Biography

The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius

The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius

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  • Create Date：2021-09-09 09:54:33
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  • Author：Graham Farmelo
  • ISBN：0571222862
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Summary

'A monumental achievement - one of the great scientific biographies。' Michael Frayn

The Strangest Man is the Costa Biography Award-winning account of Paul Dirac， the famous physicist sometimes called the British Einstein。 He was one of the leading pioneers of the greatest revolution in twentieth-century science: quantum mechanics。 The youngest theoretician ever to win the Nobel Prize for Physics， he was also pathologically reticent， strangely literal-minded and legendarily unable to communicate or empathize。 Through his greatest period of productivity， his postcards home contained only remarks about the weather。

Based on a previously undiscovered archive of family papers， Graham Farmelo celebrates Dirac's massive scientific achievement while drawing a compassionate portrait of his life and work。 Farmelo shows a man who， while hopelessly socially inept， could manage to love and sustain close friendship。

The Strangest Man is an extraordinary and moving human story， as well as a study of one of the most exciting times in scientific history。

'A wonderful book 。 。 。 Moving， sometimes comic， sometimes infinitely sad， and goes to the roots of what we mean by truth in science。' Lord Waldegrave， Daily Telegraph

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Reviews

DennisD ，

I was surprised by this book – it’s not a simple biography。 One should be interested in science and/or physics to get through the first few chapters， but then one becomes very interested in Paul Dirac – his personality， his accomplishments， his character， his life。 The book blends in a lot of other scientists – their lives and accomplishments， but also how politics and culture have affected all of them。 This is a very well-documented book， and may lead to many other explorations of history， geog I was surprised by this book – it’s not a simple biography。 One should be interested in science and/or physics to get through the first few chapters， but then one becomes very interested in Paul Dirac – his personality， his accomplishments， his character， his life。 The book blends in a lot of other scientists – their lives and accomplishments， but also how politics and culture have affected all of them。 This is a very well-documented book， and may lead to many other explorations of history， geography， art， literature， and human nature。 。。。more

Barrett Barry ，

I would prefer more depth on the physics and his ideas about math， science and philosophy。 Isaacson did a good job of that in his biography of Einstein。 But Dirac's work is even more subtle and difficult。 What I really want is a scientific biography like Pais' Subtle is the Lord。 I would prefer more depth on the physics and his ideas about math， science and philosophy。 Isaacson did a good job of that in his biography of Einstein。 But Dirac's work is even more subtle and difficult。 What I really want is a scientific biography like Pais' Subtle is the Lord。 。。。more

Semere ，

A brilliant biography of the life and legacy of one of the important pioneers of Quantum Mechanics in the most eventful century of human history。 This story of an eccentric genius is moving as well as heartwarming。 Informative， educative， captivating， and exciting， this biography celebrates and narrates the hidden life of a strange and uncelebrated hero。

Kaylyn ，

If you are looking for a book you can listen with as a family in the car， this would be a good one。 You will find just about everything here from thrills， chills， excitement， danger and so much more。 I can hardly wait for the next one to come out in audio。

Patrick Neylan ，

A fascinating study of one of the greatest 20th century scientists， although some familiarity with quantum physics will help the reader。 The book does struggle a little for direction in the post-WW2 era when， like most Nobel laureates， Dirac fell out of the vanguard of science。 Still， it sheds light onto the vital inter-war years， when Dirac and others carried forward the ideas introduced by Einstein to create a new， vital understanding of sub-atomic physics。 One thing I was disappointed to lear A fascinating study of one of the greatest 20th century scientists， although some familiarity with quantum physics will help the reader。 The book does struggle a little for direction in the post-WW2 era when， like most Nobel laureates， Dirac fell out of the vanguard of science。 Still， it sheds light onto the vital inter-war years， when Dirac and others carried forward the ideas introduced by Einstein to create a new， vital understanding of sub-atomic physics。 One thing I was disappointed to learn was that the atomic science I learnt at school in the late 1970s was 60 years out of date。 。。。more

