BTW, in case anyone is interested, I think a pretty fun and readable layperson's intro to quantum mechanics (and relativity) is The Quantum Zoo (USA) aka Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You (UK) by Marcus Chown. Chown was originally a radio astronomy grad student at Caltech with Richard Feynman (among others).
Likewise, Alastair Rae has a lucidly written book called Quantum Physics: Illusion or Reality?.
For something with a bit more punch, Jim Baggott has written Beyond Measure. It tries to go through both the science as well as the philosophy behind quantum mechanics (and at the same time relegates the important mathematical equations to appendices so it doesn't overwhelm the non-mathematically trained reader).
To my knowledge, all three are atheists (or agnostics). Although some seem to be friendlier atheists than others. For example, I think Chown seems less confrontational about his beliefs than Baggott.
Of course, John Polkinghorne and Russell Stannard are, very broadly speaking (i.e. I'd disagree with a lot of their beliefs), Christians who have written on quantum mechanics on both a highly technical and scholarly level as well as popular level (e.g. Polkinghorne's The Quantum World - which, despite being written at a popular level, does include a fair bit of math).
The unfortunately thing here, is that those who come forward with fallacious science in the first place seem to always get much more coverage than those who refute them leaving the uninformed or the undecided that the science settles in the issue.
Thankfully Christ centered bloggers are willing help post links like this to help even out the debate.
BTW, in case anyone is interested, I think a pretty fun and readable layperson's intro to quantum mechanics (and relativity) is The Quantum Zoo (USA) aka Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You (UK) by Marcus Chown. Chown was originally a radio astronomy grad student at Caltech with Richard Feynman (among others).
ReplyDeleteLikewise, Alastair Rae has a lucidly written book called Quantum Physics: Illusion or Reality?.
For something with a bit more punch, Jim Baggott has written Beyond Measure. It tries to go through both the science as well as the philosophy behind quantum mechanics (and at the same time relegates the important mathematical equations to appendices so it doesn't overwhelm the non-mathematically trained reader).
To my knowledge, all three are atheists (or agnostics). Although some seem to be friendlier atheists than others. For example, I think Chown seems less confrontational about his beliefs than Baggott.
Of course, John Polkinghorne and Russell Stannard are, very broadly speaking (i.e. I'd disagree with a lot of their beliefs), Christians who have written on quantum mechanics on both a highly technical and scholarly level as well as popular level (e.g. Polkinghorne's The Quantum World - which, despite being written at a popular level, does include a fair bit of math).
The unfortunately thing here, is that those who come forward with fallacious science in the first place seem to always get much more coverage than those who refute them leaving the uninformed or the undecided that the science settles in the issue.
ReplyDeleteThankfully Christ centered bloggers are willing help post links like this to help even out the debate.