating novels I've read even if I didn't always understand it and even if it begins almost as pure non-fiction。 。。。more
Alan
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If you’ve ever stared down a physics concept or paradox that threatens to undo your tenuous hold on reality， this book has you covered。 It turns out that those who work out these reality shifting discoveries experience the same feelings of unraveling， only much more profoundly。 While exploring the time-honored connection between genius and madness， the Labatut goes deeper to illuminate the costs of scientific discovery on the individual and on the world。 Heisenberg may have worked out his uncert If you’ve ever stared down a physics concept or paradox that threatens to undo your tenuous hold on reality， this book has you covered。 It turns out that those who work out these reality shifting discoveries experience the same feelings of unraveling， only much more profoundly。 While exploring the time-honored connection between genius and madness， the Labatut goes deeper to illuminate the costs of scientific discovery on the individual and on the world。 Heisenberg may have worked out his uncertainty principle while alone recovering from allergies in wind swept Heligoland， but the author reminds the reader that this seemingly abstract idea led in part to the incineration of thousand in a flash of light at Hiroshima。 Fritz Haber’s discovery of a way to pull nitrogen from the air saved countless from starvation， and doomed countless to the gas chambers of the Holocaust。 This was a fantastic and unique book。 Special mention should be made to the wonderful translation by Adrian Nathan West。 。。。more
Guniz
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The book takes you through some of the brilliant scientific discoveries of the twentieth century and （re）introduces you to the personalities behind those discoveries。 That， is a pleasure to read。 There are repeating themes across the five stories （which are very loosely connected） such as madness that inevitably comes with genius， the "double-edged sword" of scientific discoveries， the overpopulation of the world， ruthlessness in war， and the meaning of life。 The underlying question is how much The book takes you through some of the brilliant scientific discoveries of the twentieth century and （re）introduces you to the personalities behind those discoveries。 That， is a pleasure to read。 There are repeating themes across the five stories （which are very loosely connected） such as madness that inevitably comes with genius， the "double-edged sword" of scientific discoveries， the overpopulation of the world， ruthlessness in war， and the meaning of life。 The underlying question is how much scientific progress is good and at which point we are actually destroying what we worked so hard to develop （the lemon tree creating too many lemons）。I did not like the fictional stories added by the author to the lives of scientists。 The degree of fiction increases as the book goes on， hence my two favorite sections were the first two。 The speed and the tempo of the narrative go down at each section。 The fiction feels basic （"blood on her handkerchief like a rose with open petals"） and many of the events and details unnecessary。 It is still a good read。 Read this book to enjoy the science and brush up your knowledge， but don't expect great captivating fiction。 。。。more
Paolo
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Quando abbiamo smesso di capire il mondo - 8 - romanzo， storie di ossessioni， rievocazione storica， divulgazione scientifica， riflessione filosofica？ Quello che è ho letto è tutto questo， con un titolo bellissimo che risssume quel senso di spaesamento che provi a quando abbiamo smesso di capire il mondo。 Allora non può essere un caso se queste grandi invenzioni sono frutto di uno studio ossessivo quasi malato， partorite in condizioni estreme in un’epoca in cui il mondo cambiava， tra la prima e l Quando abbiamo smesso di capire il mondo - 8 - romanzo， storie di ossessioni， rievocazione storica， divulgazione scientifica， riflessione filosofica？ Quello che è ho letto è tutto questo， con un titolo bellissimo che risssume quel senso di spaesamento che provi a quando abbiamo smesso di capire il mondo。 Allora non può essere un caso se queste grandi invenzioni sono frutto di uno studio ossessivo quasi malato， partorite in condizioni estreme in un’epoca in cui il mondo cambiava， tra la prima e la seconda guerra mondiale， o subito dopo。 Quantistico 。。。more
Kasa Cotugno
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Thanks be to whatever forces led me to this book which doesn't fall into any category I usually seek out。 Cerebral yet accessible， and a joy to read， this mashup of fact and fiction and deep dive into the philosophy of physics and the personalities that shaped it。 Thanks be to whatever forces led me to this book which doesn't fall into any category I usually seek out。 Cerebral yet accessible， and a joy to read， this mashup of fact and fiction and deep dive into the philosophy of physics and the personalities that shaped it。 。。。more
