Science

Helgoland

Helgoland

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  • Create Date：2022-03-28 02:16:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
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  • Author：Carlo Rovelli
  • ISBN：8433964887
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Summary

Los orígenes， el desarrollo y las claves para entender la teoría cuántica。 Un libro fascinante que pone la ciencia al alcance de todos。

En junio de 1925， Werner Heisenberg， de veintitrés años， se retira a la isla de Helgoland para descansar y tratar de apaciguar la alergia que padece。 Es una pequeña isla en el Mar del Norte， sin árboles y batida por el viento。 Insomne， pasea por la noche para reflexionar y al alba da con una idea que transformará la ciencia y nuestra concepción del mundo。 Ha puesto la primera piedra de la teoría cuántica。 Asoman por estas páginas Erwin Schrödinger y su famoso gato， las reacciones de Niels Bohr y Einstein a la propuesta de Heisenberg， el visionario loco llamado Aleksandr Bogdanov， la relación de la teoría cuántica con el cubismo， la filosofía y el pensamiento oriental… Un libro deslumbrante y asequible que nos permite acceder a uno de los avances más trascendentales de la teoría científica contemporánea。

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Reviews

Mikhail Filatov ，

This book is at the same time a popular book about quantum mechanics and history of quantum mechanics， autobiography， philosophical essay， poetry and some hints of New Age here and there。In the beginning， while it was mostly about QM it was ok。The second part was a bit funny for me， as it contains an overview of the dispute in 1900s between Lenin and Bogdanov， lol。The third， mostly mystical part， with reference to Buddhism - mostly gibberish。 Overall， I don't really see this "relative interpreta This book is at the same time a popular book about quantum mechanics and history of quantum mechanics， autobiography， philosophical essay， poetry and some hints of New Age here and there。In the beginning， while it was mostly about QM it was ok。The second part was a bit funny for me， as it contains an overview of the dispute in 1900s between Lenin and Bogdanov， lol。The third， mostly mystical part， with reference to Buddhism - mostly gibberish。 Overall， I don't really see this "relative interpretation of QM" as more than Copenhagen （aka Bohr） interpretation + some unclear and unproven analogy for everything outside of QM。 。。。more

Fabrizio Gibilaro ，

This is an amazing book。 I am not able to understand its value for active physicists， that work with quantum mechanics professionally or have a background in the philosophical interpretations of it。 To a former student of Physics， like me， however， it reminded the very reasons we fell in love with the most fascinating of science disciplines， and why being a scientist is one of the most meaningful way of interacting with the world。 It reminded me of how making science is a continuous act of rebel This is an amazing book。 I am not able to understand its value for active physicists， that work with quantum mechanics professionally or have a background in the philosophical interpretations of it。 To a former student of Physics， like me， however， it reminded the very reasons we fell in love with the most fascinating of science disciplines， and why being a scientist is one of the most meaningful way of interacting with the world。 It reminded me of how making science is a continuous act of rebellion against the status quo， and how those who see scientists as dogmatic and antidemocratic intellectuals， have no idea what science is all about。Beyond these that are personal takeaways， the book is mostly an easy read for everyone。 Quantum physics is not explained through scary math， but just a few example of experimental weirdness are given so that you get an idea of why it is so fascinating， counterintuitive and， as you see， legitimately incomprehensible。 You learn to be comfortable with that sense of fog after you see the results of the most important thought experiments that illustrate the main concepts， like superposition and entanglement。 You learn that is perfectly fine to be amazed and at the same time confused。 Because quantum mechanics is amazing and confusing。 But is so good and useful that scientists have learnt to live with this and move on anyway。 You are then shown how many other theories and "interpretations" have tried to clear that fog， since its discovery at the beginning of the twentieth century， all failing at giving one single vision that clear all the weirdness without opening many other unresolved questions。 The author chooses one， ultimately， being his preferred object of study because it leaves a little less open questions than others， but in the final chapters you realise that it is the essence of this relational interpretation of quantum mechanics the fact that no single point of view can ever give you the complete picture of the real world。 Because most likely the real world is nothing else than the composition of many perspectives emerged by all interactions or relations with objects and only the relations themselves can correspond to what we consider "real"。 。。。more

