The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe
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- Author：Roger Penrose
- ISBN：0099440687
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Summary
**WINNER OF THE 2020 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS**
The Road to Reality is the most important and ambitious work of science for a generation。 It provides nothing less than a comprehensive account of the physical universe and the essentials of its underlying mathematical theory。 It assumes no particular specialist knowledge on the part of the reader， so that， for example， the early chapters give us the vital mathematical background to the physical theories explored later in the book。
Roger Penrose's purpose is to describe as clearly as possible our present understanding of the universe and to convey a feeling for its deep beauty and philosophical implications， as well as its intricate logical interconnections。
The Road to Reality is rarely less than challenging， but the book is leavened by vivid descriptive passages， as well as hundreds of hand-drawn diagrams。 In a single work of colossal scope one of the world's greatest scientists has given us a complete and unrivalled guide to the glories of the universe that we all inhabit。
'Roger Penrose is the most important physicist to work in relativity theory except for Einstein。 He is one of the very few people I've met in my life who， without reservation， I call a genius' Lee Smolin
The Road to Reality is the most important and ambitious work of science for a generation。 It provides nothing less than a comprehensive account of the physical universe and the essentials of its underlying mathematical theory。 It assumes no particular specialist knowledge on the part of the reader， so that， for example， the early chapters give us the vital mathematical background to the physical theories explored later in the book。
Roger Penrose's purpose is to describe as clearly as possible our present understanding of the universe and to convey a feeling for its deep beauty and philosophical implications， as well as its intricate logical interconnections。
The Road to Reality is rarely less than challenging， but the book is leavened by vivid descriptive passages， as well as hundreds of hand-drawn diagrams。 In a single work of colossal scope one of the world's greatest scientists has given us a complete and unrivalled guide to the glories of the universe that we all inhabit。
'Roger Penrose is the most important physicist to work in relativity theory except for Einstein。 He is one of the very few people I've met in my life who， without reservation， I call a genius' Lee Smolin
Reviews
☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣
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What is reality？ How come that mathematics is so handy describing it？ And often more astutely that our eyes？ What are the laws governing it all？ Are we getting it all right？ What if we are trying for the wrong questions and answers？ These and many other questions are what the 2020 Nobel Prize winner Roger Penrose's giving the reader a taste of working on: string theory， physics， the mindboggling quantum effects。。。 - all through the prizm of mathematical apparatus。 What is reality？ How come that mathematics is so handy describing it？ And often more astutely that our eyes？ What are the laws governing it all？ Are we getting it all right？ What if we are trying for the wrong questions and answers？ These and many other questions are what the 2020 Nobel Prize winner Roger Penrose's giving the reader a taste of working on: string theory， physics， the mindboggling quantum effects。。。 - all through the prizm of mathematical apparatus。 。。。more
Anders
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A challenging book to read， not only because of the content， but also in terms of the physical weight of the book。 I suppose you need a table with some paper to write on to get the most out of this book。In terms of the content， is highlights the mathematics underlying our physical world， together with the outstanding problems that still remain unsolved。 Although this book was written already before end of 2004 it seems like not that much fundamental change has happened （apart from the Higgs part A challenging book to read， not only because of the content， but also in terms of the physical weight of the book。 I suppose you need a table with some paper to write on to get the most out of this book。In terms of the content， is highlights the mathematics underlying our physical world， together with the outstanding problems that still remain unsolved。 Although this book was written already before end of 2004 it seems like not that much fundamental change has happened （apart from the Higgs particle and gravitational waves， but they were already predicted long ago） so it seems to still be quite up to date as far as I can tell。There are lots of difficult mathematical and physical ideas presented in this book， and understanding all of it completely is beyond me， but the book does provide a more nuanced understanding of the mathematics of the physical theories of reality。 。。。more
