Max Planck, the founding father of quantum physics
Max Planck’s childhood was not easy; it was marred by the ravages of war. First in years leading to 1864, when the Second Schleswig War was declared, and later in his adult life, the WWI and WWII combined with atrocities committed by Nazi’s against Jews and later by the Russian Red Army during their occupation of Germany. Despite all this, he had a stable family and he showed his aptitude for everything he tried in his life with a fondness for languages, mathematics, Bible and music. He was the favorite kid in his entire school.
His early struggles made him understand the situation of other young physicists, and he was an encouraging voice to anyone who came up with new scientific ideas. In his middle age, he advocated for the “peculiar” yet eloquent work of young Albert Einstein. He stood against the establishment to find a scientific place for young Lise Meitner, the brilliant Jewish woman who came to Berlin just to hear his physics lecture. Years later she along with Otto Hahn jointly discovered the fission of the uranium nucleus that lead to the discovery nuclear power and nuclear weapons. The world came to know their extraordinary discovery and the 1944 Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to Otto Hahn clearly denying Meitner’s share of the Nobel Prize. This was a clear case of gender discrimination against the brilliant physicist.
In early 1909, Max Planck, a giant in the field of physics at that time, gave a series of eight lectures at Columbia University in New York. His mentor Hermann von Helmholtz had given series of lectures at Columbia 15 years earlier. At that time, Einstein was still an unknown figure and his 1905 publication on Special Relativity was revolutionizing idea in physics. Half way through his eighth and final lecture, Planck made a crucial point warning the political dawn of “German” and “Jewish” physics in the devastating decades to come. In the years leading up to WWI and WWI, it became painfully clear that Jewish physicists will be treated deplorably as the political tensions was mounting. Even among many respected German physicists, Einstein’s theory of special relativity did not sit well as it abolished the universal time for all observers. Max Planck admitted that this would spawn headaches. In the next several years, Planck and Einstein had contentious and irreconcilable differences.
Max Planck’s personal life was agonized repeatedly as the scars of wars was personal for him. During the WWI, Planck’s second son was taken as a prisoner by the French in 1914. Years later, in 1945, when Germany was under the Third Reich, his favorite son Erwin Planck was sentenced to death by the Nazis for trying to assassinate the Fuhrer. His standing in the world of physics did not help convince Hitler to spare his son’s life.
Max Planck was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1918, and his philosophical and spiritual views could be seen in some of his statements. Once he said, “Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.” “An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature, and a measurement is the recording of Nature's answer.” In his famous lecture “Religion and Science” in May 1937, Planck wrote: “Both religion and science need for their activities the belief in God, and moreover God stands for the former in the beginning, and for the latter at the end of the whole thinking. For the former, God represents the basis, for the latter, the crown of any reasoning concerning the world-view.”
This book some has some rare pictures of him and his family, and I liked the one with his siblings. This biography illustrates the story of a brilliant man living in a dangerous time gives Max Planck his rightful place in the history of science, and it shows how ravages of war deeply impacted his life and work.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Book Reviewed: Spooky Action at a Distance, by George Musser
The enigma of quantum reality
The laws of quantum physics allow for two distant quantum objects (photons, electrons, quarks, etc.) to be entangled so that an action on one particle instantly affects the other, even if the two particles are separated by several billion light years. Einstein dismissed this as "spooky action at a distance", insisting that some hidden variables could be responsible for this action. He argued that physics is not magic but operates on the principle of local realism. Hence only nearby objects are influenced by each other like sun and the planets, as we understand from the equations of classical physics. However, Einstein has been proved wrong on numerous occasions in experimental quantum physics. Even black holes and the workings of gravity (curved spacetime in presence of matter) are manifestations of quantum entanglement at cosmic scales. The very nature of spacetime are questioned since it is no longer considered as an inert fabric of physical reality. In fact many physicists think that space is not continuous but exists in discrete quanta (tiny chunks) like matter, and spacetime could curve, rip, tear and repair and it can travel across the universe as waves (gravitational waves) at the speed of light. The physical reality is not simple at most fundamental level. Time becomes folded up with space into a malleable four-dimensional spacetime, and its passage depends on how fast you are moving, or the strength of the surrounding gravitational field. Yet of the four dimensions of space and time, time remains somehow special. If we know what's happening on a spot in Mars, then we can predict what will happen in that same space at a future time. But we cannot predict what is happening at a different spot at the same time. Quantum physics, reinforces this “special” view of time, but produces a picture at odds with relativity. Here, there is an objective "God's Eye" time that allows you to see all events encapsulated in spacetime, including the past and future, from outside the capsule. But while all quantum-mechanical things can be calculated about reality depend on experimental observations. Time itself is an unobservable parameter, so it cannot be calculated. It can't even be reliably measured: the principle of quantum uncertainty makes it impossible to distinguish the order of two events that are very close in time. "It gets harder to prevent effect preceding cause, because of “quantum fuzziness” of spacetime at quantum scales.
In this book, author George Musser discusses the nature of nonlocality, the “spooky action at a distance” from the point of physicists and cosmologists at the frontiers of current research. He discusses the nature of spacetime and the quantum reality. The universe is even more complicated if one is faced with the fact that only a small fraction of the universe is visible. The universe consists of 68% dark energy, 27% dark matter, 2.5% invisible matter and 2.5% visible matter. Laws of physics applies only to the 5% of the universe. The nature of dark matter and dark energy is currently unknown and also we don’t know how it interact with each other. Do they have energy, mass, frequency equations as we have for normal matter? And how do dark matter and dark energy interact with normal matter/energy? Constraints of special theory of relativity requires that nothing moves faster than light, including gravity, forces, information, matter or energy. And spacetime warp to accommodate speed of light. But space could expand faster than light. Moving clock tick (time) slower and moving ruler (space) appear shorter and hence there is no objective measure of space and time. Space and time look different for different observers in the universe. Motion warps spacetime and so does acceleration and gravity according to the equivalence principle of general relativity.
Physicists Juan Maldacena and Leonard Susskind redefine spacetime that is at the core of quantum reality. According to their conjecture, ER = EPR is that every pair of entangled particles (quantum physical phenomenon) is connected by a microscopic spacetime wormhole (relativistic phenomenon) so that large regions of spacetime emerge from the entanglement of more fundamental microscopic constituents of the universe. It also suggests that entangled objects, despite having long been viewed as having no physical connection to one another may indeed be connected in ways that are far less fantastical than we thought.
