Review by SFI External Professor J. Doyne Farmer
The Power of the Invisible: The Quantessence of Reality (University of Amsterdam Press, April 15, 2024), a three-volume set written by former SFI External Professor Sander Bais, is many different things at once. It is a bible for aspiring physicists who want to catapult their scientific maturity and worldview light years ahead — a sort of Feynman Lectures on steroids with beautiful illustrations and an even better sense of humor. It is a compendium for older scientists to reflect on the world and fill in the gaps in their knowledge, and a gorgeous coffee-table book for any aficionado of science who wants to contemplate the wonders of the universe. Most of all, it is fun to read and full of artistic illustrations, pithy remarks, historical perspective, humor, and impish wisdom. It covers much of what is interesting in science, from Moore’s Law, chaos and fractals, complex systems, and the theory of evolution, to Turing machines, epigenetics, quantum computing, and the surprising properties of water.
The first volume, The Journey: From Classical to Quantum Worlds, reviews classical physics and recounts how we got to quantum physics, general relativity, and particle physics. The second, Quantessence: How Quantum Theory Works, dives deeper into the theoretical foundations of quantum mechanics, imparting a feeling for the peculiar and beautiful — yet strange — theory that underlies all of reality. Finally, Hierarchies: The Emergence of Diversity, explains the underpinnings of complex systems, showing how the fundamental laws of nature give rise to everything around us, such as chemistry, life, computers, and nature in general.
But fasten your seatbelt; this is not a tutorial. The book features equations with fun and pithy — but far from comprehensive — explanations. Readers may experience a twinge of vertigo. The trilogy imparts the gestalt of science without all the boring stuff needed to really understand it.
But to quote from the book, “Talking quantum to family and friends at a birthday party often feels like being a tour guide in London to extra-terrestrials who don’t happen to know what a bridge, a museum or a traffic light is.” Nonetheless, the sight-seeing is wondrous.
This remarkable tour de force covers all of physics and much of science in general with elan, insight, and humor, imparting a feeling of awe for the profundity of the laws of the universe. It encapsulates the wisdom that can only be achieved by a brilliant physicist at the end of a long career, and is a tribute to the mystique and magic of science.
Readers can access a free digital version online, but the true artistry of the book, illustrated and typeset by Bais himself, is best enjoyed through the enhanced coffee-table experience of the hardcover.
Book Details
Power of the Invisible: The Quantessence of Reality by Sander Bais