Jonathan Hockey
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This is a book that I will no doubt come back to many times to review certain points。 A great overview of much of physics that does not hold back on going into the complex mathematical details， and does not hold back on being honest and realistic about the limitations in current approaches to physics。 Even if you cannot follow some of the mathematics， if you persevere you can be rewarded with a good overview of many cutting edge areas of research in theoretical physics， and find many launching p This is a book that I will no doubt come back to many times to review certain points。 A great overview of much of physics that does not hold back on going into the complex mathematical details， and does not hold back on being honest and realistic about the limitations in current approaches to physics。 Even if you cannot follow some of the mathematics， if you persevere you can be rewarded with a good overview of many cutting edge areas of research in theoretical physics， and find many launching points from which to pursue further study。 。。。more
Renard
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It really depends on your mathematical level。If did mathematical studies in a top school/university 10 years ago。 Sure I lost some， but I am far from having the technical skills to really enjoy this book。By the middle of the book， the notions were too complex and too numerous for me to keep track of them all。Though if you are working on physics or math， this book can be very interesting as R。 Penrose will show you the interactions and history behind all notions。
Cherry
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a very detailed look at mathamatics of everything related to Physics
Brendan
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I just skimmed this
Enrique Oviedo
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Un libro con un objetivo tan ambicioso como describir el estado del conocimiento científico que poseemos sobre la realidad profunda de la naturaleza y los caminos para avanzar en lo que nos falta por descubrir es realmente difícil de valorar。Este es el único libro científico que aparece entre los 100 primeros libros de la lista de Goodreads "Libros que te llevarías a una isla desierta"。 Creo que está ahí con todo merecimiento。 Es un libro que admite muchas relecturas- Durante los casi dos meses Un libro con un objetivo tan ambicioso como describir el estado del conocimiento científico que poseemos sobre la realidad profunda de la naturaleza y los caminos para avanzar en lo que nos falta por descubrir es realmente difícil de valorar。Este es el único libro científico que aparece entre los 100 primeros libros de la lista de Goodreads "Libros que te llevarías a una isla desierta"。 Creo que está ahí con todo merecimiento。 Es un libro que admite muchas relecturas- Durante los casi dos meses que me ha llevado su lectura las cosas que leía me venían a la mente continuamente。 Todo lo que plantea es interesante， estimulante y te expande la mente。El único problema con este libro es que en una isla desierta no hay Internet。 Me explico: a pesar de sus más de 1。400 páginas， el libro es casi imposible de seguir solo con la información que en él aparece。 He tenido que recurrir en muchísimas ocasiones a la web a buscar la información necesaria para "rellenar los huecos" de lo que estaba leyendo。 El autor te lleva de la mano durante la exposición pero frecuentemente te suelta y te obliga a hacer un acto de fe en la argumentación o da por sentada la evidencia de un razonamiento matemático。 He echado de menos enormemente enlaces a recursos en Internet donde se explique el detalle de las ideas expuestas o aparezcan resueltos los ejercicios que propone。 En mi caso， solo cuando he podido seguir la línea argumental en detalle he tenido una imagen clara de lo que está leyendo。En cualquier caso， el esfuerzo de enfrentarse a la lectura de este libro es ampliamente recompensado por la ampliación de tus horizontes mentales。Resulta también fascinante el vislumbrar cómo funciona la mente de un científico como Roger Penrose， para mí， uno de los más grandes pensadores vivos。 。。。more
