Book Reviewed: Portals to a New Reality: Five Pathways to the Future of Physics by Vlatko Vedral

The quantum information is central to physical reality (four stars) This is a speculative manifesto that suggests a new theory shed light on the nature of physical reality with better understanding of spacetime and quantum gravity (bending spacetime at subatomic level). This book debate five “portals” (thought experiments) about his ideas of future theories. He proposes that quantum mechanics is universal, which applies to both microscopic and macroscopic systems. He explores experiments in quantum gravity, quantum effects in living organisms, the superpositions of macroscopic objects, and the quantum nature of time. Some of these are thought experiments but he believes that they are within experimental feasibility. He suggests that quantum information is key to the new physics theory in which consciousness plays a role in quantum physical processes, and the human perception could be altered to experience quantum reality directly in ways that were only imaginable. The theme is that reality is fundamentally informational, and unified with cosmic reality and life. The Vedantic concept of Māyā and perception of material world remains firmly within the scientific framework. The author stretches his imagination a little too far hoping that this will lead to better life. Parts of the book are dense for an average reader interested in cosmic reality.

Book Reviewed: The Last Line of Defense: How to Beat the Left in Court by Eric Schmitt

Fighting wokism This book is a memoir, a political manifesto, and a legal strategy that is based on his term in the office of the State of Missouri’s Attorney General. His arguments are that the courts have become the central battleground in U.S. politics, especially for conservatives resisting liberal policies of the federal government during the Joe Biden’s administration. He discusses lawsuits against the COVID-era mandates, student loan forgiveness, federal immigration policy, and the assault on free speech coordinated with legacy media. Senator Schmitt portrays the judiciary as the “last line of defense” when legislative and executive branches are controlled by liberal democrats who show disregard to the law and constitution. The most notable is the non-enforcement of U.S. immigration policy by the Biden admin that led to a massive crisis during the second term of President Trump. The book’s strongest feature is its behind-the-scenes narrative of real lawsuits. It reads at times like a legal “war room” memoir, and not a comprehensive study of the courts. One of the drawbacks of the strategy debated here is that activist judges appointed by the democrats interfere in the executive authority. Many activist prosecutors do not prosecute violent individuals. However, this book is argued very well. Highly recommended to readers interested in fighting woke media, and corporations who collaborate with progressives.

Book Reviewed: The Fractal Symphony of Time: A Journey Through Dimensions, Imagination, and Creation by Itoshiro Zuna

Multidimensional reality The book chronicles a worldview in which time and reality are not linear fixed products. But they exist in a multidimensional fractal symmetry. In this type of symmetry, a spatial pattern repeats itself at different scales. Unlike familiar symmetries like mirror symmetry or rotational symmetry, fractal symmetry is about self-similarity: when you zoom in or out of one unit of a structure, you continue to see similar structures. In the fractal structure each part resembles the whole, and fractal symmetry is not exact repetition; it is often a statistical or a near approximate operation, and may exist across many scales. It expands the idea of symmetry beyond rigid geometry into a dynamic and realistic state. It is unlike mirror symmetry (left-right reflection) or rotational symmetry (unchanged after rotation), both of which are rigid. Consciousness and higher-dimensional structure are suggested to be embedded in the fractal patterns of the cosmos. Therefore, each moment, each choice, each personal experience, and each “point” in time could be part of a larger structure. Time cannot be like a shooting arrow moving from past → present → future, but it is all together in one physical reality. The interconnectedness across time, matter, and consciousness is an integrated holistic reality. Real-world systems like clouds, mountains, blood vessels, weather patterns, etc., do not follow a geometric symmetry, but it follows fractal symmetry that connects to chaos theory, where simple rules can generate intricate and unpredictable patterns. This formalism will describe the organized complexity of life and cosmos. It also reflects on parts of a body is part of the whole system, echoing philosophical ideas of microcosm and macrocosm of Advaita philosophy of Hinduism. The author does not discuss the relevance of Advaita but discuss the Yoga philosophy, another school of six Hindu philosophical systems in which each chakra, an energy center in the subtle body corresponding to each dimension of existence. Chakras are energy waves the flow inward and outward with heart chakra as the center. They have fractal geometric logic embedded in them. This book is written beautifully, and the author does not invoke physics concepts (no physics equations) or mathematical formulations. But he uses metaphysical ideas to describe the physical reality we observe and experience. Consciousness is not found in any physics formulas, but it is required in the interpretation of quantum reality. The observer (consciousness) and the observed (cosmos) are inherently connected. But my gripe with this work is that the author’s worldview describes the existence (physical reality) in terms of time, and not spacetime. He refers to fractal symmetry with spatial repetition that implies space, but references to spacetime would have been scientifically more accurate than time alone.

