Much of theoretical physics today is something more akin to the philosophy of Plato than the science to which the physicists are heirs. Lindley asks, what is science when it becomes completely untethered from measurable phenomena?
Lindley has a real gift for narrative; it’s rare for science writing—even pop science aimed at a broad audience—to be this readable and engaging. Lindley pushes us through the history of science via a handful of touchstone figures, giving us a crash course of sorts. From the early work of Galileo up through the pure-math musings of today’s physics giants, we’re along for the ride ... a compelling walk through physics history, curated and narrated by a true rarity—a gifted writer who is also a qualified scientist ... Tackling material like this is one thing; doing it while also making it accessible to the layperson is quite another. Yet this book reads easily, even when it occasionally delves into the more esoteric aspects of its subject matter.
... a polemical argument from a writer who won’t be pulling his punches ... this is where I think [Linkdley] goes too far. Physics has always been an empirical science; just because we don’t know how to test our latest fanciful ideas today does not mean we never will ... Lindley is engaging and very nearly persuasive. He believes we should continue to ask deep questions about reality but concludes that science will be unable to answer them. I am not nearly as pessimistic. Maybe we just need to try harder.
... intriguing ... Although Lindley does not offer a prescription for this dilemma, he nevertheless makes a compelling argument about how science has drifted away from objective reality in order to explain the mysteries of the universe.