Pi
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To nie jest zwykła książka， to jest dzieło wybitne - wybitnego profesora sir Rogera Penrose'a， tegorocznego laureata Nagrody Nobla w dziedzinie fizyki （2020 r。）。 Gdy zobaczyłam， że Wydawnictwo Prószyński i S-ka wprowadzają tę pozycję na nasz polski rynek - oszalałam z radości （i nie ma w tym przesady）。 Właśnie za takie odważne nowości cenię wydawnictwa。 Dlaczego "odważne"？ Bo to nie jest lekka rzecz， to nie jest kryminał， który czyta się w jeden wieczór， to nie jest bezmyślna rozrywka - to jest To nie jest zwykła książka， to jest dzieło wybitne - wybitnego profesora sir Rogera Penrose'a， tegorocznego laureata Nagrody Nobla w dziedzinie fizyki （2020 r。）。 Gdy zobaczyłam， że Wydawnictwo Prószyński i S-ka wprowadzają tę pozycję na nasz polski rynek - oszalałam z radości （i nie ma w tym przesady）。 Właśnie za takie odważne nowości cenię wydawnictwa。 Dlaczego "odważne"？ Bo to nie jest lekka rzecz， to nie jest kryminał， który czyta się w jeden wieczór， to nie jest bezmyślna rozrywka - to jest potęga wiedzy， moc informacji i skarbnica wielkich umysłów。 Każdy， kto interesuje się światem， każdy， kto lubi i ceni matematykę oraz fizykę - a także kosmologię i szeroko rozumiany WSZECHŚWIAT - będzie zachwycony。 Nie będę wam tu kłamać i chwalić się， że połknęłam tę ponad tysiąc stronicową perłę O NIE！ Czytam ją już od jakiegoś czasu i jeszcze dłuuuuuuuuuuuuugo będę， bo wiedzcie， że tutaj potrzeba cierpliwości， wytężonej uwagi， zdolności skupienia się i chęci wyszukania np。 w internecie pojęć， których do końca nie rozumiemy。 Zapoznanie się nawet z jednym podrozdziałem zajęło mi moc czasu - ale to świetnie！ Tego chciałam！ Całkowitego skupienia się na nauce， na kwestiach， które w szkole traktowane są po macoszemu i przez co teraz zbieram żniwo niewiedzy i ignorancji。 Na naukę jednak naprawdę nigdy nie jest za późno！ Sir Roger Penrose podarował światu kompendium wiedzy - ujmę to - ścisłej。 Faktycznie jest to swoista biblia matematyków i fizyków。 Jeśli macie w swej rodzinie takiego zapaleńca， to MUSICIE mu kupić tę książkę。 Mnie się w głowie nie mieści， że mam na półce tak wartościowe dzieło！ Ten grubasek jest jedną z najważniejszych książek w mojej biblioteczce i zdecydowanie najcenniejszą naukową pozycją jaką posiadam。 Ostrzegam uczciwe， że nie czyta się tego łatwo - oj nie， nie。。。 "DROGA DO RZECZYWISTOŚCI" wymaga od nas wielkiego wysiłku， lecz tyle， line wysiłku jej ofiarujemy， tyle ona dobra nam odeśle （z nawiązką）。 Zdecydowanie będę wam jeszcze o tej książce pisać na blogu i trąbić gdzie się da， bo taką wiedzą należy się dzielić i nie można pominąć jej w morzu wydawniczych nowości。 Teraz trochę popaplam o tym， co znajdziecie w środku - bo to przecież najistotniejsza kwestia。 Autor wprowadza nas spokojnie w świat liczb i teorii zaczynając od "Korzeni nauki"。 Kładzie nacisk na matematykę - bo liczby nie kłamią i wciąga w świat rzeczywisty， który choć codziennie obserwujemy - to go najczęściej ni w ząb nie rozumiemy。 Książka została mistrzowsko przemyślana， a sir Roger sięga do samych początków， do starożytności， do rodzajów liczb （o rajcu！ ale tu jest jazda - mówię wam）。 Oczywiście ja najchętniej przeskoczyłabym （i tak chciałam zrobić） to takich rozdziałów jak CZASOPRZESTRZEŃ; WIELKI WYBUCH I JEGO TERMODYNAMICZNE DZIEDZICTWO; SUPERSYMETRIA， WYMIARY DODATKOWE I STRUNY （o których już co nieco wiem） itp。， itd。 ale！！！ Właśnie ALE to nie takie łatwe i nie takie HOP SIUP。 Tę książkę TRZEBA， NALEŻY czytać po kolei， ona od nas tego wymaga， bo inaczej nic nie zrozumiemy i równie dobrze możemy położyć się na łące i patrzeć w chmury mając nadzieję， że z jakiejś zacznie padać złoty deszcz。 Powtarzam， to POZYCJA NAUKOWA， WYMAGAJĄCA， ale WSPANIAŁA i WYBITNA - WARTA swojej ceny。 Ponad sam tekst， autor postarał się o ogrom ilustracji， wykresów， schematów tłumaczących nam np。 zjawisko entropii， które to zawsze mnie fascynowało i które dotyczy również czarnych dziur！ Wszystko jest jasne i zrozumiałe， ale nie oczywiste， dlatego takie wymagające。 Jeśli mamy wielkie braki w podstawach， będzie nam trudno przebrnąć nawet przez stronę， lecz jeśli zadamy sobie ten trud， trud poszukiwania odpowiedzi - to GWARANTUJĘ wam， że będziecie zadowoleni i co ważniejsze z siebie DUMNI。 Ja potrzebuję od czasu do czasu takiego zastrzyku skupienia i zrozumienia WSZECHŚWIATA - zaraz mi lżej na duszy， bo wiem więcej niż przeciętny "Kowalski" - nie ukrywajmy， każdy lubi wiedzieć więcej i poczuć się choć przez chwilę mądrzejszy。 Co do samego wydania - nie mam zastrzeżeń。 Gruba oprawa， oczywiście książka ma swoją wagę （1111 stron to nie przelewki）， ale tutaj to tylko zaleta。 Nie zabierzecie jej na piknik， ale już do łóżka - czemu nie？ Na jednym kolanku książka， na drugim laptop z wujkiem google i jesteśmy szczęśliwi i gotowi na wielką， kosmiczną przygodę。 WYBITNA wymagająca WYCZERPUJĄCA piękna droga do zrozumienia 9/10Wydawnictwo Prószyński i S-ka 。。。more