Calleen
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Unexpectedly interesting， easy to readAs they stated Math will be the end of humanity。 Like reading Homo Deus we no longer understand algorithms so we are no longer trusting each other bc we just don’t know。 Love that Fritz Haber created the gas in the chambers and nitrogen that feeds us。 Wow what an example of a bitter sweet man。
Angie Muldowney
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If David Lynch was going to write a book on science and human frailties， this is the book he would write！ I loved it， I could even keep up with the tricky stuff， the structure of it did my head in a bit after a while though。
Sertac
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Very fluent and addictive narrative… A great book for historical fiction and science lovers。
Aurelio
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Un libro que engancha desde el primer momento， lo he leído en un día。 Una forma apasionante de conocer la ciencia， especialmente la química y la física。 Muy recomendable。
Felipe Eduardo
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“…había entendido que los objetos cuánticos no tienen una identidad definida， sino que habitaban un espacio de posibilidades。”
Kurt
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Completely absorbing， fascinating， and sometimes surreal。 Definitiely one of the best books I've read in many years。 It'll stay with me for a very long time。 Labatut's explanation of quanta and the competition among physicists to explain the workings inside the atom is masterful。 And if these real-life characters did half of what the author tells us 。。。 genius mathematicians and quantum physicists are a strange breed。 I have been attracted to the notion of fact and fiction being blended for my e Completely absorbing， fascinating， and sometimes surreal。 Definitiely one of the best books I've read in many years。 It'll stay with me for a very long time。 Labatut's explanation of quanta and the competition among physicists to explain the workings inside the atom is masterful。 And if these real-life characters did half of what the author tells us 。。。 genius mathematicians and quantum physicists are a strange breed。 I have been attracted to the notion of fact and fiction being blended for my entire lifetime; anything to make a story more compelling and drive home one's point。 Creativity is all we really have。 This Chilean writer nails that concept。 。。。more
Ann Pearlman
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A fictionalized and fascinating read about science， the people driven to find answers， and the downsides of the discoveries。 Ex: the chemical creating the beautiful color Prussian blue is later used to kill people in concentration camps。
Janus
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Wow - one of the best books I have read for a very long time。 Great mix of Fiction and non-fiction bringing together the deepest mysteries of science with the people who have helped solve them to some extent
V。
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I've posted a longer review on substack， but tl;dr I enjoyed this a fair bit in spite of some odd missteps。 I've posted a longer review on substack， but tl;dr I enjoyed this a fair bit in spite of some odd missteps。 。。。more
David
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This is a fascinating mashup of fiction and essay to explore the psychological impact of scientific advances， focusing on developments in the 20th century that led to widespread changes in how we understand the world。 The novella at the heart of this work， for example， explores the development of quantum mechanics and the philosophical challenges posed by an abandonment of Newtonian physics to understand the molecular world。 Einstein in particular is an interesting character， opposing Niels Bohr This is a fascinating mashup of fiction and essay to explore the psychological impact of scientific advances， focusing on developments in the 20th century that led to widespread changes in how we understand the world。 The novella at the heart of this work， for example， explores the development of quantum mechanics and the philosophical challenges posed by an abandonment of Newtonian physics to understand the molecular world。 Einstein in particular is an interesting character， opposing Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg on philosophical grounds。 This is one of the most interesting works about scientific development I've come across in awhile。 。。。more
Keisha Bush