Piotr ，

I learned only one new interesting thing about quantum mechanics from this book。 I studied physics at university， years ago， so I'm generally familiar with quantum concepts。 I was looking for some insights on how the quantum theory developed over the past couple decades， but the book left me unsatisfied， disappointed， and baffled。The title is misleading， it should be "Helgoland: The Philosophy of Quantum Theory"， since philosophy is what it mostly talks about。 Including the views on materialism I learned only one new interesting thing about quantum mechanics from this book。 I studied physics at university， years ago， so I'm generally familiar with quantum concepts。 I was looking for some insights on how the quantum theory developed over the past couple decades， but the book left me unsatisfied， disappointed， and baffled。The title is misleading， it should be "Helgoland: The Philosophy of Quantum Theory"， since philosophy is what it mostly talks about。 Including the views on materialism of the great philosopher Vladimir Ilyich Lenin。 Yep， apparently Lenin's views are important to the understanding of quantum theory。 Or something， I'm not sure， I only skimmed the second half of the book。 I'm sure Rovelli is a brilliant physicist， but he's not a good writer。 He meanders， goes off on tangents and repeats himself。 And where some more concrete and clear insight would be useful， he just touches on it and moves on。 He doesn't have the skills of a good communicator。 It seems to me that he wrote this relatively short book （and his others， which I now have absolutely no interest in reading）， to capitalise on readers' interest in science， but without much regard for giving them a high quality， educational， enlightening product。 For good writing on this topic， read Sean M。 Carroll instead。 。。。more

Susan Wilkins ，

It's easy to just stay in your lane， read the books that tell familiar tales or entertain you。 And why not？ I'm not a scientist。 When I went to school girls were not really encouraged to do physics。 Biology was my GCSE choice。 But the world has changed。 And I want to know more。 So I stepped out of my comfort zone and picked up this book。 This is not a review that critiques it。 I'm not qualified to do that。 As an explanation of quantum physics， I can't tell you if it's good or bad。 And I suspect It's easy to just stay in your lane， read the books that tell familiar tales or entertain you。 And why not？ I'm not a scientist。 When I went to school girls were not really encouraged to do physics。 Biology was my GCSE choice。 But the world has changed。 And I want to know more。 So I stepped out of my comfort zone and picked up this book。 This is not a review that critiques it。 I'm not qualified to do that。 As an explanation of quantum physics， I can't tell you if it's good or bad。 And I suspect that's a matter of opinion anyway。 But what I can tell you is Rovelli is a beautiful writer。 That's something I do know about。 I read it slowly and quite a lot of it made sense to me。 It also helped restore my sense of wonder about the world we live in。 So I'd say to all you scientific illiterates like me， give it a go。 I think you'll be glad you did。 I certainly am。 。。。more

ilovecomics ，

Con uno stile gradevole， quasi confidenziale， Carlo Rovelli affronta domande importanti: come si è modificata la nostra visione del mondo per effetto della meccanica quantistica？ cosa è il reale a livello microscopico？ come conciliare la nostra esperienza quotidiana con le "stranezze" del mondo quantistico？Noi lettori siamo in difficoltà perché la meccanica quantistica e le successive interpretazioni richiedono， per essere comprese， che ci si allontani in modo radicale da ciò che ci suggerisce l Con uno stile gradevole， quasi confidenziale， Carlo Rovelli affronta domande importanti: come si è modificata la nostra visione del mondo per effetto della meccanica quantistica？ cosa è il reale a livello microscopico？ come conciliare la nostra esperienza quotidiana con le "stranezze" del mondo quantistico？Noi lettori siamo in difficoltà perché la meccanica quantistica e le successive interpretazioni richiedono， per essere comprese， che ci si allontani in modo radicale da ciò che ci suggerisce la realtà fisica ed è uno sforzo tutt’altro che banale。 Nella prima parte di Helgoland Rovelli cerca di ricostruire la rottura degli anni 1920-1930， restituendoci intatta la sensazione di sgomento， di incomprensibilità seguita all’iniziale formulazione della meccanica quantistica， da Heisenberg a Schrodinger。 Rovelli sintetizza i momenti chiave della scoperta， le difficoltà interpretative， le visioni spesso radicalmente diverse。 Questa parte non è facile da seguire， mi sembra riuscita solo in parte， i concetti sono complessi e avrei voluto comprenderli meglio。Nella seconda parte， la più bella， Rovelli ci chiarisce l'interpretazione relazionale della teoria dei quanti e qui è veramente convincente。 Per Rovelli dobbiamo abbandonare definitivamente le metafore della meccanica classica， a livello microscopico gli oggetti non esistono se non nella loro interazione con altri oggetti， la realtà microscopica è fatta di relazioni。Nella terza parte， la più lirica， Rovelli vola alto cercando di riconciliare， con la sua visione quantistica del mondo， anche la coscienza， la natura， il conflitto tra mente e corpo。 Qui il discorso diventa affascinante， ma in fondo metafisico， filosofico。 È in Nagarjuna， un filosofo indiano di duemila anni fa， che Rovelli trova il miglior supporto filosofico a supporto della teoria relazionale:Nulla ha esistenza in sé， tutto esiste solo in dipendenza di qualcos’altro， in relazione a qualcos’altro … le cose sono “vuote” … non hanno realtà autonoma … esistono rispetto alla prospettiva di qualcos’altro … non c’è nessuna essenza ultima o misteriosa da comprendere， che sia l’essenza vera del nostro essere。 “Io” non è altro che l’insieme vasto e interconnesso dei fenomeni che lo costituiscono， ciascuno dipendente da qualcos’altro。 Libro stimolante， richiede una lettura attenta。 。。。more