Gabriele Coppini
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Capolavoro unico nel suo genere， ci vuole impegno ma è un'opera ambiziosa per cui è ragionevole。 Non consiglio di soffermarsi troppo sulle cose che non si capiscono nella prima lettura。 Saltate gli esercizi！ Capolavoro unico nel suo genere， ci vuole impegno ma è un'opera ambiziosa per cui è ragionevole。 Non consiglio di soffermarsi troppo sulle cose che non si capiscono nella prima lettura。 Saltate gli esercizi！ 。。。more
Dana Paxson
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Just how deep do you want to delve into the ways the world works？ Roger Penrose takes you just as deep as you might want to venture into the mathematics， the physics， and the bewildering， glorious realm of our universe in this huge， lively， and wondrous account。 One can easily wear out a copy of the book in paging back and forth， working problems， puzzling over references， and generally getting lost and found again and again。 To be read， or at least explored， time after time。 Loads of concise， c Just how deep do you want to delve into the ways the world works？ Roger Penrose takes you just as deep as you might want to venture into the mathematics， the physics， and the bewildering， glorious realm of our universe in this huge， lively， and wondrous account。 One can easily wear out a copy of the book in paging back and forth， working problems， puzzling over references， and generally getting lost and found again and again。 To be read， or at least explored， time after time。 Loads of concise， clear illustrations， problems of graded difficulty， and illuminating insights and connections at every turn。 A classic work。 。。。more
Richard Wagner
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a great pasticcio of modern physics presented from a mathematical （platonist） standpoint; definitely the work of a genius with quiet some difficult and hard to digest stuff。how someone might call this a piece of popular science remains a mystery。so it may not be for everyone。 some chapter and subjects offer less an exhausting treatment; they serve rather as a starting point and invitation to dive deeper。 （the extensive reference list with many publicly available resources may be ones guide）
Joel Collier
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Look for Susskind’s Theoretical Minimum series and podcasts。 I have no doubt Penrose is a genius physicist， but he’s crap at explaining。
Christopher Augustine Matthew Dilan
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There are many geometries explained here that are intuitively difficult to grasp; I hope to find further elucidation elsewhere。
Boris
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An astonishing and unique book by a renown expert written with high integrity， illustrated by his own drawings。 Penrose is clearly the Mozart of mathematical physics
Baron Rothschild
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good read。
Leo Vanderdonckt
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A book on mathematics describing the fysics world。Introduction to the mathematical principles is suggestive。 Requires extra study on mathematics to appreciate the mathematics exposed。
Joe Richardson
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A book which expects work from the reader。 That's good， because instead of being spoon-fed a story about the big bang， you are given the mathematical theories supporting the big bang as well as those opposing it。 The result is a much better understanding of higher physics。 Great read。 A book which expects work from the reader。 That's good， because instead of being spoon-fed a story about the big bang， you are given the mathematical theories supporting the big bang as well as those opposing it。 The result is a much better understanding of higher physics。 Great read。 。。。more
Robert