Nelda Monroe ，

A little into The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac， Quantum Genius and you'll find that it is impossible to put down！ A little into The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac， Quantum Genius and you'll find that it is impossible to put down！ 。。。more

Federico Castillo ，

Of course， by far the most interesting part of Dirac was his mind。 I arrived to this biography while reading his book "Principles of quantum mechanics"， which will live forever alongside Newton's "Principia" and Darwin's "Origin of species"， but personally there is not much to say about the man。 Still， his life is a great excuse to revisit the history of physics in the early XX century。It is curious to hear about the interactions of all these beautiful minds。 Specially Heisenberg， Pauli， Rutherf Of course， by far the most interesting part of Dirac was his mind。 I arrived to this biography while reading his book "Principles of quantum mechanics"， which will live forever alongside Newton's "Principia" and Darwin's "Origin of species"， but personally there is not much to say about the man。 Still， his life is a great excuse to revisit the history of physics in the early XX century。It is curious to hear about the interactions of all these beautiful minds。 Specially Heisenberg， Pauli， Rutherford， and Bohr。 A dramatic part of the book， and to me the highlight， are the war years were the community was fragmented and the race for the atomic bomb went on。 As noted in this book， the first experiments suggesting it may be possible to split the atom were done in Germany， so the UK and USA scientific community were terrified of nazi Germany developing the bomb。Another aspect of his life was his relation with Russia and specially his colleague Kapitza。 So even though there are very few direct quotes from Dirac himself， and he was a boring guy （by most definitions of boring）， he lived through interesting political times。 And even in his complete immersion in physics， politics affected him in a fundamental way and had to ultimately take positions。 A good lesson that science should not forget its geopolitical consequences。 。。。more

Ashley Gilder ，

Nothing especially wrong with it but it is too long。 I picked this up on a whim and I had never even heard of Paul Dirac。 I sure know who he is now。 A Wikipedia page would have been enough for me， this book tells you everything including what he ate for breakfast。 I would have given it 4 or 5 if it had been about half the length。

David Owen ，

A fascinating look at both the greatness and liabilities of being a genius。

Jeff Stevens ，

I really enjoyed this book。 It covers Dirac's scientific accomplishments together with the history of quantum mechanics， all the people who worked on it， and the uncomfortable history that was going on around them。 In addition to Dirac， it is the history of Bohr， Born， Heisenberg， Schrodinger， Einstein， Rutherford， and all of the other scientists who developed quantum mechanics。 It was a difficult time。 Dirac was close friends with a Russian scientist Kapitza who was unable to leave Stalin's reg I really enjoyed this book。 It covers Dirac's scientific accomplishments together with the history of quantum mechanics， all the people who worked on it， and the uncomfortable history that was going on around them。 In addition to Dirac， it is the history of Bohr， Born， Heisenberg， Schrodinger， Einstein， Rutherford， and all of the other scientists who developed quantum mechanics。 It was a difficult time。 Dirac was close friends with a Russian scientist Kapitza who was unable to leave Stalin's regime。 Many of these scientists fled Europe due to Hitler。 It is also interesting to hear about these famous scientists struggling to understand quantum physics， and a bit comforting for those of us who have struggled to understand it now that the science is neatly packaged in textbooks。 。。。more

Jeff Ruhloff ，

This is one of those biographies that can be a tough read; both subject and subject matter are not light and flowing。 Glad I went all the way through; fascinating look at one of the times when human thought and creativity were flowing， with a backdrop of human evils。 I almost got an understanding of string theory！

Remi S。 ，

Excellent。 As a student of physics， this was an extraordinary insight into the mind of one of the greats， which has left me wanting to go learn all of his contributions to the field; I counsel everybody to read this biography， as it does not at all require an understanding of physics， but it beautifully describes the life of one of the greatest minds of the last century。 10/10。