Laura Ponzoni ，

Mindblowing！Non posso che raccomandare a TUTTI la lettura di questo libro， davvero illuminante！ Nonostante abbia capito， credo， il 5% del contenuto， ho molto apprezzato le spiegazioni delle implicazioni dei quanti per la filosofia， la religione， le relazioni， il pensiero soggettivo， per l'intera umanita'。 Come dice l'autore， e' tempo che si diffonda la conoscenza dei quanti e cosa questo significa per tutti noi。 Per chi e' curioso， solo cose positive。 Mindblowing！Non posso che raccomandare a TUTTI la lettura di questo libro， davvero illuminante！ Nonostante abbia capito， credo， il 5% del contenuto， ho molto apprezzato le spiegazioni delle implicazioni dei quanti per la filosofia， la religione， le relazioni， il pensiero soggettivo， per l'intera umanita'。 Come dice l'autore， e' tempo che si diffonda la conoscenza dei quanti e cosa questo significa per tutti noi。 Per chi e' curioso， solo cose positive。 。。。more

Lucrezia Mussi ，

A dir poco sublime。 Rovelli， con la sua oramai nota semplicità - e oserei dire poliedricità， riesce a compendiare storia， scienza e filosofia in un libro a dir poco illuminante: non solo riesce a mettere in evidenza gli aspetti principali della meccanica quantistica senza renderli troppo ostici， ma， soprattutto nella ultima parte del libro， riesce a dare quel tocco in più con una riflessione molto interessante sulla capacità dell'uomo di affrontare l'indeterminatezza， richiamando a sé la filosof A dir poco sublime。 Rovelli， con la sua oramai nota semplicità - e oserei dire poliedricità， riesce a compendiare storia， scienza e filosofia in un libro a dir poco illuminante: non solo riesce a mettere in evidenza gli aspetti principali della meccanica quantistica senza renderli troppo ostici， ma， soprattutto nella ultima parte del libro， riesce a dare quel tocco in più con una riflessione molto interessante sulla capacità dell'uomo di affrontare l'indeterminatezza， richiamando a sé la filosofia indiana e dando adito a un modo di vedere le cose assai diverso dal mondo occidentale sotto molti punti di vista。 Assolutamente da avere nella propria libreria， per chiunque ami la cultura。 。。。more

Mehul Sheth ，

Continuation of Rovelli's discussion at the intersection of physics and reality。 If you liked his other works， this book will not dissapoint。 Continuation of Rovelli's discussion at the intersection of physics and reality。 If you liked his other works， this book will not dissapoint。 。。。more

Daniele Lunardi ，

Uno sguardo sul mondo dei quanti， un libro che cambia la visione delle cose in chi lo sa ed osa provare a seguirlo。

Maria Laura ，

L'unico che riesce a trasformare la fisica in una carezza， in un mondo in cui， per molti， essa è solo uno schiaffo。 L'unico che riesce a trasformare la fisica in una carezza， in un mondo in cui， per molti， essa è solo uno schiaffo。 。。。more