Some physicists working on black hole physics have suggested that we live in a holographic universe, which means the physical reality that makes up the 3-dimesional space (and time) is in fact stored on a 2-dimensional flat surface. This means everything we see and experience is an illusion. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, goes one-step further to say that we don’t actually exist physically, but we are a bunch of information (data) swirling around on someone's (?Gods) supercomputer. Musk is immersed in a technological world, and he is not too far off from the point of artificial intelligence (AI) and the world of super-computation. Despite the fact that this idea sounds extreme but theories about the universe being an illusion aren't new.
In spite of all calculations, conjectures and interpretations of experimental data, we could be looking at small section of one whole reality. We need a revolutionary like Einstein to rediscover the quantum nature of spacetime and gravity. In this book, the author does not offer a useful discussion of nonlocality, and in some pages he appears to be rambling.
The laws of quantum physics allow for two distant quantum objects (photons, electrons, quarks, etc.) to be entangled so that an action on one particle instantly affects the other, even if the two particles are separated by several billion light years. Einstein dismissed this as "spooky action at a distance", insisting that some hidden variables could be responsible for this action. He argued that physics is not magic but operates on the principle of local realism. Hence only nearby objects are influenced by each other like sun and the planets, as we understand from the equations of classical physics. However, Einstein has been proved wrong on numerous occasions in experimental quantum physics. Even black holes and the workings of gravity (curved spacetime in presence of matter) are manifestations of quantum entanglement at cosmic scales. The very nature of spacetime are questioned since it is no longer considered as an inert fabric of physical reality. In fact many physicists think that space is not continuous but exists in discrete quanta (tiny chunks) like matter, and spacetime could curve, rip, tear and repair and it can travel across the universe as waves (gravitational waves) at the speed of light. The physical reality is not simple at most fundamental level. Time becomes folded up with space into a malleable four-dimensional spacetime, and its passage depends on how fast you are moving, or the strength of the surrounding gravitational field. Yet of the four dimensions of space and time, time remains somehow special. If we know what's happening on a spot in Mars, then we can predict what will happen in that same space at a future time. But we cannot predict what is happening at a different spot at the same time. Quantum physics, reinforces this “special” view of time, but produces a picture at odds with relativity. Here, there is an objective "God's Eye" time that allows you to see all events encapsulated in spacetime, including the past and future, from outside the capsule. But while all quantum-mechanical things can be calculated about reality depend on experimental observations. Time itself is an unobservable parameter, so it cannot be calculated. It can't even be reliably measured: the principle of quantum uncertainty makes it impossible to distinguish the order of two events that are very close in time. "It gets harder to prevent effect preceding cause, because of “quantum fuzziness” of spacetime at quantum scales.
In this book, author George Musser discusses the nature of nonlocality, the “spooky action at a distance” from the point of physicists and cosmologists at the frontiers of current research. He discusses the nature of spacetime and the quantum reality. The universe is even more complicated if one is faced with the fact that only a small fraction of the universe is visible. The universe consists of 68% dark energy, 27% dark matter, 2.5% invisible matter and 2.5% visible matter. Laws of physics applies only to the 5% of the universe. The nature of dark matter and dark energy is currently unknown and also we don’t know how it interact with each other. Do they have energy, mass, frequency equations as we have for normal matter? And how do dark matter and dark energy interact with normal matter/energy? Constraints of special theory of relativity requires that nothing moves faster than light, including gravity, forces, information, matter or energy. And spacetime warp to accommodate speed of light. But space could expand faster than light. Moving clock tick (time) slower and moving ruler (space) appear shorter and hence there is no objective measure of space and time. Space and time look different for different observers in the universe. Motion warps spacetime and so does acceleration and gravity according to the equivalence principle of general relativity.
Physicists Juan Maldacena and Leonard Susskind redefine spacetime that is at the core of quantum reality. According to their conjecture, ER = EPR is that every pair of entangled particles (quantum physical phenomenon) is connected by a microscopic spacetime wormhole (relativistic phenomenon) so that large regions of spacetime emerge from the entanglement of more fundamental microscopic constituents of the universe. It also suggests that entangled objects, despite having long been viewed as having no physical connection to one another may indeed be connected in ways that are far less fantastical than we thought.
Some physicists working on black hole physics have suggested that we live in a holographic universe, which means the physical reality that makes up the 3-dimesional space (and time) is in fact stored on a 2-dimensional flat surface. This means everything we see and experience is an illusion. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, goes one-step further to say that we don’t actually exist physically, but we are a bunch of information (data) swirling around on someone's (?Gods) supercomputer. Musk is immersed in a technological world, and he is not too far off from the point of artificial intelligence (AI) and the world of super-computation. Despite the fact that this idea sounds extreme but theories about the universe being an illusion aren't new.
In spite of all calculations, conjectures and interpretations of experimental data, we could be looking at small section of one whole reality. We need a revolutionary like Einstein to rediscover the quantum nature of spacetime and gravity. In this book, the author does not offer a useful discussion of nonlocality, and in some pages he appears to be rambling.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Book Reviewed: The Challenge of Modernizing Islam: Reformers Speak Out and the Obstacles, by Christine Douglass-Williams, Daniel Pipes
Islam is a political ideology, therefore it cannot be reformed
Islam is a political ideology that uses god’s name to impose its will and authority on non-believers. It contrasts the political philosophy of Marxism, Leninism and Capitalism that is based on social, economic and political concepts. Enforcing a belief using god’s name is a powerful tool and perhaps lasting than economic based ideologies. Muslims hide behind a notion of being the followers of a faith. In the 21st century, we don’t see many people screaming Jesus Christ, Moses, Krishna or Buddha with hatchets, guns or literally running over innocent people on the streets with an automobile. Recently, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn called “It’s like cancer, and it’s like a malignant cancer, though in this case that has metastasized.”
