Dreams of a Final Theory: The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of Nature [Paperback]

 

 

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Steven Weinberg is one of twentieth century's greatest theoretical physicists. He is one of the codiscoverers of the Electroweak Theory, an important piece of the puzzle that describes all of the fundamental forces of nature. He is also a very prolific writer, with several important textbooks and a few books that aim to popularize Physics and make it accessible to the general audience. The theme of this book is the long standing problem in Physics, and that is the one of unification of all forces under a single set of laws. Weinberg is as big of an authority on this subject as they come, as he has contributed and worked on various aspects of unification throughout his professional career. In this book he tries to explain what exactly is meant by "Final Theory." He is equally critical of opponents of this approach to science who deride it as overly reductionist, as he is of those who think that the discovery of final laws will in some way be the end of science. In some sense he is staking a middle ground between these two extremes.

This book was written in the years when the prospect of building the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) was still tenable. SSC was supposed to be the largest particle collider in the world, and had it became operational it would have provided new data and insights into the mysteries of fundamental Physics. Or so we believed. Weinberg was one of the most prominent scientific proponents of this project, and he testified often in US Congress in its favor. Many of those encounters with politicians are discussed in this book. They provide a valuable and fascinating insight into how "big science" gets done. For one thing, scientific viability and value of any given project is only one of the important criteria that are considered when the pricetag for a project exceeds the entire budget of a small country. In the end SSC did not get the funding, and for better or worse our search for the ultimate laws of nature has since been almost exclusively a theoretical endeavor. This may change with the advent of Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland, which is supposed to start taking data any moment now.

Throughout this book Weinberg touches on many philosophical themes, which in some sense is inevitable when one discusses such a vast topic as the ultimate theory of nature. Weinberg is rather dismissive of philosophical and religious considerations. This may be respectable insofar as his intellectual honesty is concerned, and we as readers at least know where he is coming from. However, the vast majority of people hope to understand the questions of the ultimate meaning in broadly philosophical terms, and it would be useful if scientists who are the most invested in the search for the final theory would at least try to present that search in some more accessible categories. Especially if they hope to have the general public on board when it comes to funding exceptionally large scientific projects.

Two chapters stand out to my mind: "Against Philosophy" and "What about God?" Weinberg makes a convincing case that philosophy has made little contribution to objective truth. He also says that he knows of no important scientist in the post-war period who has been substantially influenced by philosophy. One has to be careful here with the word "post-war" because it is well-known that people like Einstein and Heisenberg were very interested in philosophy. As to the chapter on religion, who is better qualified to talk about it than a great physicist like Weinberg who understands the origin of the universe better than almost anybody alive? He makes a forceful case for atheism (though he does not use this term). My only regret is that he doesn't encourage violence against religious fundamentalists and extremists, who are always prepared to use violence to advance their agenda.

Incidentally, Weinberg's belief that a final theory is near is too optimistic. Martin Rees has got it right: The advancement of science is like fractals - every little detail can be further enlarged to reveal far more, ad infinitum. Thus, the search for scientifc truth must be endless, and the dreams for a final theory are no more than that.

Cogent objective & informative glimpse towards "Final Laws"