Book Reviewed: The Making of the Bible: From the First Fragments to Sacred Scripture by Konrad Schmid and Jens Schröter

The birth of New Testament This is a book of scholarship that examines the development of Bible into a sacred text over many centuries from early “oral traditions,” scrolls, and fragments. The authors conclude that there was never a single fixed Bible for the first three hundred years of the millennia, but advanced into one holy book from several collections of evolving texts. This is not new to academia since many biblical scholars strongly agree with this conclusion based on their own research. It was a historical process shaped by emerging communities, intervention of church leadership, debates among diverse believers, changing religious identities, and political climate favorable to the ministry of Jesus Christ. The hub of the author’s observations is that there was no fixed canon in early Judaism or early Christianity, and different Jewish and Christian groups preserved different versions and different collections of texts. The Old Testament and New Testament did not evolve independently. The Jewish canon stabilized earlier, around the 2nd century CE, while the Christian canon remained fluid for longer. The two faith systems developed in dialogue and even competition, influencing each other. Some texts are composite or edited over time with pseudonymous (written in another’s name). It is worth considering this work with the books of Bart D. Ehrman, and Richard Elliott Friedman who respectively examine the development of early Christianity and its texts, and how Torah (Hebrew Bible) was composed from multiple sources. This is a fascinating work that integrates archaeology, textual criticism, and history. Strongly recommended to readers interested in the history of early Christian texts and its development into one comprehensive Bible.

Book Reviewed: Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood by William J Mann

Sobbed in terror Elizabeth Short was a young American woman who struck out on her own after the postwar WWII. She wanted to explore the world as a young woman and enjoy for what it is. She was not a proto-feminist or a femme fatale as many previous authors make her to be. She was “Black Dahlia” for them. She left little clues about her personal life. She never gave interviews to the reporters, and left no diaries. There was an address book, and a few letters. Most writers have turned her story over to the detectives and journalists who investigated her murder. This author claims that previous accounts of the murder have been colored by confirmation bias. John Gilmore’s book, “Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder” was a non-fiction book but included disputed details, and the Steve Hodel’s books focus on conspiracy with sensational claims. However, author Willam Mann does not name the most likely suspect responsible for her murder, but he believes that his approach shed light on this crime from a different angle. Recommended to readers interested in the history of Hollywood and the life of Black Dahlia.

Book Reviewed: A Haunted Love Story: The Ghosts of the Allen House by Mark Spencer

The house of whispers The Ghosts of the Allen House blends personal paranormal experiences, historical research, and a tragic romance uncovered by the author. This is the story of the historic Allen House in Monticello, Arkansas, a grand haunted mansion where the spirit of Lady Ladell Allen, a former resident and a socialite committed suicide in 1948. The author’s family makes a bold decision to buy the house and live for few months when they start experiencing signs of hauntings like faceless apparitions, a doppelgänger-like spirit, and unexplained activities. Professional paranormal evidence suggested up to six spirits inhabit the home, and the main one is that of Lady Ladell Allen. The highlight of the book is the discovery of hidden love letters stashed under a floorboard reveal a concealed, forbidden romance between Lady Allen with a married man that did not end well for the lady. The author explains why the Lady Allen wanted her personal story to be revealed after years of unexplained suicide. The book reads well initially focusing more on the author’s family. Readers interested in the hauntings tied to personal tragedy of a spirit would enjoy this book.

Book Reviewed: On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization by Douglas Murray

Israel is at forefront of war with the “religion of peace” to save human civilization This is an enthusiastic and morally clear account of the Israeli conflict with Hamas. Murray’s book is compelling; it has a vivid reporting on the October 7th attack with clear moral perspective in an engaging prose. This includes testimonies from the victims of the attacks that give the emotional depth and human side of the event. There is no moral justification for this horror. Yet, Israel is condemned by the woke governments across the globe. In reality, Israel represents democratic values committed to individual rights, capitalism, and the rule of law, standing in contrast to an authoritarian regime that upholds Islamic fundamentalist ideology and a nihilistic theology. They celebrate martyrdom and destruction. Making compromise or peaceful coexistence with them is difficult and impossible. The book’s provocative phrase “death cults” refers to this ideology. But the Western leaders refuse to accept this simple truth. This is a short book of about 240 pages written in a journalistic style. It reads quickly, and necessary read for those who care about terrorism that haunts Israel, and Muslim dominated countries. There is a broader ideological implication; it is about jihad, and Israel is at the forefront of this aggression with an uncivilized mass.