In a world of political correctness, the race, ethnicity, class and fear of being labeled as Islamophobic has manipulated the system to the full advantage of Muslims and their application of sharia law. The political leaders and the media are too willing to submit to the will of Muslims. The lack of knowledge of Muslim values and their culture in western World have been manipulated by Islamists. They are a population that believes that god wants women to wear hijab, niqab, or burqa. Progressively the West has adopted sharia blasphemy laws. In July 2017, Muslim terrorists targeted Jews in Israel, Hindus in India, Christians in Egypt, and Buddhists in Thailand. According to the Jihad Watch Report of Jul 08, 2017 - Jul 14, 2017, there were 37 attacks; 207 killed; 196 injured; 8 suicide blasts, all in 37 countries. The Quran contains at least 109 verses that speak of war with nonbelievers, usually on the basis of their status as non-Muslims. Some are quite graphic, with commands to chop off heads and fingers and kill infidels wherever they may be hiding. Quran 5:51, says "O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people." In Quran 5:82, we find “You will find the most violent in enmity to the (Islamic) believers are the Jews…” Quran 5:44, “Indeed We revealed the Torah to Moses, in which there is guidance and light: By its laws, all the Prophets, who were Muslims, judged those who call themselves Jews and so did the rabbis and jurists of law….”
Speaking in Warsaw, Poland, President Trump challenged that whether the West has the will to survive, and do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?
The author of this book has interviewed several Muslim leaders to find ways to overcome the oppression of Sharia law, but this is a futile attempt. Most Muslims like to defend their faith and the privileged use of Sharia law. The religion comes first in all their arguments and the common-sense comes last; whereas for most non-Muslims, common-sense comes first. The evidence is all around us. For example, in Indian Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq and other Islamic countries, women followed Western traditions and wore Western cloths, but they have changed and progressively moved back to medieval age.
Islam is a political ideology that uses god’s name to impose its will and authority on non-believers. It contrasts the political philosophy of Marxism, Leninism and Capitalism that is based on social, economic and political concepts. Enforcing a belief using god’s name is a powerful tool and perhaps lasting than economic based ideologies. Muslims hide behind a notion of being the followers of a faith. In the 21st century, we don’t see many people screaming Jesus Christ, Moses, Krishna or Buddha with hatchets, guns or literally running over innocent people on the streets with an automobile. Recently, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn called “It’s like cancer, and it’s like a malignant cancer, though in this case that has metastasized.”
In a world of political correctness, the race, ethnicity, class and fear of being labeled as Islamophobic has manipulated the system to the full advantage of Muslims and their application of sharia law. The political leaders and the media are too willing to submit to the will of Muslims. The lack of knowledge of Muslim values and their culture in western World have been manipulated by Islamists. They are a population that believes that god wants women to wear hijab, niqab, or burqa. Progressively the West has adopted sharia blasphemy laws. In July 2017, Muslim terrorists targeted Jews in Israel, Hindus in India, Christians in Egypt, and Buddhists in Thailand. According to the Jihad Watch Report of Jul 08, 2017 - Jul 14, 2017, there were 37 attacks; 207 killed; 196 injured; 8 suicide blasts, all in 37 countries. The Quran contains at least 109 verses that speak of war with nonbelievers, usually on the basis of their status as non-Muslims. Some are quite graphic, with commands to chop off heads and fingers and kill infidels wherever they may be hiding. Quran 5:51, says "O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people." In Quran 5:82, we find “You will find the most violent in enmity to the (Islamic) believers are the Jews…” Quran 5:44, “Indeed We revealed the Torah to Moses, in which there is guidance and light: By its laws, all the Prophets, who were Muslims, judged those who call themselves Jews and so did the rabbis and jurists of law….”
Speaking in Warsaw, Poland, President Trump challenged that whether the West has the will to survive, and do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?
The author of this book has interviewed several Muslim leaders to find ways to overcome the oppression of Sharia law, but this is a futile attempt. Most Muslims like to defend their faith and the privileged use of Sharia law. The religion comes first in all their arguments and the common-sense comes last; whereas for most non-Muslims, common-sense comes first. The evidence is all around us. For example, in Indian Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq and other Islamic countries, women followed Western traditions and wore Western cloths, but they have changed and progressively moved back to medieval age.
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Book Reviewed: John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars by Eve Golden
The Rise and fall of Matinee Idol John Gilbert
This is one of the outstanding books I have read about an early Hollywood star John Gilbert. This book not only gives us the story behind his meteoric rise in the American film industry but also narrates a brief history of how the studios came into existence in Southern California. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; it is an effortless reading and the material flows flawlessly and keeps you highly engaged from start to finish. Strongly recommended to readers interested in the history of Hollywood, career of John Gilbert and the stories behind the top movies he made in 1920s.
A brief summary of this book would illustrate the life of John Gilbert, as charmingly written by author Eve Golden: Gilbert was the screen’s hottest heartthrob, the top male sex symbol of 1920s and one of MGM’s box-office champions. He was handsome, mercurial, and very talented. He dated some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, which included Greta Garbo, Virginia Bruce, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara La Marr, Mae Murray, Lila Lee, Bebe Daniels and some of his co-stars. Some of the notable films of Gilbert include; The Merry Widow, The Big Parade, Flesh and the Devil, and Love. When talkies started in 1928, Gilbert panicked since he did not have microphone experience and also his squeaky and ineffective voice sent his career into a tailspin. This was compounded by his souring relationship with MGM executives. MGM head Louis B. Mayer is known have made unpleasant comments about his upcoming wedding with Greta Garbo that may have led to fist fight. Some eye-witnesses discount this. But in short this episode did not help his contract with MGM. In the meantime, his drinking, womanizing, and his larger than life personality made a target for moralizers and journalists out for a scoop. Gilbert would soon find himself unemployable and insufficient for talkies of the early 1930s.
His childhood had its own ups and downs. His mother was an actress and his father was a manager of a stock company. After his parents were divorced, John Gilbert and his mom traveled across the country and he pretty much grew up on the road. Life was tough but he began to understand the world at a much younger age. At one time, he was left in the care of his mother’s friend in Manhattan, a seamstress who ran an escort service with her daughter. Men coming and going out of the tiny apartment was not uncommon, and he had similar experience while living with his mother Ida Gilbert. She would bring men into the house when she was not in a married relationship.