Anthoney ，

I am not fan of biographies （an aside - I wonder how lives of the subjects have been so interesting to fill books of a genre which are not less then 300 pages at least， mine could hardly fill not even no。 of pages half my age） but reading up on lives of great pioneers， especially eccentric ones， cannot be chore as you get to know not only about their life but also about the story behind their discoveries and the science of it all and the whole backstory and related stories of it。 And of course i I am not fan of biographies （an aside - I wonder how lives of the subjects have been so interesting to fill books of a genre which are not less then 300 pages at least， mine could hardly fill not even no。 of pages half my age） but reading up on lives of great pioneers， especially eccentric ones， cannot be chore as you get to know not only about their life but also about the story behind their discoveries and the science of it all and the whole backstory and related stories of it。 And of course if it is a biography of a scientist， then you can be sure that the biographer will have made a solid and successful attempt to keep the science and technicals as simple as possible for a lay audience。 And so it is with The Strangest Man， as it covers a story of a theoretician who led early thoughts on one of the most daunting yet fascinating subject of our times， Quantum mechanics。 The science is described quite succinctly - of course Farmelo could not deep dive and get into in the nitty gritties of it cos Dirac's theories were deeply entrenched in mathematics。 But the superficial explanation is good enough to get an insight into how important and leading Dirac's predictions and contributions to quantum science were。 What is commendable is that Farmelo seems to have followed Hawkings note on science writing and I do not recall seeing even a single mathematical symbol， leave alone a full equation， throughout the book ！ （Except maybe for a symbol that Dirac invented " 。。。。 : together they can be combined to form mathematical constructions such as ， a bracket。 With his rectilinear logic， Dirac named each part of the 'bracket' after its first and last 3 letters， 'bra' and 'ket'。。。。。。 leaving thousands of non English speaking physicists wondering why a mathematical symbol in quantum mechanics had been named after an item of lingerie"） The characterization of Dirac as reticent and introvert does get repetitive and I feel the book could have been at least a 50 - 100 pages shorter then the 438 pages of my paperback。As for the scientist and his mind， Dirac， hope this small excerpt helps:"The consensus among today's scientist， however， is that Dirac's role in forseeing the existence of the positron， is one the greatest achievements in science。 In 2002， shortly after the centenary of Dirac's birth， the theoretical physicist Kurt Gottfreid went further:" Physics has produced other far fetched predictions that have subsequently been confirmed by experiments。 But Dirac's prediction of anti matter stands alone in being motivated solely by faith in pure theory， without any hint from data， and yet revealing a deep and universal property of nature。" 。。。more

Gustavo Navarro ，

It is a great book。 Really easy to read， and like it says a million times in any review: "a real page-turner"。 It's totally true though。 The fascinating story of Dirac， his scientific achievements and his personality pulls you in， and you end up devouring the book really quickly。 It is a great book。 Really easy to read， and like it says a million times in any review: "a real page-turner"。 It's totally true though。 The fascinating story of Dirac， his scientific achievements and his personality pulls you in， and you end up devouring the book really quickly。 。。。more

Peter K ，

This is a fascinating and engrossing book about one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century that many people （ myself included ） would know very little about （ until I started reading this book ）This book attempts many things and achieves them all very well。 It is a biography and does an excellent job of detailing the life of someone who was highly reticent on non scientific matters from early life in Bristol and the affect that his relationship with his father had on him all thro This is a fascinating and engrossing book about one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century that many people （ myself included ） would know very little about （ until I started reading this book ）This book attempts many things and achieves them all very well。 It is a biography and does an excellent job of detailing the life of someone who was highly reticent on non scientific matters from early life in Bristol and the affect that his relationship with his father had on him all through his life and the significant impact the loss of his brother also seems to have had。This book is also a book about the development of our understanding of physics and again does an excellent job in placing Dirac and his work in its right and proper place amongst the pioneers of research as well as detailing how his life and work crossed and occurred alongside those such as Rutherford， Born， Einstein， Feynman etc。This book is also an incidental history of the world through the two world wars and the development of the Cold War as well as illustrating the life of an academic in Cambridge and above all the fascinating， reticent and clearly very brilliant Paul Dirac。All in all an excellent book。 。。。more

