Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

Tää oli aika mielenkiintoinen, vähän raskaami luettava, mutta aika kattava kuvaus nollasta ja samalla matematiikan historiasta ja teorioista. Tässä mennään vähän lukio-matikkaa pidemmälle.

At last I think I've found the answer to my question, "Is there any such thing as nothing?" Here is how Charles Seife puts it in his book "Zero; The Biography of a Dangerous Idea:" "A zero in quantum mechanics means that the entire universe -- including the vacuum -- is filled with an infinite amount of energy: the zero-point energy. This, in turn, leads to the most bizarre zero in the universe:...more

At last I think I've found the answer to my question, "Is there any such thing as nothing?" Here is how Charles Seife puts it in his book "Zero; The Biography of a Dangerous Idea:" "A zero in quantum mechanics means that the entire universe -- including the vacuum -- is filled with an infinite amount of energy: the zero-point energy. This, in turn, leads to the most bizarre zero in the universe: the phantom force of nothing." And "The vacuum is never truly empty. Instead, it is seething with these virtual particles; at every point in space, an infinite number are happily popping up and disappearing." While I am a long way from understanding the math and physics of this, I believe it points to the idea that all of space is filled with a force that can manifest as particles. I call this force God, but you may call it "stuff" or anything else. The point is simply that you can't get away from existence.   hide

The beginning was fascinating, but when it got into calculus and string theory, it was a little over my head. Still, I finished it!

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Recommended by my sis (she's the scientist of the family)...to be honest, most of it was way over my head...!

Nothing is so much fun

This one is tough at times due to some mathematical formulae that I am hard pressed to understand. Additionally, the author is guilty of a modernist, scientistic bias which shows, especially when discussing the Church. Still, it is a clever examination of an idea that has had a tremendous impact on our world.

Totally mind blowing, although I did get a little lost in some of the equation heavy chapters.

You must read it!!!