Currently reading ....

[sasguru]

Still reading "The Mind of God" -its mind-stretching although I find Davies style a little dull. I had to go back and start again.

[MyUserName]

The maths of Quantum Theory isn't that bad (in principle - It is often hideously intractable in practical situations).

But to learn it thoroughly one should be able to sort of recapitulate to oneself the process by which the original founders came up with the principles and formalisms etc on the basis of observations.

Putting it another way, one could just accept the mathematical framework without question to answer exam questions, but be stumped if asked to justify it to some imaginary skeptical inquirer.

Yep, I did a few modules of quantum mechanics as part of my applied maths degree. As the lecturer was explaining the examples he would say things like assume that A = (X multiplied by Cos Y) ^ Z and would sub that into the equation and keep going, thus making is solvable (it might not have been exactly that but it was something similar).

We asked once how he knew that A could be subbed for that equation and the lecturer told us that we did not have the knowledge to understand it and to derive it in an exam would take ages and get you no marks so just assume it and then be pleased when it turned out to be correct at the end.

[NotAllThere]

Just finished Lee Smolin - Time reborn, which nicely juxtaposed the book I read before that, Max Tegmark - Our mathematical universe.

Now reading Frank Herbert- Whipping star

[Ticktock]

The maths of Quantum Theory isn't that bad

I agree. I found it interesting how one, apparently insignificant, thing can move from place to place, changing things that may otherwise have gone a different way, with an indeterminate chance that it's next movement may be back to where it started from. Oh boy!



I liked Al in it too.

[NotAllThere]

I am Legend by Richard Matheson.

So much better than the film.

[Ticktock]

I am Legend by Richard Matheson.

So much better than the film.

Which film?
The Last Man on Earth, Omega Man, I Am Legend?

[doodab]

The maths of Quantum Theory isn't that bad (in principle - It is often hideously intractable in practical situations).

Yes, I seem to have covered most of it years ago, in more abstract contexts studying maths rather than quantum theory though. The real problem is that so few "laymans" books touch on the mathematics at all. It's linking the maths I mostly know to the physical phenomena that's the real eye opener. The handwaving explanations of stuff like entanglement make a lot more sense when you see how it actually works.

[OwlHoot]

Been a quiet day at clientco, waiting for tests to complete. So have been reading Probability Theory: The Logic of Science by E T Jaynes

It was a great shame he died before finishing it, as he was a master of lucid prose and explanation, and was a renowned expert in Bayesian analysis.

I'm wondering whether to fork out over £80 for the hard copy, but unsure if this is the same as the online version or one beefed up by Larry Bretthorst

Also reading some of his articles at http://bayes.wustl.edu/etj/articles/

[MyUserName]

I'm currently reading "Naval Battles that Changed the World" - it is pretty interesting.

[OwlHoot]

Last week I read The Last Kingdom, by Bernard Cornwall

It was so good that now I have to go and buy and read the whole series !