The man who brought John Gilbert to Hollywood was studio executive Thomas Ince. By 1912 Thomas Ince purchased an 18,000 acre ranch in Pacific Palisades Highlands stretching 7.5 miles of Santa Ynez Canyon between Santa Monica and Malibu in California. He built his own studio, named "Inceville". The studio was the first of its kind which featured stages, offices, labs, commissaries (large enough to serve lunch to hundreds of workers), dressing rooms, props houses, elaborate sets, and other necessities in one location. The streets were lined with many types of structures, from humble cottages to mansions, mimicking the style and architecture of different countries. Extensive outdoor western sets were built and used on the site for several years. From 1915, John Gilbert performed in minor roles. In 1916, he appeared in three movies of William Hart. Several studios were operating in late 1910s and Gilbert kept himself busy with several small projects for various studios. In 1920s several major studios began to form by the unification of smaller studios. MGM Studios was one of the major studio to be created from the acquisition of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures, and it began to dominate the film making industry. Gilbert entered into a very lucrative contract with MGM and his career had blossomed beyond his imagination.
There is a fairly extensive description of story behind the making of “The Merry Widow” with Mae Murray with controversial director, Eric von Stroheim. There were constant bickering between von Stroheim, and Gilbert and Murray: She was often a peace maker. Von Stroheim was also notorious for outrunning the MGM budget and kept the executives off stage. Years later Mae Murray gave several interviews and spoke about behind the scene anecdotes. The stories were not always coherent and several historians have looked into these stories and give different versions. The author is sensitive enough to the curiosity of the readers and give all versions so that the veracity of historical facts may be determined by the readers themselves. There are also interesting stories behind his other successful movies like “Big Parade,” which is one of my favorite movies, “Flesh and Devil” and “Love.”
Kenneth Anger’s book “Hollywood Babylon” gave salacious story of John Gilbert and actress Marie Prevost who tried to drown their troubles in bourbon. They staged a drink-to-death race in 1936. But author Eve Golden has not substantiated this story in this book. By 1935, alcoholism had severely damaged Gilbert's health and he passed away at the age of 36 at his Bel Air home on January 9, 1936. His movies on TCM cable channel is always entertaining to his fans like me, but it is also a constant reminder of a soul lost in a purely material world.
This is one of the outstanding books I have read about an early Hollywood star John Gilbert. This book not only gives us the story behind his meteoric rise in the American film industry but also narrates a brief history of how the studios came into existence in Southern California. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; it is an effortless reading and the material flows flawlessly and keeps you highly engaged from start to finish. Strongly recommended to readers interested in the history of Hollywood, career of John Gilbert and the stories behind the top movies he made in 1920s.
A brief summary of this book would illustrate the life of John Gilbert, as charmingly written by author Eve Golden: Gilbert was the screen’s hottest heartthrob, the top male sex symbol of 1920s and one of MGM’s box-office champions. He was handsome, mercurial, and very talented. He dated some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, which included Greta Garbo, Virginia Bruce, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara La Marr, Mae Murray, Lila Lee, Bebe Daniels and some of his co-stars. Some of the notable films of Gilbert include; The Merry Widow, The Big Parade, Flesh and the Devil, and Love. When talkies started in 1928, Gilbert panicked since he did not have microphone experience and also his squeaky and ineffective voice sent his career into a tailspin. This was compounded by his souring relationship with MGM executives. MGM head Louis B. Mayer is known have made unpleasant comments about his upcoming wedding with Greta Garbo that may have led to fist fight. Some eye-witnesses discount this. But in short this episode did not help his contract with MGM. In the meantime, his drinking, womanizing, and his larger than life personality made a target for moralizers and journalists out for a scoop. Gilbert would soon find himself unemployable and insufficient for talkies of the early 1930s.
His childhood had its own ups and downs. His mother was an actress and his father was a manager of a stock company. After his parents were divorced, John Gilbert and his mom traveled across the country and he pretty much grew up on the road. Life was tough but he began to understand the world at a much younger age. At one time, he was left in the care of his mother’s friend in Manhattan, a seamstress who ran an escort service with her daughter. Men coming and going out of the tiny apartment was not uncommon, and he had similar experience while living with his mother Ida Gilbert. She would bring men into the house when she was not in a married relationship.
The man who brought John Gilbert to Hollywood was studio executive Thomas Ince. By 1912 Thomas Ince purchased an 18,000 acre ranch in Pacific Palisades Highlands stretching 7.5 miles of Santa Ynez Canyon between Santa Monica and Malibu in California. He built his own studio, named "Inceville". The studio was the first of its kind which featured stages, offices, labs, commissaries (large enough to serve lunch to hundreds of workers), dressing rooms, props houses, elaborate sets, and other necessities in one location. The streets were lined with many types of structures, from humble cottages to mansions, mimicking the style and architecture of different countries. Extensive outdoor western sets were built and used on the site for several years. From 1915, John Gilbert performed in minor roles. In 1916, he appeared in three movies of William Hart. Several studios were operating in late 1910s and Gilbert kept himself busy with several small projects for various studios. In 1920s several major studios began to form by the unification of smaller studios. MGM Studios was one of the major studio to be created from the acquisition of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures, and it began to dominate the film making industry. Gilbert entered into a very lucrative contract with MGM and his career had blossomed beyond his imagination.
There is a fairly extensive description of story behind the making of “The Merry Widow” with Mae Murray with controversial director, Eric von Stroheim. There were constant bickering between von Stroheim, and Gilbert and Murray: She was often a peace maker. Von Stroheim was also notorious for outrunning the MGM budget and kept the executives off stage. Years later Mae Murray gave several interviews and spoke about behind the scene anecdotes. The stories were not always coherent and several historians have looked into these stories and give different versions. The author is sensitive enough to the curiosity of the readers and give all versions so that the veracity of historical facts may be determined by the readers themselves. There are also interesting stories behind his other successful movies like “Big Parade,” which is one of my favorite movies, “Flesh and Devil” and “Love.”
Kenneth Anger’s book “Hollywood Babylon” gave salacious story of John Gilbert and actress Marie Prevost who tried to drown their troubles in bourbon. They staged a drink-to-death race in 1936. But author Eve Golden has not substantiated this story in this book. By 1935, alcoholism had severely damaged Gilbert's health and he passed away at the age of 36 at his Bel Air home on January 9, 1936. His movies on TCM cable channel is always entertaining to his fans like me, but it is also a constant reminder of a soul lost in a purely material world.
