Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Society & Social Sciences

SYNCHRONICITY

Paul Halpern

The Epic Quest to Understand the Quantum Nature of Cause and effect

From Aristotle's Physics to quantum teleportation, the story of the pursuit of causes that happen faster than the speed of light.

In Synchronicity, Paul Halpern tells the little-known story of the unlikely friendship between the Nobel-prize-winning quantum physicist Wolfgang Pauli and the father of psychoanalysis, Carl Jung. In the 1930s, Pauli and Jung began collaborating on a unified theory of quantum and the mind, the result of which was Jung's synchronicity principle-the idea that events connected by meaning need not be explained by causality. Pauli's work on entanglement theory, which allowed for instantaneous cause and effect relationships, was particularly appealing to Jung, as it seemed to give weight to his controversial theory of a collective unconscious.

Casting their relationship within a larger intellectual history of entanglement theory, Halpern poses a question that has mystified physicists and philosophers alike since the times of Aristotle: Is the speed of light finite, as Einstein posited, or is it, as Pauli and the proponents of entanglement theory asserted, variable across time and dimensions? As Halpern works his way through the history of the physics of cause and effect, he shows that this centuries-old debate is not only relevant at the smallest scales of particle physics but also at the largest scales of the cosmos itself.

Paul Halpern is a professor of physics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and the author of sixteen popular science books, including The Quantum Labyrinth and Einstein's Dice and Schrodinger's Cat with Basic. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Book Published 2020-08-18 by Basic Books

Comments

From what primeval pattern was the fabric of the universe formed? What determined its warp and its woof? In this wonderfully readable book, which somehow never skimps on the science, Paul Halpern explores the mystery of causality through the ever-intriguing collaboration between Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung. Masterfully written, it is at once an inspiring story of how quirks and creativity drive breakthroughs in science and a cautionary tale of how our all-too-human desire to seek meaningful patterns can lead even the brightest minds astray.

Writing beautifully, Halpern describes with lucidity and great verve the whole story of how physics has led us to rethinking what synchronicity means and ultimately to examining what Einstein once called 'spooky action at a distance.'

Paul Halpern, a gifted expositor of science, takes the reader on an exciting ride through history, showing how physicists and their antecedent philosophers have sought to understand nature through its connections - through synchronicity.

Synchronicity is a sweeping account of humanity's understanding of the nature of causality. With great virtuosity, Paul Halpern weaves together all of the threads of this important story from the ancient Greeks to modern physics while entertaining the reader with insightful character studies and colorful anecdotes. A delightful book that anyone interested in the history of ideas will enjoy.

A roller coaster of a ride that covers more than 2,000 years of philosophy and physics, culminating in a fascinating brain-bender of what we have to give up if we want to reconcile ideas like 'cause and effect' with the bizarreness of our fundamental reality. Every possible interpretation, including those of the 20th century's greatest physicists, dissatisfies us in some way. In Halpern's capable hands, our uncertainties about the quantum Universe transform from frustration to wonder as various ideas are at last put to the test, deepening our appreciation of our mysterious quantum Universe.

An intensely detailed investigation of modern scientific fields that defy common sense. Read more...

Paul Halpern has zeroed in on one of the biggest mysteries in physics: objects with no mechanical linkage somehow act in harmony. He gives it a human face by digging into the Pauli-Jung collaboration - there is nothing else quite like it in the history of science.

China: Hunan Science & Technology Press

Synchronicity is a very informative and thought-provoking account of humankind's efforts from antiquity to the present to understand the causal structure of the everyday world and, during the past century, to unite that understanding with the apparently acausal nature of the quantum world of atoms and particles. Paul Halpern writes with remarkable clarity and insight in a very accessible and engaging style.

A masterful account of the developments of fundamental physics over the past century.

Paul Halpern engagingly explores the many kinds of connection in the universe, from cause and effect to coincidence, and on to the weirdness of entanglement. After reading Synchronicity, you'll think twice the next time someone says everything happens for a reason.

An elegant and smoothly written account of how fundamental physics has informed our view of the cosmos from ancient times to the present. An engaging and informative blend of the scientific advances and the lives of the people who made them. A great read!