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I bought this book soon after it came out in the mid oughts when I was a computer science graduate student and very curious about physics （as I still am）。It starts off very easy， introducing simple topics like pythagoras' theorem and the real numbers， but it accelerates incredibly quickly and soon we are talking about string theory， supersymmetry and quantum algebra （among many other things）。Needless to say， I was only able to follow the first few chapters。So actually I really wonder， are there I bought this book soon after it came out in the mid oughts when I was a computer science graduate student and very curious about physics （as I still am）。It starts off very easy， introducing simple topics like pythagoras' theorem and the real numbers， but it accelerates incredibly quickly and soon we are talking about string theory， supersymmetry and quantum algebra （among many other things）。Needless to say， I was only able to follow the first few chapters。So actually I really wonder， are there ANY non-physicists who actually read it all the way to the end？Still， Penrose's ambition is admirable。 I suppose he meant it more as a summary of his own life's work and his general thoughts about what physics should rather than light airport reading。 。。。more
Eslam El Nokrashy
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a 5 star for a very " personalized " reason ， I LOVE Physics 。Reality and illusion of Reality has captivated the human minds since the emerging of quantum science ， but it has a dark side also ， it seems like the human mind is maneuvering its way to reject the GOD existence ， to free itself from duties and obligations ， a very basic instinct but yet naive and silly 。。 so silly and immature ！ first through the evolution theory ， back to the big bang theory which bounce back to the belief of that a 5 star for a very " personalized " reason ， I LOVE Physics 。Reality and illusion of Reality has captivated the human minds since the emerging of quantum science ， but it has a dark side also ， it seems like the human mind is maneuvering its way to reject the GOD existence ， to free itself from duties and obligations ， a very basic instinct but yet naive and silly 。。 so silly and immature ！ first through the evolution theory ， back to the big bang theory which bounce back to the belief of that a major force started he universe " GOD " ， and now the string theory and multi-universe theory that the scientists work so hard to steer them into the " No God " zone again 。it is just fascinating to have an upper perspective away from your daily struggle in the work/life rat-maze that we endure every single day ， making you think - even for the briefest window of time - back to the basics of existence and why you are here ！ transforming all your life hustles and problems into very small shattered irrelative pieces of chaos ， keeping your eye on the right track ！ 。。。more
MJ
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Good general reference book for lite reading， need solid math background for first 16 chapters of book， than switch gears to get the deeper science topics of quantum theories， general and special relativity theory etc。
Stefano
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Ammetto che leggere La strada che porta alla realtà。 Le leggi fondamentali dell'universo di Roger Penrose non è un'opera semplice。 Se però siete interessati all'origine e all'applicazione delle maggiori teorie scentifiche dell'umanità， vi consiglio questa lettura。 Non nascondo che ci sia un grossa componente di matematica nel testo， non di facile approccio se non si hanno i principali strumenti matematici necessari。 Credo però che il libro e la sua divulgazione possa essere apprezzata （anche se Ammetto che leggere La strada che porta alla realtà。 Le leggi fondamentali dell'universo di Roger Penrose non è un'opera semplice。 Se però siete interessati all'origine e all'applicazione delle maggiori teorie scentifiche dell'umanità， vi consiglio questa lettura。 Non nascondo che ci sia un grossa componente di matematica nel testo， non di facile approccio se non si hanno i principali strumenti matematici necessari。 Credo però che il libro e la sua divulgazione possa essere apprezzata （anche se certamente non a pieno） anche saltando a piedi pari le parti di calcolo matematico e limitandosi alla parte divulgativa e descrittiva。 Se vi piacciono scienza e matematica， non resterete delusi dalle spiegazioni ricevute da un maestro d'eccezione。 Se però siete solo interessati ad una generale infarinatura su alcune teorie che vi incuriosiscono （buchi neri， relatività， teoria delle stringhe）， sufficienti a chiacchierare con qualcuno di non specialistico， vi consiglio di orientarvi su altre letture più divulgative。 。。。more
Ayush Khaitan
