An academically rigorous book that challenges physicists to think outside their comfort zones.
A physicist makes the case that the solution to one of the biggest impasses in modern science lies within two hidden dimensions of the universe.
For centuries, physicists have tried unsuccessfully to summarize the nature of the universe in a single overarching law. They’ve made strides in quantum mechanics, relativity, and gravity separately but failed to connect them in a “Theory of Everything.” In his debut book, Winthrop claims not only to offer such a theory, but to explain the nature of human consciousness as well. People are accustomed to the idea of living in three-dimensional space with a fourth dimension of time, and physicists have long speculated that there may be many other dimensions individuals can’t see. Through 20 chapters, Winthrop derives equations that support the existence of two new dimensions. A human’s physical brain, he asserts, lives in the four familiar dimensions, while the individual’s consciousness lives in a fifth. Time, too, is mirrored in a sixth dimension that affects how humans experience the other five. Part I of the book examines current challenges in physics and neuroscience and draws relationships between them with space-time geometry. Part II places subatomic particles into this framework, and Part III expands to include the origin and structure of the universe. Parts IV and V delve into particularly thorny problems, including the nature of mass and energy. Part VI lays out modern notions of space-time before Part VII asserts that two new dimensions would not only connect all other physical laws, but also explain why humans perceive consciousness the way they do. In this meticulous book, Winthrop’s examples are largely visual. He is a physicist with a Ph.D. who is best known for advancing optics in the 1970s, and his diagrams of information passing through different dimensions look a lot like light gliding through lenses. He explains that he published this volume because his efforts to reach scientists the traditional way through academic journals were met with rejection. Perhaps that’s because the broad outlines of his work sound more like philosophy than hard science. Yet the heart of Winthrop’s provocative argument is that physicists must open themselves up to philosophical reasoning to advance their discipline.
An academically rigorous book that challenges physicists to think outside their comfort zones.Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5320-1202-0
Page Count: 554
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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