The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics [Audiobook] [Mass Market Paperback]

I've tried to read several explanations of the interesting new ways of thinking being demonstrated by the work at the sub atomic level we know as Quantum physics.. this one is the one I've found the most comprehensible. Be brave...

Until last fall, I wasn't a science person at all. At college, I majored in English Lit, minored in Music and Philosophy and did my best to avoid anything slightly scientific.

But then one night last October when I couldn't sleep, I stayed up flipping channels and came across Brian Greene's Nova program THE ELEGANT UNIVERSE. I saw it was about Physics, and almost hit the clicker, but something about the presentation made me curious to watch a little more.

Within an hour, I was a new Physics convert. If you interested in language, art, and the disciplines of beauty, you can't help but be mesmerized by Quantum mechanics, string theory, and all of the cutting edge theories of physical world represented in Brian Greene's program.

The next time I was at a bookstore, I tried to pick up a copy of the book the NOVA show was based on, but they were sold out, so I scoured the Physics section and found a copy of Gary Zukav's THE DANCING WU-LI MASTERS, instead.

Written back in the late seventies, Zukav's book is one of the first popular mainstream explications of modern theoretical physics for the lay, non-science person, like myself. I found it fascinating, and for the most part very easy to follow.

Zukav writes in a clear and compelling manner about the wonderful mysteries of the universe. He covers the history of how theoretical Physics got to where it is today (or at least was in the late seventies). He explains Einstein's major contributions to science in a few easy to follow chapters, and then goes on to skillfully explain the inexplicable conundrums of quantum theory.

As Zukav describes probability theory, he makes a convincing case that modern Physics isn't that different from Zen Buddhism. He shows how the steel-and-concrete building blocks that make up our universe are actually a lot more fluid and suggetable than common sense would dictate.

This books really helps you recover any amazement and wonder you might have lost in the everyday world around you.

Check this book out if you think you're not a science person, and if you like it, also get Brian Greene's THE ELEGANT UNIVERSE. Theoretical Physics is pretty literally the stuff dreams are made of.

This is *the* definitive book to read for anyone seeking to understand the basics of quantum physics. Here is your guide to the particle/wave conundrum. Here is an explanation of two basic principles in modern physics: 1) the new logic of the relationship of subject and object and 2) the random changes which occur to objective properties. Zukav explains one of the most important discoveries of science, the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. He elaborates upon how and why ideas about reality, i.e. the experimental situation, differ from the experience of reality. Instead, probability replaces the absolutes of past science. The 'communication' of particles over the space-time continuum suggests a concsiousness to the particles. He discusses wave-particle duality, Max Planck's constant, Einstein's theory of the photoelectric effect, Pauli's exclusion principle, Lorentz transformation, particle physics, Bell's theorem, and quantum logic, plus much, much more. Zukav's gift is to distill complex ideas and simplify them for inquiring minds "who want to know" but are "afraid to ask" or don't even know where to begin to ask. He connects metaphysical principles and science. He acknowledges that the use of words is often inadequate to describe the mysterious events of quantum physics. There is an unbroken wholeness to reality which when observed by individuals renders a loss of recognition to the interconnectedness of life. Quantum physics proves the interconnectedness of all reality in ways that only the mystics and spiritual masters described in the past. In fact, both scientists and mystics are beginning to use the same word descriptions ... This is an excellent book for those who dare to ask "what's new in the world of science?" Zukav has the ability to simplify complex concepts and link them to metaphysical principles in a very readable manner. Highly recommended reading! Erika B.