Isabel ，

4。5Didn't quite convince me to change my philosophy to the dark side， I'm too stubborn a determinist/materialist （although I do like his view on how reality is made up of events， will give it some thought。。。）， however， Rovelli explains beautifully how the Copenhaguen model surged （still like other interpretations a bit more， but I'm no expert）。I liked the Order of Time better， but this book is almost as good， the prose is almost poetical and at the same time simple， and Rovelli references lots o 4。5Didn't quite convince me to change my philosophy to the dark side， I'm too stubborn a determinist/materialist （although I do like his view on how reality is made up of events， will give it some thought。。。）， however， Rovelli explains beautifully how the Copenhaguen model surged （still like other interpretations a bit more， but I'm no expert）。I liked the Order of Time better， but this book is almost as good， the prose is almost poetical and at the same time simple， and Rovelli references lots of classics that inspired him beyond quantum physics。 Some stuff is repeated in the Order of Time， but in this book， he expands a bit more on his own opinion， so even the "repeated" stuff was worth it。 。。。more

John ，

from page 77: The discovery of quantum theory， I believe， is the discovery that the properties of any entity are nothing other than the way in which that entity influences others。 It exists only through its interactions。 Quantum theory is the theory of how things influence each other。

Raghu ，

The investigation into the nature of reality has been the quest of humankind for millenniums。 Philosophers and scientists have engaged in it and advanced our understanding over centuries。 Quantum Mechanics and the General theory of Relativity have been the crowning achievements in this endeavour， but puzzling fundamental challenges remain。 Prof。 Carlo Rovelli has explained this journey to the non-scientist through many of his books。 This book does not explain ideas of quantum gravity or Time or The investigation into the nature of reality has been the quest of humankind for millenniums。 Philosophers and scientists have engaged in it and advanced our understanding over centuries。 Quantum Mechanics and the General theory of Relativity have been the crowning achievements in this endeavour， but puzzling fundamental challenges remain。 Prof。 Carlo Rovelli has explained this journey to the non-scientist through many of his books。 This book does not explain ideas of quantum gravity or Time or Black Hole。 Instead， it contains his philosophical musings on the nature of reality。 He invokes a transformative insight from the great German physicist， Werner Heisenberg， and explores what it means to us today。 Rovelli believes the world still has not absorbed this insight of Heisenberg fully。 He correlates this vision with that of Nagarjuna， an ancient Indian philosopher， and comes to a consensus。Heisenberg is famous for his path breaking Uncertainty principle。 However， Rovelli is not talking about this idea in this book。 In June 1925， Heisenberg， at age 23， retired to the treeless， cold， windswept island called Helgoland in the North sea to recover from severe hay fever。 He hoped the island would give him the solitude necessary to meditate about the challenges posed by quantum mechanics。 While reflecting on the electrons， their discrete orbits and the leaps from one orbit to another， Heisenberg had a flash of intuition。 He realized that the physical world is not a collection of objects with definite properties。 It is impossible to separate the properties of an object from the interactions in which these properties manifest themselves and the objects to which they are manifested。 There are no properties outside of interactions。 So， reality is this web of interactions and quantum theory asks us to see the world as a net of relations。 It is equivalent to saying that everything consists solely of the way in which it affects something else。One radical consequence of this insight is that facts are relative。 Facts which are real with respect to an object are not necessarily so with respect to another。 Speed is an example。 It is the property of an object relative to another object。 However， it is not just speed。 All properties of all objects are relational。 This led Heisenberg to lay a foundation for a theory of quantum mechanics based solely on relations between quantities that are， in principle， observable。 ‘Contextuality’ is the technical name that denotes this central aspect of quantum physics。 Things exist in a context。Rovelli finds this exhilarating。 Western science has long searched for the ultimate substance in physics through matter， molecules， atoms， fields and elementary particles。 Quantum field theory and general relativity have not succeeded in getting us there。 The author feels Nagarjuna offers a way because he recognizes that to inquire about the ultimate foundation of everything is to ask a question that perhaps simply does not make sense。 It does not mean we stop investigation。 It is a world of interdependence and contingencies， not a world we should attempt to derive from an Absolute。 But it is possible to think of the manifestations of objects without having to ask what the object is in itself， independent of its manifestations。 The author sums up his current position on the nature of reality thus: “The best description of reality we have found is in terms of events that weave a web of interactions。 ‘Entities’ are nothing other than ephemeral nodes on this web。 Their properties are not determined until the moment of these interactions。 They exist only in relation to something else。 Everything is what it is only with respect to something else。”Apart from this central thesis， the book has some diversions in the way of contributions of Aleksandr Bogdanov and Vladimir Lenin to philosophical Materialism。 There are even some references to the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels。 I was surprised by the amount of space devoted to the exchange between Lenin and Bogdanov。 The book fascinating to read and Rovelli’s language has always been lyrical and beautiful。 Even though the content needs a lot of concentration to follow and understand， the poetic flow makes it a delightful book to read。 The author ends the book in an optimistic note about making sense of the quantum revolution。 However， we recall the words of Prof。 Richard Feynman that it is safe to say nobody understands quantum mechanics。 Still， it is not difficult to understand that things make sense only in their interactions and not autonomously。 The book is a short volume consisting of less than 200 pages。 If the reader has an interest in quantum mechanics and its state-of-the art， then she would enjoy reading this book。 Still， some background in physics and familiarity with concepts like quantum entanglement， superposition， Schrödinger’s cat， etc。 would be necessary to make sense of it。 。。。more