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Book Reviewed: QBism: The Future of Quantum Physics, by Hans Christian von Baeyer and Lili von Baeyer
Physical reality gets personal
In this book, the authors have suggested alternative interpretations of quantum reality contrasting the well-known Copenhagen interpretation for the results of quantum physical measurements in the double-slit experiment. This experiment is a demonstration that light and matter can display characteristics of both classically defined waves and particles (wave-particle duality). In addition, it displays the fundamentally probabilistic nature of quantum physical phenomena.
The following brief summary could help us understand how QBism described in this book interprets quantum reality: Physical reality we experience in this universe is due to operation of the laws of physics on matter (and energy) in a four dimensional spacetime. The fabric of reality is made of space and time fused together to form a unified spacetime in four dimensions, and speed of light is a part of this fabric. In the basic energy/force equations of classical physics, relativistic physics and quantum physics, time does not appear. Hence laws of physics allows physical reality to operate from past to future or future to past. In addition, our perception of the reality, of what is “now” (present tense) is not absolute, but only relative. Space and time looks differently for different observers in the universe, since the speed of light is a part of the fabric of reality. This speed is a universal constant for all observers, and matter/energy cannot travel faster than the speed of light (according special relativity.) As a result, for example, for inhabitants of a planet 4.5 billion light years away from us, solar system doesn’t even exist, let alone see human beings. Because light takes 4.5 billion years to reach them from us and hence in their “reality” we don’t exist (Solar system is exists for the last 4.5 billion years.) The speed of light is packaged into the fabric of reality, and this speed limit constrains only the motion of matter/energy, and not to the motion of space. Space can expand much faster than speed of light, and it has done that at about 13.7 billion years ago. Space or spacetime is also not a continuous fabric as we understand physical reality, but it also curves, bends, rips, repairs the rips and connects distant parts of the universe through bridges (cosmic worm holes).
Physics thus far helps in describing the objective external world: fundamental particles, waves, fields, atoms, molecules, biomolecules, and biological systems. How waves/particles change in time; and how they give rise to the different forms of matter, the life-forms, machines, planets, stars and galaxies make the universe. This world makes itself known to each of us through our own perceptions. Yet physics has ignored one other critical factor of reality, the consciousness. Classical and relativistic physics say that reality exists as they appear to us and we are mere observers of its presence. But the laws quantum physics that operate at the microscopic scales on matter and energy, like electrons and photons, deny objective reality, determinism, free will or our understanding that cause must precede an effect. Quantum properties like entanglement, uncertainty principle, quantum gravity (bending of spacetime in presence of matter), vacuum energy, quantum bubbles, black holes, spacetime ripples (also called gravitational waves), etc. deny common sense arguments since spacetime at the most fundamental level is not clearly understood. Hence this has given rise to a wide range of conjectures that suggest that reality could be an illusion or the universe is a two dimensional hologram that contains information for our existence in three dimensional space. Some physicists also suggest that space is real and time is an illusion; others say, time is an illusion and space is real. We have taken for granted for too long that space and time is a non-interactive fabric of reality. But this is turning out be a major error. In fact spacetime may be discontinuous and exists in discrete quanta or units and how this works at subatomic scales is still unclear.
According to wave mechanics, the quantum reality of a physical system is described in terms of a wave function. Matter in most fundamental form, like an electron, exists in both wave and particle forms (wave-particle duality). The shape of the wave function derived from wave mechanics describes wave’s existence in terms of probabilities. It could exist anywhere in the universe with a given (calculated) probability. When physical measurements are made on this system by an observer, this “act” would “collapse the wave function” to a physically identifiable particle form. This explanation is referred to as Copenhagen interpretation of quantum reality. There are other interpretations to account for this result such as many world’s interpretation and Bohmian interpretation, etc. All of them have something in common. They treat the wave function as a description of an objective reality shared by multiple observers. QBism, on the other hand, treats the wave function as a description of a single observer’s subjective knowledge. Q is for quantum and B is for Bayesian; a view of probability that includes an agent who makes bets and updates odds. In this new interpretation of quantum reality, the wave function does not describe the world, but it describes the observer. The wave function’s probabilities are described as Bayesian probabilities, which is nothing but the subjective degrees of “belief” about a system. It is like gambling by placing bets on measurement outcomes, and bets are updated as new data emerges. According to QBism, the wave function’s “collapse” is simply the observer updating the personal beliefs after making a measurement. And quantum entanglement (two particles entangled quantum physically), which is another strange property of quantum physics is when one observer’s measurement of a particle at position 1 collapses the wave function of its entangled particle somewhere else in the universe at position 2. QBism says that the measurement at position 1 simply provides information for the observer 1, who can use to bet on the state of the distant entangled particle at position 2. But how does his/her measurement at one place affect the outcome of a measurement of a second observer at position 2? In fact, it doesn’t. Since QBism wave function doesn’t belong to the physical system being observed, but to the observer himself. Hence, observer 1’s wave function doesn’t have to align with observer 2. This argument circumvents several shortcomings of Copenhagen interpretation of quantum reality. But fails to answer numerous bigger questions that confronts reality, and possible existence of multiverse.
Physicist Niels Bohr once said that the purpose of science was not to reveal “the real essence of the phenomena” but only to find “relations between the manifold aspects of our experience”. His idea still holds pretty well. QBism is a short-cut to understand the quantum phenomenon that is played out on a larger screen, but we are taking a narrow look at one end of the spectrum. I am not too enthusiastic about this interpretation of our physical reality. But nevertheless, it is an interesting alternative idea which I recommend to readers interested in quantum physics and physical reality.
In this book, the authors have suggested alternative interpretations of quantum reality contrasting the well-known Copenhagen interpretation for the results of quantum physical measurements in the double-slit experiment. This experiment is a demonstration that light and matter can display characteristics of both classically defined waves and particles (wave-particle duality). In addition, it displays the fundamentally probabilistic nature of quantum physical phenomena.