David ，

At the end of the day， this book contains so much interesting lore about the development of quantum mechanics by those giants in the 1930s including Schrodinger， Pauli， Bohr， Ehrenfest， Jordan， Born， Oppenheimer， Einstein， etc。 This makes it an exciting read for physicists who are interested in the origins of the theory。 Dirac himself was an enigmatic character， which adds to the fun。 I bump off the 5th star for this reason: I found some statements near the beginning a bit out of context - thing At the end of the day， this book contains so much interesting lore about the development of quantum mechanics by those giants in the 1930s including Schrodinger， Pauli， Bohr， Ehrenfest， Jordan， Born， Oppenheimer， Einstein， etc。 This makes it an exciting read for physicists who are interested in the origins of the theory。 Dirac himself was an enigmatic character， which adds to the fun。 I bump off the 5th star for this reason: I found some statements near the beginning a bit out of context - things about large romantic ideas of 'greatness' and all the ambiguous and messy ideas that go along with that。 These statements were used to frame the future success of Dirac as well as the affects his precociousness had on those around him。 Some of them were off-putting to me as an aspiring scientist， as I believe they missed the point - but the author redeemed himself by escaping this tone and even contradicting it in passages near the end of the novel through commentary on how scientific progress would likely be made without these revolutionary figures。 Natura non contristatur。 。。。more

Brendan Farley ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Only read beginning， blah

Edd Marbello-Santrich ，

As if it would be a life claim for the physicist of that era， his life had a certain dose of tragedy。 Felix （Brother） took his life by himself at 25。 Charles （Pa） and Florence （Ma） experienced an awful marriage as Betty （Sister） were practically a dull woman， as the spouse said more than once。 Yet， those situations didn't halt him to built up a remarkable life， commitment for science entirely。 Though he was a man with few words， almost no one so many times - wrote one of the books that is a mand As if it would be a life claim for the physicist of that era， his life had a certain dose of tragedy。 Felix （Brother） took his life by himself at 25。 Charles （Pa） and Florence （Ma） experienced an awful marriage as Betty （Sister） were practically a dull woman， as the spouse said more than once。 Yet， those situations didn't halt him to built up a remarkable life， commitment for science entirely。 Though he was a man with few words， almost no one so many times - wrote one of the books that is a mandatory reference for those who want to learn Quantum Mechanics in deep - and had a rigorous and complete speech either when he started his lectures or claimed against renormalization each time beneath the public attention。 Loyal friend of Kapitza， Darwin （the grandson）， Heisenberg and Schrodinguer， saw Bohr as the greatest man in the world as well as admirer of all over the theories， Einstein's G。R （indeed， cried when he died）。 Got married to an Hungarian widow， mother of two children， but he preffered to introduce her to the publis as Wigner's sister。 Policy never was in his sight， but he felt some empathy for USSR， country that he visited so many times， with Leningrade as his favorite city in the world。 His tomb is in Florida， but there is a simbolic one close to Newton， Faraday and Darwin in Cambridge， as it should be。 You know enough about what the achivements in physics were already， of this Lucassian Professor。 。。。more

Krati Sharma ，

Beautiful。

Russ Weimer ，

Very interesting book on a man most people do not know but who was one of the most famous physicists in the 20’s and 30’s。 A quiet but determined man who felt that he was somewhat of a failure in later years for not completing the quantum mechanics theory to his satisfaction。 He rarely cared if others didn’t agree except for perhaps Einstein。 An interesting look at atomic theory and British education in the early 20th century。

