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The book i wanted to borrow wasn't available, but this was! I love physics so decided to give it a whirl

Not since Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time has there been so genial an integration of physics and philosophy.“ Which is exactly the point but the difference though is that, while A Brief History of Time was a general guide to the universe with only one chapter dedicated to time, this book on the contrary is the complete package...🕐

@Jerdencon thank you for such a lovely #JolabokaflodSwap2024 gift! This is one of my favorite Litsy traditions! Wishing you a happy holiday season and lots of good reading time! 🍫 📚 🎅🏼

Thanks @MaleficentBookDragon for hosting such a beautiful holiday swap! #JS2024

Soft pick for me - an scientific history of how our understanding of gravity has changed from Newton to Einstein to quantum theory to string theory. A little background in physics is helpful, but expertise is not needed (I took an intro level college class in 2007, so…). Some sections dragged a bit (the chapter on tides 🫠), but I thought the last third was a great intro to quantum theory and string theory, which I knew very little about.

The author takes a historical approach showing what problems with a Newtonian-based view quantum theory was reacting to and then how it has developed over the years. The easiest parts of the maths involved are relegated to an appendix, although the author stresses that it's impossible to fully understand the theory without the maths. Even in this stripped down form I was struggling but I think I did get glimmers of understanding here and there.

#coffeeandabook

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“But Newton made another approximation to crank out predictions from his theory of gravity. He assumed that the Sun alone pulls on Earth, and the Earth alone pulls on the Moon. The breakdown of this assumption can be seen in the case of the tides, where both the Moon and the Sun affect the Earth. And this is a general feature of the real world: bodies are pulled on by more than one other body.”

Needed to get out of the house, so I‘m enjoying an egg and cheese biscuit and iced tea while starting a new book 📖 Might take a little stroll later to enjoy the nice weather ☀️

Carlo Rovelli is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. He has a knack for explaining complex quantum physics with ease, but he‘s also poetic and philosophical about life. His prose is beautiful and a joy to read! 5-star book! ⭐️