The following brief summary could help us understand how QBism described in this book interprets quantum reality: Physical reality we experience in this universe is due to operation of the laws of physics on matter (and energy) in a four dimensional spacetime. The fabric of reality is made of space and time fused together to form a unified spacetime in four dimensions, and speed of light is a part of this fabric. In the basic energy/force equations of classical physics, relativistic physics and quantum physics, time does not appear. Hence laws of physics allows physical reality to operate from past to future or future to past. In addition, our perception of the reality, of what is “now” (present tense) is not absolute, but only relative. Space and time looks differently for different observers in the universe, since the speed of light is a part of the fabric of reality. This speed is a universal constant for all observers, and matter/energy cannot travel faster than the speed of light (according special relativity.) As a result, for example, for inhabitants of a planet 4.5 billion light years away from us, solar system doesn’t even exist, let alone see human beings. Because light takes 4.5 billion years to reach them from us and hence in their “reality” we don’t exist (Solar system is exists for the last 4.5 billion years.) The speed of light is packaged into the fabric of reality, and this speed limit constrains only the motion of matter/energy, and not to the motion of space. Space can expand much faster than speed of light, and it has done that at about 13.7 billion years ago. Space or spacetime is also not a continuous fabric as we understand physical reality, but it also curves, bends, rips, repairs the rips and connects distant parts of the universe through bridges (cosmic worm holes).
Physics thus far helps in describing the objective external world: fundamental particles, waves, fields, atoms, molecules, biomolecules, and biological systems. How waves/particles change in time; and how they give rise to the different forms of matter, the life-forms, machines, planets, stars and galaxies make the universe. This world makes itself known to each of us through our own perceptions. Yet physics has ignored one other critical factor of reality, the consciousness. Classical and relativistic physics say that reality exists as they appear to us and we are mere observers of its presence. But the laws quantum physics that operate at the microscopic scales on matter and energy, like electrons and photons, deny objective reality, determinism, free will or our understanding that cause must precede an effect. Quantum properties like entanglement, uncertainty principle, quantum gravity (bending of spacetime in presence of matter), vacuum energy, quantum bubbles, black holes, spacetime ripples (also called gravitational waves), etc. deny common sense arguments since spacetime at the most fundamental level is not clearly understood. Hence this has given rise to a wide range of conjectures that suggest that reality could be an illusion or the universe is a two dimensional hologram that contains information for our existence in three dimensional space. Some physicists also suggest that space is real and time is an illusion; others say, time is an illusion and space is real. We have taken for granted for too long that space and time is a non-interactive fabric of reality. But this is turning out be a major error. In fact spacetime may be discontinuous and exists in discrete quanta or units and how this works at subatomic scales is still unclear.
According to wave mechanics, the quantum reality of a physical system is described in terms of a wave function. Matter in most fundamental form, like an electron, exists in both wave and particle forms (wave-particle duality). The shape of the wave function derived from wave mechanics describes wave’s existence in terms of probabilities. It could exist anywhere in the universe with a given (calculated) probability. When physical measurements are made on this system by an observer, this “act” would “collapse the wave function” to a physically identifiable particle form. This explanation is referred to as Copenhagen interpretation of quantum reality. There are other interpretations to account for this result such as many world’s interpretation and Bohmian interpretation, etc. All of them have something in common. They treat the wave function as a description of an objective reality shared by multiple observers. QBism, on the other hand, treats the wave function as a description of a single observer’s subjective knowledge. Q is for quantum and B is for Bayesian; a view of probability that includes an agent who makes bets and updates odds. In this new interpretation of quantum reality, the wave function does not describe the world, but it describes the observer. The wave function’s probabilities are described as Bayesian probabilities, which is nothing but the subjective degrees of “belief” about a system. It is like gambling by placing bets on measurement outcomes, and bets are updated as new data emerges. According to QBism, the wave function’s “collapse” is simply the observer updating the personal beliefs after making a measurement. And quantum entanglement (two particles entangled quantum physically), which is another strange property of quantum physics is when one observer’s measurement of a particle at position 1 collapses the wave function of its entangled particle somewhere else in the universe at position 2. QBism says that the measurement at position 1 simply provides information for the observer 1, who can use to bet on the state of the distant entangled particle at position 2. But how does his/her measurement at one place affect the outcome of a measurement of a second observer at position 2? In fact, it doesn’t. Since QBism wave function doesn’t belong to the physical system being observed, but to the observer himself. Hence, observer 1’s wave function doesn’t have to align with observer 2. This argument circumvents several shortcomings of Copenhagen interpretation of quantum reality. But fails to answer numerous bigger questions that confronts reality, and possible existence of multiverse.
Physicist Niels Bohr once said that the purpose of science was not to reveal “the real essence of the phenomena” but only to find “relations between the manifold aspects of our experience”. His idea still holds pretty well. QBism is a short-cut to understand the quantum phenomenon that is played out on a larger screen, but we are taking a narrow look at one end of the spectrum. I am not too enthusiastic about this interpretation of our physical reality. But nevertheless, it is an interesting alternative idea which I recommend to readers interested in quantum physics and physical reality.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Book Reviewed: Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins, by Anthony Slide
Hollywood Unknowns: A brief history
Pity the "extras, bit players and stand-ins." These are the mostly overlooked and forgotten men and women in early Hollywood, especially those in the major Hollywood films from 1910 right through the dream factory's golden era. There were struggles of extras to make a decent living in harsh work environment. Low pay, little or no work, rip-offs from private employment agencies, and sexual harassment of women. Young women were always under threat from men; from studio bosses to casting and marketing departments. There were just too few jobs for far too many extras, some of whom were lured to Hollywood by what seemed to be rags-to-riches tales of stardom. Hollywood extras came from all walks of life-and many had good careers. Among the extras appearing in George Cukor's 1933 production of Sylvia Scarlet are: former silent leading man Gaston Glass; the first wife of Rudolph Valentino, Jean Acker; an early flyer, Major John Farrell; and Beth Taylor, the sister of actress Laurette Taylor. One commentator wrote in the late 1920s, extras would encounter "poverty, pathos and perversity in this fabulous paradise of prosperity, plenty and prodigality. This book discusses several issues related to the plight and working conditions of the “extras.”
Specific examples from this book are as follows: One star of the silent era sympathetic to the plight of the extras was actor John Barrymore. It is reported that he walked off the set in the middle of the day, leaving a couple of hundred extras with nothing to do. He was not particularly tired, but he was aware that making a living was difficult for extras. By deserting the set, Barrymore guaranteed them another day's work.