kevin kvalvik ，

Brilliant

Julian ALLEN ，

The Strangest Man， the Hidden life of Paul Dirac， Quantum Genius by Graham Farmelo provides what seems a definitive overview of this enigmatic figure from the remote and secretive world of theoretical physics。 A founding member of a pioneering group that brought quantum theory out of the darkness of nature’s most hidden recesses。 Cambridge was the centre of their world but their influence and presence was felt across continents。Farmelo is himself a theoretical physicist and the book has many des The Strangest Man， the Hidden life of Paul Dirac， Quantum Genius by Graham Farmelo provides what seems a definitive overview of this enigmatic figure from the remote and secretive world of theoretical physics。 A founding member of a pioneering group that brought quantum theory out of the darkness of nature’s most hidden recesses。 Cambridge was the centre of their world but their influence and presence was felt across continents。Farmelo is himself a theoretical physicist and the book has many descriptions of subatomic particles and their behaviour – attempts to add flesh to the bones of Dirac’s theories – as they are shown emerging and engaging with the minds of other leading thinkers， sparking reactions and counter-reactions and developing through time from the 1920’s up to the book’s conclusion in the 1980’s。The book is not merely a journey of scientific discovery revealing the infinitely small phenomena which are predicted and confirmed in theories and experiments – it is also an individual and family drama – showing a singular figure emerging from uneasy beginnings and then oscillating between a self-imposed isolation and membership of an elite group of figures dwelling within rarefied academic environments， whose shadowy but towering presences enrich one another and shape the history of the 20th century。 Heisenberg， Born， Bohr， Oppenheimer – these are names to conjure with as icons of scientific excellence， and circling them and then mixing with them is the slightly separate figure of Dirac himself。The book releases its dramas through a compelling presentation of oppositions which clash with each other and then absorb their differences in dynamic synthesis。 For the obsessive and relentless Dirac， beauty is a profound aesthetic when considering a successful explication of his theories。 This is in opposition to the pragmatic rigor of some of his peers。 Dirac is a figure that seems to bridge the gap between the theoretical realm and the experimental realm – two sides of the intellectual endeavour that alternatively complement each other or ignite conflict and generate a competitive struggle for ever more accurate comprehension of the functions of the universe。It is a psychological work as much or more than an attempt to present the most obscure and problematic corners of mathematics and physics in language accessible to the layman。 The portrait of Dirac is as richly realised and fraught with ambiguity as some remote and lonely figures from literature – such as Prospero， so seemingly wise and yet cast out from ordinary society， a figure for whom emotional bonds remain tenuous beside some grand destiny removing him always from the claims of family and friends。The final years present a man mellowing as his principal purpose fades to make way for future luminaries 。 Farmelo analyses the roots of Dirac’s alienation offering a tentative final conclusion to these speculations。 The last chapters affirm his legacy and the mists of theory and higher physics clear to reveal practical applications for Dirac’s discoveries。 These final pages have a serenity which gives the narrative a sense of arrival and completion。 The volume has a progress， development and conclusion as satisfying as some of the finest musical compositions。 。。。more

Bestmovieonline ，

We can see that even he， a great scientist， had have errors in physics。Amazing book ！！If you looking for Free Movie，then visit。 We can see that even he， a great scientist， had have errors in physics。Amazing book ！！If you looking for Free Movie，then visit。 。。。more

Dima Gerasimov ，

Fascinating read！ So many connections throughout the history of physics and peek into lives of Dirac's contemporaries。 And of course， Dirac himself， and the details of his personal life were fascinating。 Fascinating read！ So many connections throughout the history of physics and peek into lives of Dirac's contemporaries。 And of course， Dirac himself， and the details of his personal life were fascinating。 。。。more