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There are two types of books that people use to learn about Science。 One is popular science books， which tell you what's going on， but don't really get into the nuts and bolts of why these events are occurring， and how these fit into the big scientific picture。 Another is textbooks， which purport to get into the nuts and bolts of events by throwing mathematical equations at you， but you lose your fascination for the scientific phenomena。 The big picture gets buried under too many equations， and There are two types of books that people use to learn about Science。 One is popular science books， which tell you what's going on， but don't really get into the nuts and bolts of why these events are occurring， and how these fit into the big scientific picture。 Another is textbooks， which purport to get into the nuts and bolts of events by throwing mathematical equations at you， but you lose your fascination for the scientific phenomena。 The big picture gets buried under too many equations， and your curiosity gets crushed by that homework problem you need to give in Wednesday。 Now imagine a popular science book， that talks about the most fascinating science， and then explains the nuts and bolts in a better， more coherent way than any textbook you've ever seen。 That for me is "The Road to Reality"。 Penrose understands Physics better than most people in the world， including textbook writers。 He knows more， and he does a better job of conveying that knowledge than everyone else。 Perhaps it is imperative for me to give an example here。 The most well regarded and reader friendly book on Quantum Mechanics is is written by Griffiths。 It does a pretty good job of writing about the Schrodinger equation。 However， the explanation is not very insightful， and I soon forgot about it after reading it。 Penrose， on the other hand， merely interprets that the Schrodinger equation as an equation about energy: that the total energy of a system is kinetic + potential energy。 Now I can never forget the Schrodinger equation， or at least the structure of it。The Road to Reality is the best Physics book I've ever read。 And the best Math book I've ever read。 It describes mathematical concepts that I'd been trying to understand from math books for around a year， and explains them better。 Some examples that come to mind are Fourier analysis， connections， curvature， and the torsion tensor。 What was different about his treatment was that he did not shy away from giving both an intuitive picture， and then a formal picture。 What was even more important， was that he gave the complete picture。 For instance， he gave a complete description of what it meant for the torsion tensor to vanish。 This is something I had not found even in well established textbooks and internet forums， that took the pains to give the reader the "intuitive" picture。 The book suffers from having a couple of hundred pages of mathematics， before the real Physics starts。 Although this seems logical， as all the Physics that Penrose discusses is written in terms of these mathematical concepts， it does deter readers of popular science books， who may not have the math background to be able to read all the Math chapters， and who just want to appreciate the scientific ideas of relativity， string theory， etc。 In this matter， I got lucky as I just about had enough math background to be able to read the math chapters。 However， I know of very many smart people who gave up reading the book because they just couldn't get past the math section。 Maybe Penrose could have added the lengthy math tracts to a sizable appendix， and made the Physics parts less dependent on these math concepts？ The math parts do seem to be overdone sometimes: for instance， he talks about Turing completeness at some point， which is not at all relevant to the Physics that he goes on to discuss in the latter half of the book。 Moreover， the section seemed incomprehensible as an exposition of the concept。 Another thing that was a mild irritant was that Penrose tries to push the "Penrose notation" for tensor manipulation on the reader。 There are a lot of exercises in the first part of the book that ask the reader to draw Penrose diagrams for certain tensor expressions。 However， as this notation has not caught on， this would perhaps not be useful。 I for one didn't make much of an effort to get comfortable with this notation， as I probably wouldn't use it in my papers， unless it was adopted by the Mathematical community。 Despite these minor glitches， Penrose writes a beautiful and deep expository book。 What does a Hamiltonian really mean？ What exactly are Feynman diagrams？ What is this information paradox that people keep talking about in Quantum Mechanics？ What is string theory？ It would seem a formidable task to start at what is a Hamiltonian， and then end at what is string theory， all in a few hundred pages。 Penrose does that。 However， I feel that there are other popular science writers who manage to cover such vast distances in a few hundred pages too。 What is Penrose's unique achievement then？ It is that he has created almost a different genre through writing this book: it is not a popular science book， nor is it a textbook。 It can perhaps best be defined as a complement to textbooks: a book that helps connect the various concepts that textbooks discuss， in one big coherent picture。I was fascinated by Science as a kid。 I would read a popular science book or watch the Discovery Channel， and learn about fascinating things like black holes and time travel。 I was desperately waiting for Physics to become an actual school subject in class 7。 When we finally did have classes in Physics however， we would calculate velocities of dropping balls， and after some years， the total current in a circuit。 Where is the real physics， many people my age would wonder？ Where are the blackholes， and travelling at the speed of light and all of that？ Hidden behind the impenetrable walls of Quantum Mechanics， General Relativity， Quantum Field Theory， etc， our science teachers would say。 And however smart we thought we were， we just couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening。 Slowly， we resigned ourselves to the fact that we would never really understand those scientific phenomena that had sparked our interest in Science。 We could talk about them in nebulous terms， but not *really* work with them。Penrose's book made those impenetrable walls porous。 And for that， I will always be grateful。 。。。more
Tommy Sananton
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Encyclopedic revision of physics。 To enjoy from the very beginning to the last chapter。 Just be sure you get yourself prepared for sir Roger Penrose’s hard （mathematical） way。
John Molyneux
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Deep！ I have an older edition
Ville Kokko
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This book is one enormous proof against Penrose's claim that this kind of mathematics isn't so hard if you're not afraid of it。I TRIED。 This book is one enormous proof against Penrose's claim that this kind of mathematics isn't so hard if you're not afraid of it。I TRIED。 。。。more
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This book was incredibly foreboding to me at the outset。 With no mathematical training past high school， and self-diagnosed numerical/mathematical dyslexia， I felt considerable trepidation about it。 I honestly thought my friend had recommended it to me as a cruel joke， but I was determined to enter these interesting but hopelessly deep waters。Opening the book， and getting through some alarming preamble， I was treated to what was obviously the first part of a frame narrative （readers should be fo This book was incredibly foreboding to me at the outset。 With no mathematical training past high school， and self-diagnosed numerical/mathematical dyslexia， I felt considerable trepidation about it。 I honestly thought my friend had recommended it to me as a cruel joke， but I was determined to enter these interesting but hopelessly deep waters。Opening the book， and getting through some alarming preamble， I was treated to what was obviously the first part of a frame narrative （readers should be forgiven if they forget it by the epilogue， some 1043 pages later）， then into some Euclidean notions of geometry， then the Pythagorean theorem （much-hated by parochial types who think school should teach you how to file taxes）， and within maybe 60 pages I discovered that I had nearly completely departed from concepts I regarded as comfortable or at least familiar。It required a lot of fortitude to complete this book， and it remains to be seen how much actually stuck。 There were many times I did not want to continue。 I didn’t want to barely cling to the proceedings for another chapter。 Then I’d see a tantalizing glimpse of something that made sense， or mention of some physical process， and I would find my focus again。 I won’t lie: it isn’t a good idea to read this book in the summer。 It’s not summer reading。 But then this is a book I’d probably never bother with unless I was challenged to， and overall I am happy I did。 It probably would've been worse reading this in a less lively season。 