A little advanced for casual readers without a background in physics, but adepts will enjoy Marletto’s disquisitions.
An Italian physicist encourages a loosening of epistemological constraints to broaden our “what if” conjectures about the universe.
The questions scientists ask about the nature of the universe tend to conform to the normal rules of logic rather than to outside-the-box speculations. Marletto argues that many advances in such varied topics as “natural selection, force fields, curved spacetime, quantum superposition, and the universality of computation” owe to counterfactual thinking. She offers the example of a future space mission whose astronauts leave a metal box on some distant planet containing a book of poems by William Blake. The fact is the box; another is the book. “That the words in it could be read is a counterfactual property,” though, that hinges on whether the box is discovered and whether the finders can figure Blake out on the page. Marletto extends the example to examine how the laws of thermodynamics work and might work, how the laws of physics prevent a perpetual motion or time machine that might just come about if we figure out how to design new conditions in the “territory beyond the boundary that has been currently set by the traditional conception of physics.” The impossible, writes the author, is impossible because our “initial conditions” make it so. Counterfactuals can be put to work dealing with more practical matters such as climate change if only our thought experiments are sufficiently flexible. The author turns to knowledge and information themselves as materials that might have physical properties. Marletto dances around her subject too often: The lead-up to a working definition of counterfactuality takes dozens of pages, and at the end of the book, many readers won’t be entirely sure that they fully understand. Still, there’s plenty of food for thought for those interested in the processes of conceptual breakthrough.
A little advanced for casual readers without a background in physics, but adepts will enjoy Marletto’s disquisitions.Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-52192-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
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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