Spooky Action at a Distance

Spooky Action at a Distance: The Phenomenon That Reimagines Space and Time--and What It Means for Black Holes, the Big Bang, and Theories of Everything by George Musser

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Non-locality, galaxies on either end of our horizons who can't see each other because while their light reaches us, it hasn't had time to reach each other - yet they are eerily similar. Two subatomic particles, entangle and then later flip the same even though there is no time for them to communicate their actions. Black holes, mass goes up with area of event horizon not volume. There are clues on every level that the idea of "locality" things needing to touch to interact, doesn't stand up to the actual experimental evidence. Physicists since Einstein and Bohr have been arguing over what these clues mean, theorists and philosophers are trying to come up with new theories that can explain this phenomena. Both space and time will need to be redefined. Space may end up just an illusion.

These are complex, hard to imagine concepts, especially as we are "inside the box" trying to figure out the whole picture. People with PhD's are trying to wrestle with the topics and they often disagree.

Musser has done a great job at delving into the history of the problems as well as explaining the leading current theories on it. He introduces these thinkers as peoples not just as Dr So and SO from Wherever University. He does a remarkable job of explaining the basic ideas of these theories so that most somewhat educated people (unfortunately that isn't the whole of the general public) can understand. He doesn't overwhelm with mathematical equations or scientific jargon, so it is very approachable. If you want the equations and the math, this isn't your book. If you want a good overview understanding of space, time, really the fundamentals of physics is the fundamentals of everything, this is an awesome book.



View all my reviews