Paweł Rusin ，

Short and very philosophical， like every other Rovelli book I read。 Which， in my opinion， fits perfectly with the topic of quantum theory。 Very good！

India M。 Clamp ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 RIP 3。4。22Problems often give rise to solutions， and in this case it was Werner Heisenberg who was enslaved with hay fever that plagued him chronically。 From this we stumble upon the title of this book， as Helgoland was the solution that was treeless。 He was only 23 on the Northern Coast of Germany where he found illumination sans distractions。 Nature provided clues as to structures， despite the rants and arguments by Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger---1933 Nobel Prize in Physics。Bohr （w RIP 3。4。22Problems often give rise to solutions， and in this case it was Werner Heisenberg who was enslaved with hay fever that plagued him chronically。 From this we stumble upon the title of this book， as Helgoland was the solution that was treeless。 He was only 23 on the Northern Coast of Germany where he found illumination sans distractions。 Nature provided clues as to structures， despite the rants and arguments by Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger---1933 Nobel Prize in Physics。Bohr （whom Einstein termed as the Big God） deduced that an electron circling the nucleus of an atom could change its orbit in some magical way。 And on June 7， Heisenberg used a most rudimentary method of measurement to disprove Schrödingers theory via matrices。 In the Quantum World， reality is a light and an illusive entity in which every interaction becomes an event assisting us to construct reality。 All is dependent upon another and measured in relation to the other object。 “I argue that the best strategy for understanding quantum gravity is to build a picture of the physical world where the notion of time plays no role at all。"---Carol RovelliInfluence and its products delineates "veritas。" Relationships may be calculated by the movement/measurement of leaping electrons colorful L-emissions。 Light is governed by laws。 And within we find the connections created from causality。 One event may give rise to another。 To think that chaos is a natural state of being may be a way to comfort those living in a created "tartarus。" 。。。more

Mihaela ，

Explicatii despre cum a aparut teoria cuantica pe scurt。

Vincent ，

Overview， mixed， wide nett。 Some amazing explanations， some delightful detours。

Levi ，

Rovelli covers some basics of quantum physics while openly admitting that no one fully understands it currently。 The effects of understanding the quantum world have some interesting implications on consciousness， ethics， and self。 Studying the quantum world may not have a noticable effect on our daily lives， but if understood， as much as we do so far， it can definitely help to alter your perspective。 After all， as mentioned as well， our perspective higly influences the way we see the world。

Nebuchadnezzar Kander ，

Its a huge goal， to present a theory about quantum physics in layman's terms， but Rovelli's definitely up for the job。 He claims that so far， most explanations for quantum physics' big mysteries assumed falsely that the world was us we previously knew it: namely， that beneath all the "subjective veils" lies an "objective reality"。 Rovelli explains that there isn't any such thing， and that the actual building blocks of the world we live in are nothing but a probability， until they meet other bloc Its a huge goal， to present a theory about quantum physics in layman's terms， but Rovelli's definitely up for the job。 He claims that so far， most explanations for quantum physics' big mysteries assumed falsely that the world was us we previously knew it: namely， that beneath all the "subjective veils" lies an "objective reality"。 Rovelli explains that there isn't any such thing， and that the actual building blocks of the world we live in are nothing but a probability， until they meet other blocks， and then and only then do they exist。 In other words， that the world we live in is a relational world。 It is built out of relations alone。 It is with this idea and with a detailed description of the conflict between two revolutionary socialists， Lenin and Bogdanov， that Rovelli tries （and in my opinion， succeeds） to tackle the Mind-Body problem and some other philosophical riddles。I didn't understand everything， and I'll read this book again probably very soon， but I enjoyed it tremendously。 。。。more