Thankfully， a passing interest in astronomy and various physics made the notions behind the math just barely understandable， so I scraped by as a conscious reader if not a learned one。 And Penrose does his utmost to make ideas graspable， so there are well-explained illustrations that sometimes will break your concentration or get you thinking about things you probably shouldn't。I’m glad I read it。 It was an absolute undertaking and I’m glad I pushed through。 Penrose’s love of mathematics shines through on every page。 You get the sense of the scope and interplay between all these massive ideas that are often so carelessly referenced and employed in popular culture。 When he talks about the magic of it all， I do not comprehend precisely why， but the excitement is palpable。 With some mental squinting， it’s possible to weave in and out of this book and feel like you’ve enriched your mind a little， but if you’re like me， you will mostly feel incredibly challenged and some equation-heavy pages will nearly break your determination。 So I guess I can’t recommend this book to many people without a mathematical/physics background。But if you’re as perverse as I am—and you want to know how little you know， and the specifics of what math and science have been up to in these past centuries， and what a gnat’s louse’s parasite you are in the grand scheme of things—then this is a lovely book that I highly recommend。 。。。more
Paul
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[le pant。。。 le pant。。。][ok， why is there not a gif of Penelope Cat slamming the door to go with this？ I've been searching for 10 minutes]Right。 I should get about 8 books worth of credit for plowing all the way through this beast。Ok， so the book seems to set itself the impossible task of being some sort of superficial textbook。 I cannot imagine any other reason why Penrose inserted all these damnable little homework problems that the book in no way prepares you to solve。That said， it definitely [le pant。。。 le pant。。。][ok， why is there not a gif of Penelope Cat slamming the door to go with this？ I've been searching for 10 minutes]Right。 I should get about 8 books worth of credit for plowing all the way through this beast。Ok， so the book seems to set itself the impossible task of being some sort of superficial textbook。 I cannot imagine any other reason why Penrose inserted all these damnable little homework problems that the book in no way prepares you to solve。That said， it definitely accomplished my real goal for reading it， which was to provide me with some mildly detailed sense of what mathematics lies between me and the fringes of known and guessed physics。 It also managed to convince me that Penrose has an astoundingly weird sense of what is more and less fundamental in mathematics。He is a pretty pedestrian writer。。。 I would never read his prose for pleasure， and his goofy little prologue and epilogue passages should have been stricken from the record。 Really， though， I can't imagine this book being more than a second draft。 When would Roger Penrose have the freaking time to whip this into actual shape？ He's， like， writing papers and doing actual research 'n'stuff。 This is about the best one could reasonably hope for。Of course， now that I've read this book and Lee Smolin's The Trouble With Physics， I am clearly going to be burned at the stake as a string theory heretic。。。 。。。more
David Link
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I very much like his thorough style of systematically documenting mathematical knowledge both in logical sequence of complexity and historically。 I only got about 1/4 of the way through the book this time。 It is similar in format as his "The Emporor's new mind" which I read several years ago and very much enjoyed。 I very much like his thorough style of systematically documenting mathematical knowledge both in logical sequence of complexity and historically。 I only got about 1/4 of the way through the book this time。 It is similar in format as his "The Emporor's new mind" which I read several years ago and very much enjoyed。 。。。more
Lulu
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While studying general relativity and quantum field theory， you should take a break now and then and dip into this book: it's a wonderful guided tour of the world of math and physics While studying general relativity and quantum field theory， you should take a break now and then and dip into this book: it's a wonderful guided tour of the world of math and physics 。。。more
Thomas Hiller
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