This is a review of both the printed book & the fabulous book on tape. I discovered that the narrated unabridged (7 cassettes) book on tape is available after I read the printed book cover to cover. I quickly bought a copy & have since listened it more times than I can recall! The narrator's voice is pleasant to listen to. His voice come across clear, brisk & very articulate. The whole wonderful experience keeps my attention riveted & gratefully takes my mind off the infamous Southern California traffic during my hours long commute each day. There's always something different & interesting that captivates my attention each time I experience this great book. Keep in mind that I'm a veritable compulsive-obsessive autodidactic with a fanatical drive to understand physical reality at the most fundamental level - call me a PRE (Physical Reality Explorer). I don't have a formal "higher" education or the mathematical tools to speak the technical language - but, like I said, I'm a fanatical layman who's bent on understanding what the hell is REALLY going on "out there" - or "in there" as the case may be...
Well, back to the book! You don't really need a deep understanding of mathematics or even an understanding of Quantum Physics to "get" what this book has to offer. Shoot, for that matter, maybe having an "empty cup" would make the experience of this book all the better! So, what's in the book? Glad you asked! Here's a brief table of contents with a few (parenthetical) comments:
· Preface
· Prologue
· On a Piece of Chalk (great introduction to some basic principles in Atomic Theory)
· Two Cheers for Reductionism ("...I am not an uncompromising reductionist, I'm a compromising reductionist!")
· Quantum Mechanics & Its Discontents
· Tales of Theory & Experiment (this has a nice history & synopsis of QED)
· Beautiful Theories
· Against Philosophy
· Twentieth Century Blues
· The Shape of a Final Theory
· Facing Finality
· What About God? (he admits that he's not a qualified Theologian here)
· Down in Ellis County
· Afterword (this might be titled something else like "...A Year Later...")
The book on tape doesn't have the Preface or the Afterword, but don't let that stop you from getting a copy 'cause you won't miss anything really important in those sections.

I liked Weinberg's description of the way the chain of questions "Why?" have arrows of explanation ever convergent towards ubiquitous laws of fundamental physics. It seems analogous to Faraday's lines of force in the fields he described. I see a metaphor here where the "field" of the "arrows of explanation" points in the direction of propagation towards answers to questions about the most fundamental aspects of physical reality. Weinberg's cutting logic & objective appraisal is cogently brought to bear on deep questions such as:
What roles do quantum theories & symmetry principles in physics play in the search for a Final Theory?
Why does each explanation of the way nature works point to other, deeper explanations?
What implications will a final theory have for our philosophy & religious faith?
What would be the role of God in a universe governed by such a theory?
Why are the best theories not only logical but beautiful?
What do physicists mean by a final theory?
What sort of things might such a theory say?
How could we tell it is indeed final?
How close are we to one?

As you can see, this book shares a curiosity with the audience. We get keen insight into Weinberg's working philosophy when he describes himself as a "rough & ready realist" & a "compromising reductionist" while he subtly & carefully defends his right to DO physics without being bothered by those fluffy, subjective, & interpretive philosophies which, you get the distinct impression, he'd like to just go away & leave him alone...
Finally, I am compelled to urge you to look at two other works by Weinberg which are actually the same material, just different media. These are a pair of lectures presented by Steven Weinberg & the late great Richard Feynman in the 1986 Memorial Lectures given in honor of the great P.A.M. Dirac. I bought the video, "Towards the Final Laws of Physics: The 1986 Dirac Memorial Lecture" and, to my great joy, found a coupled experience of Weinberg giving a slightly more technical & narrowly focused lecture in VHS video format. The title of the printed book (transcribed from the video taped lectures) is, "Elementary Particles & the Laws of Physics: The 1986 Dirac Memorial Lectures". These two media really compliment "Dreams of a Final Theory".

Bottom line on "Dreams": accessible, cogent, succinct & beautifully written.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Rewarding
A seedy book by a Nobel laureate (I guess I couldn't have avoided this) over which readers often violently divide. Read more

Published on Aug 23 2001 by Arvan Harvat

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect
It is really a perfect book. I enjoyed what Weinberg stated about elementary particle physics, reductionism and partly philosophy. Read more

Published on Aug 3 2001 by Mahdiyar

2.0 out of 5 stars Ridiculous discussion of crucial things
As far as the Physics itself is concerned this book seems quite up to the job. After all what else do you expect from a Nobel Prize winner? Read more

Published on Mar 27 2000 by Rajarshi Ray

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, beautiful, but in some ways superficial book
I find this book extremely stimulating and from that perspective this book couldn't be much better. I admire the way the author shared his understanding of theoretical physics... Read more

Published on Feb 2 1999 by mmaletic@fesb.hr

2.0 out of 5 stars Readable but not very deep
This is an easy to read but uneven book. Some discussions are pretty clearly exposed, mainly the technical ones. But it's not a balanced view of quantum field theory. E.g. Read more

Published on Jun 12 1998 by Sergio B. Volchan(volchan@saci...

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