Katie Suttles ，

More philosophy than physics but interesting。

Coppelia Kah ，

Viene voglia di andarci， a Helgoland， di immergersi nello scenario grigio di un'isola che battuta dal freddo e dal vento e stata scenario di una delle più folgoranti intuizioni della storia。 Un viaggio nella fisica quantistica， tra i protagonisti， la storia del primo '900 e le formule， mai apparse tanto affascinanti。 Viene voglia di andarci， a Helgoland， di immergersi nello scenario grigio di un'isola che battuta dal freddo e dal vento e stata scenario di una delle più folgoranti intuizioni della storia。 Un viaggio nella fisica quantistica， tra i protagonisti， la storia del primo '900 e le formule， mai apparse tanto affascinanti。 。。。more

Milena Spera ，

Viene voglia di andarci， a Helgoland， di immergersi nello scenario grigio di un'isola che battuta dal freddo e dal vento e stata scenario di una delle più folgoranti intuizioni della storia。 Un viaggio nella fisica quantistica， tra i protagonisti， la storia del primo '900 e le formule， mai apparse tanto affascinanti。 Viene voglia di andarci， a Helgoland， di immergersi nello scenario grigio di un'isola che battuta dal freddo e dal vento e stata scenario di una delle più folgoranti intuizioni della storia。 Un viaggio nella fisica quantistica， tra i protagonisti， la storia del primo '900 e le formule， mai apparse tanto affascinanti。 。。。more

Christine ，

"If instead what I've described seems perfectly clear， then it means that I have not been clear enough about it。"-Carlo Rovelli Based on that quote， maybe this is the clearest book on quantum physics I've read。 Or。。。 maybe I just wasn't picking up what he was putting down。 I really liked the first part of the book and I appreciated the poetic tone he takes。 But at some point it turned into a wisp of ephemeral smoke that I could barely see， let alone grasp。 The section on Mach/Bogdanov/Lenin was "If instead what I've described seems perfectly clear， then it means that I have not been clear enough about it。"-Carlo Rovelli Based on that quote， maybe this is the clearest book on quantum physics I've read。 Or。。。 maybe I just wasn't picking up what he was putting down。 I really liked the first part of the book and I appreciated the poetic tone he takes。 But at some point it turned into a wisp of ephemeral smoke that I could barely see， let alone grasp。 The section on Mach/Bogdanov/Lenin was interesting （if very digressive） and grounded me again。 Sorta。 But then I was right back into "huh？"land no matter how many times I reread passages。 I'm still very interested in his interpretation of relational QM so I plan on searching out other discussions of it。 A conflicted 3。7 stars。 。。。more

Hamid ，

If I look at a forest from afar， I see a dark green velvet。 As I move toward it， the velvet breaks up into trunks， branches and leaves: the bark of the trunks， the moss， the insects， the teeming complexity。 In every eye of every ladybug， there is an extremely elaborate structure of cells connected to neurons that guide and enable them to live。 Every cell is a city， every protein a castle of atoms; in each atomic nucleus an inferno of quantum dynamics is stirring， quarks and gluons swirl， excitat If I look at a forest from afar， I see a dark green velvet。 As I move toward it， the velvet breaks up into trunks， branches and leaves: the bark of the trunks， the moss， the insects， the teeming complexity。 In every eye of every ladybug， there is an extremely elaborate structure of cells connected to neurons that guide and enable them to live。 Every cell is a city， every protein a castle of atoms; in each atomic nucleus an inferno of quantum dynamics is stirring， quarks and gluons swirl， excitations of quantum fields。 This is only a small wood on a small planet that revolves around a little star， among one hundred billion stars in one of the thousand billion galaxies constellated with dazzling cosmic events。 In every corner of the universe we find vertiginous wells of layers of reality。 。。。more