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This was a very enjoyable read。 I couldn't put it down and stayed up past my bedtime to finish it the same day I started it。 If you have any interest in science this will be fun， and if you're not particularly interested in the world of physics and quantum mechanics it's a delicious take on the drama and competitiveness within the world of science。 Labatut takes the real world and fiction and melds them together in a hybrid that I found extremely engaging。 As a hybrid writer myself， I found this This was a very enjoyable read。 I couldn't put it down and stayed up past my bedtime to finish it the same day I started it。 If you have any interest in science this will be fun， and if you're not particularly interested in the world of physics and quantum mechanics it's a delicious take on the drama and competitiveness within the world of science。 Labatut takes the real world and fiction and melds them together in a hybrid that I found extremely engaging。 As a hybrid writer myself， I found this book delightful， challenging， and fun as it begs the question， is life mimicking art， or does art mimick life？ You'll have to figure that one out for yourself。 I can see myself rereading this book again in the future。 。。。more
Tucker
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This was a challenging one。 It starts off sounding like nonfiction。 Of the first essay， "Prussian Blue，" Labatut reveals in a note at the end of the book that it "contains only one fictional paragraph。" The other essays often sound more。。。lush。 Of those， the author says: "I have taken greater liberties in the subsequent texts。" If you want a collection of essays/stories that are historically grounded and scientifically sound （at least according to the author's intention; I cannot judge the scien This was a challenging one。 It starts off sounding like nonfiction。 Of the first essay， "Prussian Blue，" Labatut reveals in a note at the end of the book that it "contains only one fictional paragraph。" The other essays often sound more。。。lush。 Of those， the author says: "I have taken greater liberties in the subsequent texts。" If you want a collection of essays/stories that are historically grounded and scientifically sound （at least according to the author's intention; I cannot judge the science） but have fictional elements， this is it。 。。。more
Aaron Lewis
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Some crackling language and memorable moments。 But this is semihistorical fiction， and I was disappointed to find that the clearly fictional parts were the least compelling。 Trading veracity for such meagre gains seems a waste。 The passage I've seen most widely referenced， in which Heisenberg has a fever dream of Goethe fellating Hafez's corpse， is a representative bit of sensationalism。 Some crackling language and memorable moments。 But this is semihistorical fiction， and I was disappointed to find that the clearly fictional parts were the least compelling。 Trading veracity for such meagre gains seems a waste。 The passage I've seen most widely referenced， in which Heisenberg has a fever dream of Goethe fellating Hafez's corpse， is a representative bit of sensationalism。 。。。more
Jesse
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Fascinating story collection that straddles the boundary between history and fiction。 The line between genius and madness is razor thin！
Hannah
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Lots to think about。 Wikipedia was used a lot but overall enjoyable。
D
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A fascinating set of vignettes of 'fact fiction' describing important advances in science。 The further into the book， the higher the degree of fiction in the stories。 Which is a pity for the last part that describes the difficult birth of quantum mechanics， with Schrödinger and Heisenberg as main protagonists。 Still， “Se non è vero， è ben trovato"。 I am unsure about what the reader is supposed to learn from the book。 If it is the fact that almost any scientific progress can be used for good as w A fascinating set of vignettes of 'fact fiction' describing important advances in science。 The further into the book， the higher the degree of fiction in the stories。 Which is a pity for the last part that describes the difficult birth of quantum mechanics， with Schrödinger and Heisenberg as main protagonists。 Still， “Se non è vero， è ben trovato"。 I am unsure about what the reader is supposed to learn from the book。 If it is the fact that almost any scientific progress can be used for good as well as for evil purposes， I would say this is obvious。 And even what seems unreservedly beneficial at first， like the ability to produce an important fertiliser component from air， may seem not so beneficial after all， as it facilitated an unsustainable population explosion and， ultimately， climate change that threatens the human species。 Still， an excellent set of stories that provides some insight in how scientific revolutions come about。 。。。more