John Hunter ，

A biography written about one of the oddest hermit-like geniuses of the 20th century， whose contributions to mathematics and science permeate through almost every contemporary research topic。 Through stories shared by Dirac himself and collected over many interviews， the private and very rarely intimate life of a noble prizing winning physicist is revealed without technical detail or long drawn out dramatizations。Farmelo attempts to unravel the complex motivations and personal misgivings of an i A biography written about one of the oddest hermit-like geniuses of the 20th century， whose contributions to mathematics and science permeate through almost every contemporary research topic。 Through stories shared by Dirac himself and collected over many interviews， the private and very rarely intimate life of a noble prizing winning physicist is revealed without technical detail or long drawn out dramatizations。Farmelo attempts to unravel the complex motivations and personal misgivings of an intellectual giant by looking to the handful of people he surrounded himself with over the course of his life。 This provides Dirac's story with a comforting yet revealing light - that the life of an academic can be a solitary， sometimes lonesome one。 Despite this， Dirac's reverent passion for pure mathematics and formalism overshadows any pressure to break out of his often reclusive shell。While not overstated， some interpretations of his life are viewed through a transparently biased lens， discrediting some of the stories surrounding his family and early life。 In particular， it's very apparent the author has strong views on Dirac's relationship with his brother， skewing historical fact with unsubstantiated speculation and venom。 However， most of the book is spent on the prime of his life， so plenty of accurate information can still be gleaned from it。 In addition to learning about Dirac's life， a good portion is spent on his colleagues who left a substantial impact on 20th century knowledge in their own right。 This is partially because most of the insight into Dirac's life comes from stories his friends shared， but also because of the nature of 20th century scientific progress。 Dirac and his colleagues were afforded visits to each other for prolonged periods of time to promote collaboration at the forefront of topics with limited resources， such as quantum mechanics， at a time when computers and remote work were not anything like how they are today。Shared through anecdotes that would make anyone's interest piqued， his life involved encounters with Einstein， Curie， Heisenberg， long time rival Schrodinger， Bohr， Rutherford， the Russian KGB， Feynman， Japanese priests， Floridian gators， boat voyages， one tried and true suit， and a spiritual guru， all silhouetted by his dedication to applying the utmost rigor to the physical world around him and providing the tool kit for researchers for centuries to come。The Strangest Man provides a rewarding look into the life of a gentle， tinkering soul。 His story should be shared more and his impact on society never understated。 。。。more

Muhammad Haque ，

This book is an wonderful journey through Dirac's life！ With his brilliance， enthusiasm， success， struggles， pain， Dirac appears alive to the point that it sometimes came to me that， "Let's talk with this great human being"（Although making him talk would be a lot of work :3 ）。 This book is a must read for any aspiring science student（like me） who dreams to be a great physicist one day。 This book is an wonderful journey through Dirac's life！ With his brilliance， enthusiasm， success， struggles， pain， Dirac appears alive to the point that it sometimes came to me that， "Let's talk with this great human being"（Although making him talk would be a lot of work :3 ）。 This book is a must read for any aspiring science student（like me） who dreams to be a great physicist one day。 。。。more

Ishan Sharma ，

Such was the advice this extraordinarily unemotional man offeredto his colleagues: be guided， above all， by your emotions。

Andrew Davis ，

A biography of Paul Dirac， his interesting life and work， his unique personality and genius。 One of the major contributors to the quantum and general relativity theories。 He was the one who came up with a definition of fermions and bosons， and formulated a theory of electrons and photons。 His Principles of Quantum Mechanics are still being studied， an outstanding presentation of his theory。 The story of Dirac's life is very well presented。 One of the best popular science books。 A biography of Paul Dirac， his interesting life and work， his unique personality and genius。 One of the major contributors to the quantum and general relativity theories。 He was the one who came up with a definition of fermions and bosons， and formulated a theory of electrons and photons。 His Principles of Quantum Mechanics are still being studied， an outstanding presentation of his theory。 The story of Dirac's life is very well presented。 One of the best popular science books。 。。。more

Phillip Levin ，

I am not sure if others would find it dry -- or rather as exciting as I did。 Dirac is a strange character， absolutely。 The ultra logical but emotionally flat physicist is obviously a mathematical genius。 If you have never studied the derivation of the Dirac equation， you should， and if you do not find yourself in awe of his intuition， then perhaps you are the better physicist than I。 This book， though， does not go into any of that but perhaps it will provoke your interest; rather it is a telling I am not sure if others would find it dry -- or rather as exciting as I did。 Dirac is a strange character， absolutely。 The ultra logical but emotionally flat physicist is obviously a mathematical genius。 If you have never studied the derivation of the Dirac equation， you should， and if you do not find yourself in awe of his intuition， then perhaps you are the better physicist than I。 This book， though， does not go into any of that but perhaps it will provoke your interest; rather it is a telling of a physicist who has no doubt suffered emotional pains that led him to retreat from the world of feelings towards that of theoretical physics。 A somewhat sad tale at times， Dirac's life is one of its very own， unique meaning。 。。。more

Hari ，

It was very interesting to know about the difficulty that this genius had to face to do what he loves， understanding the logic of nature。Was he too hard about himself？ How about normal people like us？Huhm。

Reference

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