Quantum Enigma; Physics Encounters Consciousness by Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner

Thank goodness for physicists who make the effort to communicate the implications of their research to the rest of us. Rosenblum and Kuttner teach a course called Quantum Enigma which is designed for liberal arts majors at the University of California at Santa Cruz. In it they brave the frontier between physics and philosophy where most physicists refuse to go. One of their colleagues told them that "Though what you're saying is correct, presenting this material to nonscientists is the intellectual equivalent of allowing children to play with loaded guns."

Simply put, the quantum enigma is that observation actually creates the physical reality observed. As one Nobel laureate put it: "It was not possible to formulate the laws of quantum mechanics in a fully consistent way without reference to the consciousness." This situation, in which the act of measurement or observation affects the outcome of an experiment, is referred to by physicists as "the measurement problem."

Quantum Enigma gives a great summary of the development of quantum theory and elucidates the controversy surrounding its various interpretations. Its conclusion is that the origin of energy in the universe can probably not be understood without reference to life and consciousness. And this has made me re-think my opinions about the nature of human life. It seems we really are (as an Episcopal priest once told me) co-creators of the universe.

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Literary critics were a little hard on Gladwell's second book, Blink. But it has sold well, so evidently there's a market for interesting presentations of psycho-sociological aspects of our minds and our culture. Gladwell's genius lies in the facts that he writes well, tells great stories, and gets the reader to think. In Blink he writes about how snap decisions, made in the blink of an eye, often serve us very well -- even better than would careful consideration of more information. He also gives examples of how other times snap decisions can lead to disaster. Many of the examples he gives are drawn from the world of marketing, but there are also examples from medicine, police work, and the world of art. Blink is a fun read and will get you thinking, but you will have to come to your own conclusions because the author doesn't really provide one.

Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku

For fans of science fiction Physics of the Impossible is a big help in separating the currently possible from the "could be done" and the "maybe in another century or two" and the "never happen." To do this, Kaku describes state-of-the-art physics with regard to force fields, invisibility, teleportation, psychokinesis, extraterrestrials, UFOs, time travel, and other subjects. It is all buttressed with historic background in physics written in a clear and entertaining style. Good read, even if you're not especially into science fiction.

Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks

While there is much to be learned from Musicophila, I do not believe it is as good as Sacks' previous books. It's a little choppy in style and does not have the echoes of far-reaching implications that were so enchanting in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see how music can be used as therapy for people who have neurological diseases and to learn that perfect pitch is more frequent among people whose native language is tonal (e.g., Mandarin, Vietnamese.)

Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan

Bibi Chen, a purveyor of Asian art in San Francisco, dies right before leaving to take a group of people on a tour of China and Myanmar (Burma). As a recently deceased person, she becomes the omniscient narrator of this wonderful novel, and she watches as the group decides to do the trip without her and nominates someone else as leader. The ghost of Bibi goes along on the trip and chats to the reader about the members of the group and how they fall into the hands of an isolated tribe who believe that one of the members is the "Little White Brother" who has come to save them from persecution by the government. Amy Chen's knowledge of art and insight into the quirks of human nature make Saving Fish from Drowning a great read.

The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra

Capra has written the classic book about the parallels between modern (quantum) physics and eastern mysticism. My copy is the 25th anniversary edition of this work which was originally published in 1975. His description of the evolution of physics is juxtaposed with summaries of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, and classic Chinese thought. This makes it very easy to see that both quantum mechanics and religious mysticism point to an understanding of the universe as a dynamic whole. In describing particle physics Capra writes, "The vacuum is far from empty. On the contrary, it contains an unlimited number of particles which come into being and vanish without end." And then he quotes Chinese sage Chang Tsai who wrote "When one knows that the Great Void is full of ch'i, one realizes that there is no such thing as nothingness."

Extraordinary Knowing by Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer

"Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind" is the subtitle of this first person account of a highly credentialed (Harvard, Stanford) psychotherapist whose view of reality was upset, midlife, by a freaky experience with a dowser. Her response was a skeptical and intellectual inquiry into psychic phenomena in the course of which she became acquainted with Freud's writings on telepathy, CIA experiments with remote viewing, cutting-edge neuroscience, and quantum mechanics. Mayer focuses on why we humans want to reject the reality of these phenomena which are experienced frequently enough to warrant serious consideration. Mostly she chalks it up to our fear of losing the firmly logical and rational grasp of reality provided by a certain portion of our brains.