Chiara187 ，

Poca fisica e tanta filosofia。

Max ，

Quite enjoyable but not quite as clear and strong as The Order of Time。

Fabiola Parmesan ，

La migliore descrizione della realtà è in termini di eventi che tessono una rete di interazioni。Gli enti non sono che effimeri nodi di questa rete。Le loro proprietà non sono determinate che nel momento di queste interazioni e lo sono solo in relazione ad altro: ogni cosa è solo ciò che si rispecchia in altro。Ogni visione è parziale。 Non esiste un modo di vedere la realtà che non dipenda da una prospettiva。 Non c'è un punto di vista assoluto， universale。I punti di vista tuttavia comunicano， i sap La migliore descrizione della realtà è in termini di eventi che tessono una rete di interazioni。Gli enti non sono che effimeri nodi di questa rete。Le loro proprietà non sono determinate che nel momento di queste interazioni e lo sono solo in relazione ad altro: ogni cosa è solo ciò che si rispecchia in altro。Ogni visione è parziale。 Non esiste un modo di vedere la realtà che non dipenda da una prospettiva。 Non c'è un punto di vista assoluto， universale。I punti di vista tuttavia comunicano， i saperi sono in dialogo tra loro e con la realtà， nel dialogo si modificano， si arricchiscono， convergono， la nostra comprensione della realtà si approfondisce。Di questo processo non è attore un soggetto distinto della realtà fenomenica， né un punto di vista trascendente: ne è attore un pezzo stesso di quella realtà， a cui la selezione a insegnato a occuparsi di correlazioni utili， informazioni che hanno significato。Il nostro discorso sulla realtà è esso stesso parte della realtà。Di relazioni è fatto il nostro io， le nostre società， la nostra vita culturale， spirituale ed politica。Per questo tutto quanto siamo stati capaci di fare nei secoli lo abbiamo fatto in una rete di scambi。Per questo la politica di collaborazione è più sensata ed efficace della politica di competizione。Per questo anche l'idea di un io individuale non è altro che un'increspatura in una rete di reti。La visione classica del mondo è un allucinazione non più confermata。 Il mondo frammentato e insostanziale della teoria dei quanti è， per il momento， l'allucinazione meglio in armonia con il mondo。 。。。more

Bruce Miller ，

Very good。 The latter half was more philosophical than I expected。

Michael ，

I am a huge fan of Rovelli’s work and his ability to explain the wonder of physics。 Helgoland was a brilliant journey through the history of quantum theory， and its implications on science and life。 I am going to give it 5 stars for the mastery of its presentation， but If I had to judge myself on my knowledge of quantum mechanics。。 probably still， maybe， 3 stars。 But that is the point， right？

Andrew James Greig ，

Carlo Rovelli's Helgoland is more philosophy than quantum physics， but when you look deeply into the smallest particles of nature that is what you are faced with。 Merely observing quantum effects changes what we fondly if naively understand as reality。 If you understand quantum theory then you really haven't been paying attention。This is a heady wee volume， a deceptively small book containing some big ideas – ones that have the power of forcing the reader to consider what is the nature of matter Carlo Rovelli's Helgoland is more philosophy than quantum physics， but when you look deeply into the smallest particles of nature that is what you are faced with。 Merely observing quantum effects changes what we fondly if naively understand as reality。 If you understand quantum theory then you really haven't been paying attention。This is a heady wee volume， a deceptively small book containing some big ideas – ones that have the power of forcing the reader to consider what is the nature of matter; what am I？ Carlo brings some big guns to play， from the big-hitters in physics like Bohr， Heisenberg， Planck， Einstein to philosophers such as Bogdanov and Nagarjuna。 It is not an easy book to read – why should it be when it questions something as basic as reality？He writes conversationally， as if he an I were sat at a pub table sharing a beer and discussing the very fabric of reality （as you do）， casually dropping references to Lenin and Shakespeare to make a point more lucid。 Unusually for me， I'm going to have to read this again。 And then at least once more; if only because this is not something easily digested at the one sitting。I'll leave you with a quote he uses， from Shakespeare's last work The Tempest， as it sums up the book for me:We are such stuff As dreams are made on 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Helgoland

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Helgoland&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Helgoland&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0