Einstein and Oppenheimer: The Meaning of Genius | Date: 28 April 2011, 08:59
|
Einstein and Oppenheimer: The Meaning of Genius
By Silvan S. Schweber
* Publisher: Harvard University Press
* Number Of Pages: 432
* Publication Date: 2009-10-30
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 067403452X
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780674034525
Product Description:
Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer, two iconic scientists of the twentieth century, belonged to different generations, with the boundary marked by the advent of quantum mechanics. By exploring how these men differed—in their worldview, in their work, and in their day—this book provides powerful insights into the lives of two critical figures and into the scientific culture of their times. In Einstein’s and Oppenheimer’s philosophical and ethical positions, their views of nuclear weapons, their ethnic and cultural commitments, their opinions on the unification of physics, even the role of Buddhist detachment in their thinking, the book traces the broader issues that have shaped science and the world.
Einstein is invariably seen as a lone and singular genius, while Oppenheimer is generally viewed in a particular scientific, political, and historical context. Silvan Schweber considers the circumstances behind this perception, in Einstein’s coherent and consistent self-image, and its relation to his singular vision of the world, and in Oppenheimer’s contrasting lack of certainty and related non-belief in a unitary, ultimate theory. Of greater importance, perhaps, is the role that timing and chance seem to have played in the two scientists’ contrasting characters and accomplishments—with Einstein’s having the advantage of maturing at a propitious time for theoretical physics, when the Newtonian framework was showing weaknesses.
Bringing to light little-examined aspects of these lives, Schweber expands our understanding of two great figures of twentieth-century physics—but also our sense of what such greatness means, in personal, scientific, and cultural terms.
(20080521)
Summary: Interesting yet challenging.
Rating: 4
Whereas this book is an excellent insight to both of these iconic figures it does require a basic understanding of the principles of quantum physics, atomic fission and fusion to be fully appreciated. However, the point of this book to me is to understand the effects of the militaristic use of the 'new science' on these two men and how it changed their lives. That is wonderfully written and that makes this book a must read.
Summary: A Very Difficult Read
Rating: 2
This is a very interesting book, but it is very challenging to read if you do not know more than high school physics. There is a lot of discussion about theory, but no explanation of the theories. It needed a little "dumbing down" of the physics to make it more comprehensible. It also presumes a lot of knowledge about both Einstein & Oppenheimer. For example the author states as fact that Oppenheimer lost his security clearance & the career path results, but doesn't detail how this security clearance loss came about.
When not discussing physics, the book is interesting in its discussion of the men and their interest in philosophy, and in comparing & contrasting the men in many ways. There is also a lot of interesting information on Los Alamos and WWII & post WWII politics about the bombs.
Summary: A book that gives some insights into the distinctive character of two great scientists of the 20TH century!!!
Rating: 5
XXXXX
"The person endowed with [great] talent thinks more rapidly and accurately than [other people]; on the other hand, the genius perceives a world different from [other people], though only by looking more deeply into the world that lies before them." (Philosopher Schopenhauer)
The above quote is found in this extremely well-researched and well-written book (subtitled "The Meaning of Genius") authored by Silvan Schweber who is Professor of Physics and Professor in the History of Ideas, Emeritus, at Brandeis University.
(Brandeis University is a private research university founded in 1948 and located in Massachusetts. It is named after the first Jewish Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Louis Brandeis.)
Schweber tells us in his acknowledgements that this book "is the result of lectures I gave during the 2005 Einstein celebrations and of my continued involvement with the life of Oppenheimer."
Schweber explains his book:
"It explores aspects of the lives and personalities of [Albert] Einstein [1879 to 1955] and [J. Robert] Oppenheimer [1904 to 1967] that have received less attention [in other popular books]: their views of individual and collective creativity, their link to Buddhist thought, their metaphysics, and in particular, how they coped with their lives after having climbed to summits that are unreachable to almost everyone else--this last, an aspect of their lives that is put into sharper relief by a comparative study...[Another] possible [subtitle] for [this] book might have been "The Scientific and Political Scene of Their Times."
{Einstein is perhaps best known for the following: (1) his general theory of relativity (1916) (2) his special theory of relativity (1905) (3) photoelectric effect (for which he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921) (4) Brownian motion (5) mass-energy equivalence (E=mc^2) (6) his field equations (7) Bose-Einstein statistics (8) attempts at a classical unified theory (of gravitation and electromagnetism).
Oppenheimer is perhaps best known for (1) atomic bomb development (He became scientific director of the Manhattan Project: the World War 2 effort to develop the first nuclear weapons at the secret Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico) (2) Born-Oppenheimer approximation (3) Oppenheimer-Phillips process (4) work on electron-positron theory (5) relativistic quantum mechanics (6) quantum field theory (7) quantum tunneling
(8) black holes.}
This book is not a full-scale biography of these two men (nor is it meant to be). What it does is look at their lives, the meaning of greatness, and their interactions in order to better understand them, both individually and in the larger community and context of their time.
Thus this book examines these two men individually with two chapters devoted first to Einstein and then two devoted to Oppenheimer. The final two chapters examine Einstein and Oppenheimer together.
What I especially found interesting were the excerpts of actual correspondence reproduced in the main narrative not only of Einstein and Oppenheimer but also of significant others of that time. The only appendix has a copy of the "Russell-Einstein Manifesto" of July, 1955 (drafted by philosopher Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein), outlining the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and calling for world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to international conflict.
Finally, there are nine black and white photographs in this book. Some of these are very interesting. I would have liked to have seen more photos.
In conclusion, this book answers key questions and gives some insights into the character of two prominent science icons of the twentieth century!!
(first published 2008; preface; introduction; 6 chapters; concluding remarks; main narrative 315 pages; appendix; notes; bibliography; acknowledgements; index)
<>
XXXXX
Summary: GENIUS
Rating: 5
THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN COMPILING A BIOGRAPHY OF HANS BETHE. HE HAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED A BOOK COMPARING OPPENHEIMER AND BETHE. DURING THIS TIME HE HAS DONE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON MANY PROMINENT PHYSICISTS WHOM BETHE HAS INTERACTED WITH (SOME WHO THE AUTHOR KNEW QUITE WELL). THE WORD "GENIUS" HAS BEEN APPLIED TO MOST OF THESE MEN AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER.
ONE MAY NOT AGREE WITH ALL THE AUTHOR'S CONCLUSIONS. BUT THESE CONCLUSIONS ARE BASED ON EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND THOUGHT. IF NOTHING ELSE, THEY SHOULD STIMULATE YOUR THOUGHT PROCESSES AND OPEN UP A NEW HORIZON.
RECENTLY THERE HAVE BEEN MANY BOOKS ON
|
DISCLAIMER:
This site does not store Einstein and Oppenheimer: The Meaning of Genius on its server. We only index and link to Einstein and Oppenheimer: The Meaning of Genius provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete Einstein and Oppenheimer: The Meaning of Genius if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
|
 |
|
Comments (0)
All