Liv Noble
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so so good。。。。。。。also so much unexpected wwi content <3
Daniel
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This is an incredibly unique book。 It takes real events and uses them as a starting point to tell stories that are about humans struggling to deal with enormity of the knowledge they are discovering。 Some of the stories are even approaching something I would expect from a horror story。 Beyond the unique concept for the book， the writing throughout is absolutely superb。 I think the translator did a great job and I would recommend the book to anyone looking for something pretty unique。
zaa
，
"The atoms that tore Hiroshima and Nagasaki apart were split not by the greasy fingers of a general， but by a group of physicists armed with fistful of equation，""However much we scrutinized the fundamentals， there would always be something vague， undetermined， uncertain， as if reality allowed us to perceive the world with crystalline clarity with one eye at a time， but never with both。"I felt reluctant at first to pick up this book and intimidated by its blurb。 But the premise and beautiful cov "The atoms that tore Hiroshima and Nagasaki apart were split not by the greasy fingers of a general， but by a group of physicists armed with fistful of equation，""However much we scrutinized the fundamentals， there would always be something vague， undetermined， uncertain， as if reality allowed us to perceive the world with crystalline clarity with one eye at a time， but never with both。"I felt reluctant at first to pick up this book and intimidated by its blurb。 But the premise and beautiful cover took a hold on me。 And it wasn't disappointing at all。 I got to know about Fritz Haber and his poison gas that led to mass victims in WW1。 Karl Schwarzschild and his black hole and singularity theory。 Even the complicated yet intriguing background story from Schrodinger， Heisenberg， and de Broglie。 It was a splendid read and a beautifully delivered story。 。。。more
Miguel Utreras
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La primera parte es muy buena después se desinfla de una forma muy extraña
rizka
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3。5As someone who abhors physics and mathematics， I just wished my teachers would put an immersive background story on all the notable physicists and mathematicians just like this book。 Although thought-provoking and intriguing， there are some parts that I feel were either too dense， unnecessary， or just borderline awful。 I quite enjoyed the chapters “Prussian Blue” and “The Heart of the Heart” since it introduced me to scientists that I haven’t heard of before as well having a “less vague” stor 3。5As someone who abhors physics and mathematics， I just wished my teachers would put an immersive background story on all the notable physicists and mathematicians just like this book。 Although thought-provoking and intriguing， there are some parts that I feel were either too dense， unnecessary， or just borderline awful。 I quite enjoyed the chapters “Prussian Blue” and “The Heart of the Heart” since it introduced me to scientists that I haven’t heard of before as well having a “less vague” storyline。 Overall， brilliant book but perhaps not everyone’s cup or tea。 。。。more
Nathan Aracena
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When I ceased to understand this book…。 Labatut uses a mix of different topics and I’m not fully sure I understood the point of the book。 Beginning with an essay describing different killing mechanisms， the author then uses the work of history fiction， then finishes off with a short story which I think is meant to tie all the topics together but to me， everything seemed a bit choppy and not quite coherent with one another。 Being a fan of science and interested in the lives of chemists/scientists When I ceased to understand this book…。 Labatut uses a mix of different topics and I’m not fully sure I understood the point of the book。 Beginning with an essay describing different killing mechanisms， the author then uses the work of history fiction， then finishes off with a short story which I think is meant to tie all the topics together but to me， everything seemed a bit choppy and not quite coherent with one another。 Being a fan of science and interested in the lives of chemists/scientists/inventors during WW1 and 2， the book did give me some interesting back stories and the author himself states that a lot of the work is based on true events， but the line between truth and fiction is often blurry and that takes something away from the story。 。。。more
Amy Carmody
