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Published by Bodley Head, 2018, softcover, illustrated, index, 377 pages, condition: new.
If you arent shocked by quantum mechanics, you havent understood it.
In Beyond Weird, Philip Ball argues that we are undermining and oversimplifying quantum mechanics by calling it weird. Its something that most of us, the media and even scientists have done. Quantum mechanics is much more than that and it is a disservice to just use such a common and easy way to describe it, for want of better wording. The problem is that we might not have the right words to describe quantum mechanics.
Quantum mechanics is famous for being ambiguous. As a result, its one of the areas of science (if not the only one) that is subject to different interpretations. The act of measurement plays a central role in its interpretation. Why is quantum theory probabilistic? What about its lack of causality? And do quantum objects have real properties, just like the ones we see in our classical world, the so-called hidden variables of quantum mechanics, or is the measurement act just a way of getting more knowledge and does it present a limit to our knowledge, represented by the collapse of the wavefunction? Is there some underlying meaning or must we just accept that quantum mechanics is different from any other scientific theory and stop questioning its reality? These and many others were central themes in the arguments that Bohr, Einstein and other physicists had in the past and still have to this day. These two ways of looking at quantum theory represent the ontic and epistemic views, respectively, which remain a debate to this day among physicists.
Philip Ball gives subtle hints of his stance on the meaning of quantum mechanics throughout the book. In the last chapters this subtlety slowly disappears, as his opinions get more fleshed out. I got the impression that he is closer to the Copenhagen and maybe even qbism interpretations, while at the same time dismissing the pilot wave and MWI interpretation (which was a relief to be honest, as there are many physicists out there defending it in a rather fierce way). He seems to be a big fan of the role information (its meaning in physics is described in the book) could play in quantum theory (and also in quantum computing). By the end of the book, he argues that we should be able to describe quantum theory in terms of words which have meaning, just like we are able to describe, say, Newtons laws and Einsteins relativity, rather than only having an abstract mathematical theory which we dont really know what it means and gives rise to so much ambiguity and debate.
This a remarkable book about the foundations of quantum mechanics. Anyone from a physicist to a layperson should enjoy it. Philip Ball is a great science writer. He doesnt shy away from technical terms and considers the reader to be able to understand his reasoning, as he explains the most important topics of quantum mechanics and its possible meanings. Personally, I loved this book with its complete focus on science and would recommend it to anyone interested in knowing why quantum mechanics is indeed beyond weird.