Director Michael Curtiz, who was as cavalier loved to work with mobs. But he was abusive, and his violent confrontation with extras took place during the filming of Noah's Ark (1929) at Warner Bros. Both Curtiz and director Cecil DeMille had executive power, and they were autocratic with a mass of anonymous extras. Two Cecil B. DeMille productions of the 1920s made extensive use of extras, including many of the Jewish faith. On location in the sand dunes of Santa Maria, California, where much of The Ten Commandments (1923) was shot, more than two hundred Orthodox Jews added verisimilitude to the portrayal of Israeli slaves. King of Kings (1927) employed a large undisclosed number of Jewish men, supporting a cast that included prominent Jewish actors, Rudolph Schildkraut as Caiaphas, and Joseph Schildkraut as Judas, who were father and son. Their presence was of no account when the film garnered a storm of controversy from the Jewish community over its presentation of events immediately preceding the Crucifixion, strongly implying that Jews murdered Jesus Christ. More than ten years earlier, D. W Griffith had faced the same criticism with regard to his filming of the same sequences in intolerance (1916). And like DeMille, Griffith had hired "all the orthodox Hebrews with long whiskers to appear as extras in the lead up to the Crucifixion. Later, Griffith supposedly burnt that portion of the negative showing Jews crucifying Christ and re-filmed the scenes with Roman soldiers nailing Christ to the cross. The Warner Bros. production of Noah's Ark, directed by Michael Curtiz, released in November 1928 also claimed that some five thousand extras were hired for the film, with the casting department interviewing at least six thousand. Wardrobe, dressing, and makeup tents were pitched on the studio lot, which contemporary reports compared to an army camp. Military service was probably far less unpleasant because the extras were light-skinned, they did not resemble the dark-skinned tribes of the Middle East. As a result, the extras were ordered to strip, marshaled into line, and marched to enclosures, where some eighty makeup men and women sprayed them with a quick-drying, liquid brown solution. Once suitably darkened, the extras were ordered to costume themselves in robes, wigs, and beards. In 1929, director Raoul Walsh shot the most ambitious sound film to date, a historical Western epic titled The Big Trail, starring John Wayne, in the desert near Yuma, Arizona. It included numerous extras and filming included dangerous scenes. One extra, Pete Morrison saved three women from death by stopping the six oxen pulling the wagon in which they were seated from going over into a canyon. About four hundred Native Americans were gathered from Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. They were separately housed in a native village and represented tribes included members of the Arapaho, Crow, Bannock, and Northern Cheyenne nations.
One of the worst reported cases of physical abuse of extras took place on the set of MGM's Riffraff in October 1935. Forty women were called to the MGM set at 5:30 P.M. In the rain scene, they were soaked and hurled down by the full force of water from three fire hoses, backed by wind machines. Driven water, cold and sharp as icicles, blinded them and flung them about. Many were skinned from ankles to thighs. One woman was knocked unconscious, and another was paralyzed for hours. No drying equipment was provided. Working from 5:30 P.M. To 5:30 A.M, each woman got $11.25.
One director who was much liked by extras was W S. Van Dyke whose credits include, The Thin Man (1934) and San Francisco (1936). He was known as "one take Van Dyke” with time for niceties. Years later, Minta Durfee, a silent actress turned extra recalled, “He always showed great personal concern for the extras.'' Actress Mary Pickford was also concerned with the mistakes extras were doing by taking great risks in their lives. She cautioned them in 1923 that "Success cannot be governed by set rules or bound by conventions. While hard work will help immeasurably to achieve it, it is in no sense a guarantee.”
The book also tells the stories, briefly, of young women who were physically attacked, which include Ginger Wyatt at MGM Studios, Patricia Douglass at one of the Culver City Studios, and Virginia Rappe. I enjoyed reading this book and it is highly recommended to readers interested in the history of Hollywood, silent movie era, and the Golden age
Pity the "extras, bit players and stand-ins." These are the mostly overlooked and forgotten men and women in early Hollywood, especially those in the major Hollywood films from 1910 right through the dream factory's golden era. There were struggles of extras to make a decent living in harsh work environment. Low pay, little or no work, rip-offs from private employment agencies, and sexual harassment of women. Young women were always under threat from men; from studio bosses to casting and marketing departments. There were just too few jobs for far too many extras, some of whom were lured to Hollywood by what seemed to be rags-to-riches tales of stardom. Hollywood extras came from all walks of life-and many had good careers. Among the extras appearing in George Cukor's 1933 production of Sylvia Scarlet are: former silent leading man Gaston Glass; the first wife of Rudolph Valentino, Jean Acker; an early flyer, Major John Farrell; and Beth Taylor, the sister of actress Laurette Taylor. One commentator wrote in the late 1920s, extras would encounter "poverty, pathos and perversity in this fabulous paradise of prosperity, plenty and prodigality. This book discusses several issues related to the plight and working conditions of the “extras.”
Specific examples from this book are as follows: One star of the silent era sympathetic to the plight of the extras was actor John Barrymore. It is reported that he walked off the set in the middle of the day, leaving a couple of hundred extras with nothing to do. He was not particularly tired, but he was aware that making a living was difficult for extras. By deserting the set, Barrymore guaranteed them another day's work.