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Excellent！ Interesting， suspenseful， and educational。 Just wish I knew exactly which parts were fictional！A fictional examination of the lives of real-life scientists and thinkers whose discoveries resulted in moral consequences beyond their imagining。When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery， madness， and destruction。 Fritz Haber， Alexander Grothendieck， Werner Heisenberg， Erwin Schrödinger—these are some of luminar Excellent！ Interesting， suspenseful， and educational。 Just wish I knew exactly which parts were fictional！A fictional examination of the lives of real-life scientists and thinkers whose discoveries resulted in moral consequences beyond their imagining。When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery， madness， and destruction。 Fritz Haber， Alexander Grothendieck， Werner Heisenberg， Erwin Schrödinger—these are some of luminaries into whose troubled lives Benjamín Labatut thrusts the reader， showing us how they grappled with the most profound questions of existence。 They have strokes of unparalleled genius， alienate friends and lovers， descend into isolation and insanity。 Some of their discoveries reshape human life for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering。 The lines are never clear。At a breakneck pace and with a wealth of disturbing detail， Labatut uses the imaginative resources of fiction to tell the stories of the scientists and mathematicians who expanded our notions of the possible。 。。。more
Gabril
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“Non sarebbero stati i politici a mettere fine al pianeta” disse Grothendieck， “ma gli scienziati come loro， che «camminavano come sonnambuli verso l’Apocalisse»”。Alexander Grothendieck， Fritz Haber， Shinichi Mochizuki， Karl Schwarzschild， Erwin Schrödinger， Werner Karl Heisenberg… sono i ricercatori di cui in questo avvincente racconto a capitoli si narrano le avventure。 Le avventure della conoscenza e quelle umane si contendono il primato della stravaganza e al contempo esprimono in modo esemp “Non sarebbero stati i politici a mettere fine al pianeta” disse Grothendieck， “ma gli scienziati come loro， che «camminavano come sonnambuli verso l’Apocalisse»”。Alexander Grothendieck， Fritz Haber， Shinichi Mochizuki， Karl Schwarzschild， Erwin Schrödinger， Werner Karl Heisenberg… sono i ricercatori di cui in questo avvincente racconto a capitoli si narrano le avventure。 Le avventure della conoscenza e quelle umane si contendono il primato della stravaganza e al contempo esprimono in modo esemplare quella crisi radicale e irreversibile che nel ‘secolo breve’ ha toccato ogni campo del sapere。 E che ci ha portato， oggi， a un punto di non ritorno。 Qui capiremo che la scienza non è mai neutrale e che il passo dal blu di Prussia allo zyklon è davvero breve quando il comune denominatore è il cianuro。Ci interrogheremo sulla corrispondenza tra l’instabilità dell’universo e quella della mente umana， sul mistero cosmico dei buchi neri e sulla vacillante stabilità del mondo conosciuto in faccia alla smisurata incognita rappresentata da quello ancora inconosciuto。Ci sorprenderemo per la passione con cui matematici e fisici si dedicano a comprendere le intuizioni folgoranti da cui sono stati attraversati e percossi， simili a visioni e rivelazioni di mistici e asceti， e seguiremo con apprensione l’accanimento parossistico con il quale si applicano a svilupparne razionalmente le dimostrazioni。 Arriveremo al limite， come accadde a loro nella vita， arriveremo al punto in cui abbiamo smesso di capire il mondo， quando lo studio della realtà subatomica ha scardinato per sempre le basi del senso comune。“Nel sostrato più profondo delle cose， la fisica non aveva trovato una realtà solida e inequivocabile come quella a cui ambivano Schrödinger e Einstein， regolata da un dio razionale che muoveva i fili del mondo， ma un regno di stupore e di stranezza， figlio del capriccio di una dea dalle tante braccia che giocava con il caso。”Il cosiddetto mondo reale non esiste più， non c’è qualcosa là fuori che abbia sussistenza propria indipendentemente dal nostro sguardo che lo osserva e una particella elementare può essere contemporaneamente entità materiale e onda elettromagnetica。 La fisica quantistica mantiene ancora oggi la sua parte di mistero per la ragione che vuole ricavarne e comprenderne la formula。 L’epilogo， “Il giardiniere notturno”， ci riporta al titolo originario del libro: “Un verdor terrible”， una vegetazione terribile， a significare che nel caos umano e nella bifrontalità della scienza la vita non smette di manifestarsi spontaneamente， rigogliosa， lussureggiante e obbediente alle sue intrinseche leggi。 A noi rimane， irrinunciabile， il compito di studiarle， esplorarle e tentare （forse illudersi） di capirle。 。。。more
Giordano Bruno
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