Director Michael Curtiz, who was as cavalier loved to work with mobs. But he was abusive, and his violent confrontation with extras took place during the filming of Noah's Ark (1929) at Warner Bros. Both Curtiz and director Cecil DeMille had executive power, and they were autocratic with a mass of anonymous extras. Two Cecil B. DeMille productions of the 1920s made extensive use of extras, including many of the Jewish faith. On location in the sand dunes of Santa Maria, California, where much of The Ten Commandments (1923) was shot, more than two hundred Orthodox Jews added verisimilitude to the portrayal of Israeli slaves. King of Kings (1927) employed a large undisclosed number of Jewish men, supporting a cast that included prominent Jewish actors, Rudolph Schildkraut as Caiaphas, and Joseph Schildkraut as Judas, who were father and son. Their presence was of no account when the film garnered a storm of controversy from the Jewish community over its presentation of events immediately preceding the Crucifixion, strongly implying that Jews murdered Jesus Christ. More than ten years earlier, D. W Griffith had faced the same criticism with regard to his filming of the same sequences in intolerance (1916). And like DeMille, Griffith had hired "all the orthodox Hebrews with long whiskers to appear as extras in the lead up to the Crucifixion. Later, Griffith supposedly burnt that portion of the negative showing Jews crucifying Christ and re-filmed the scenes with Roman soldiers nailing Christ to the cross. The Warner Bros. production of Noah's Ark, directed by Michael Curtiz, released in November 1928 also claimed that some five thousand extras were hired for the film, with the casting department interviewing at least six thousand. Wardrobe, dressing, and makeup tents were pitched on the studio lot, which contemporary reports compared to an army camp. Military service was probably far less unpleasant because the extras were light-skinned, they did not resemble the dark-skinned tribes of the Middle East. As a result, the extras were ordered to strip, marshaled into line, and marched to enclosures, where some eighty makeup men and women sprayed them with a quick-drying, liquid brown solution. Once suitably darkened, the extras were ordered to costume themselves in robes, wigs, and beards. In 1929, director Raoul Walsh shot the most ambitious sound film to date, a historical Western epic titled The Big Trail, starring John Wayne, in the desert near Yuma, Arizona. It included numerous extras and filming included dangerous scenes. One extra, Pete Morrison saved three women from death by stopping the six oxen pulling the wagon in which they were seated from going over into a canyon. About four hundred Native Americans were gathered from Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. They were separately housed in a native village and represented tribes included members of the Arapaho, Crow, Bannock, and Northern Cheyenne nations.
One of the worst reported cases of physical abuse of extras took place on the set of MGM's Riffraff in October 1935. Forty women were called to the MGM set at 5:30 P.M. In the rain scene, they were soaked and hurled down by the full force of water from three fire hoses, backed by wind machines. Driven water, cold and sharp as icicles, blinded them and flung them about. Many were skinned from ankles to thighs. One woman was knocked unconscious, and another was paralyzed for hours. No drying equipment was provided. Working from 5:30 P.M. To 5:30 A.M, each woman got $11.25.
One director who was much liked by extras was W S. Van Dyke whose credits include, The Thin Man (1934) and San Francisco (1936). He was known as "one take Van Dyke” with time for niceties. Years later, Minta Durfee, a silent actress turned extra recalled, “He always showed great personal concern for the extras.'' Actress Mary Pickford was also concerned with the mistakes extras were doing by taking great risks in their lives. She cautioned them in 1923 that "Success cannot be governed by set rules or bound by conventions. While hard work will help immeasurably to achieve it, it is in no sense a guarantee.”
The book also tells the stories, briefly, of young women who were physically attacked, which include Ginger Wyatt at MGM Studios, Patricia Douglass at one of the Culver City Studios, and Virginia Rappe. I enjoyed reading this book and it is highly recommended to readers interested in the history of Hollywood, silent movie era, and the Golden age
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Book Reviewed: A Big Bang in a Little Room: The Quest to Create New Universes by Zeeya Merali
Playing God with the physics of nature
The idea that the universe was started by intelligent beings has been a staple of science fiction writers for many years. And these beings have included a message or a hidden code in the cosmos to tell us how it was done. Several physicists have speculated on the creation of a universe in a lab using inflationary dynamics of false vacuum bubbles. In particular, Physicist Andrei Linde of Stanford University suggested creating a baby universe using fine-tuned physical constants to send a message to the occupants of that universe. Codes may also be hidden in the digits of Pi or the Riemann Zeta function; it could be in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which is in effect a giant billboard in the sky, the blip from the origin of the universe. There are also cosmic neutrinos, or gravitational waves (ripples in spacetime), or photons/the speed of light could also be carrying this message.
In this book author Zeeya Merali focuses as how current knowledge in physics and cosmology help cosmologists create baby universes with its own set of physical laws. Secondly could we find the Ultimate Truth, the force behind the creation of space, time, and matter (energy)? Is there a God behind all this? Where is the link between us and the Creator? The book discusses if science proves the beliefs held by an established religion? Religion is one of the motivating factors for the author as she interviews numerous physicists and their contribution to cosmology. It becomes apparent why The Templeton Foundation and its “Spiritual Progress” funded this project. Each chapter focuses on one key subtopic and features conversations with physicists. The diversity of scientists’ religious beliefs is an interesting topic, and author freely expresses her own religious beliefs, which explains her enthusiasm for bringing physicists with strong religious orientation.
Readers who believe in scientific evidences, and the veracity scientific explanations may find this book unbearable. Even religious readers may also be bored because of weak interplay between science and religion. Case in point, the reflections of physicist Antoine Suarez. He shares his religious convictions convinced him to plan physics experiments that would disprove quantum physics, and when it did not, he found a new way to fit his god into this picture, by embracing the “many worlds interpretation” of quantum physics proposed by physicist Hugh Everett.
There are several notable figures in science who have openly criticized finding god in physics and biology. Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking famously said in an interview in June 2015 that there is no god and science is able to explain the origination of everything. Hawking also said that before we understood science, it was natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation about creation and the origin of the universe. He suggested that it is unnecessary to invoke God. Theoretical chemist Peter Atkins of University of Oxford has pointed out on the incompatibility of science and religion. He observes that the religion scorns the power of human comprehension, and science encourages inquiry and reasoning. In one interview with Ben Stein, Atkins said that the religion was "a fantasy", and "completely empty of any explanatory content. It is also evil! Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is another prominent critic of religion said that religion is both a source of conflict and a justification for belief without evidence. It is not based on evidence and called it "one of the world's great evils".
Merali’s true intentions show up when she observes that string theory and inflation may be hiding the truth that God may have created heavens and earth. She focuses on such topics as the relation between the laws of physics and God’s happiness, the existence of a physical “consciousness field,” and how quantum physics may support religious beliefs such as life after death, and resurrection. She hopes that within the next few decades physicists may be able to create baby universes. This is fiction than science, since the data from the LHC particle accelerator is not supporting her wish. We need scientific claims that can be backed up with evidence and not by wishful thinking. She ignores one key question in this book. Do humans have moral and ethical right to tinker with cosmos?
The idea that the universe was started by intelligent beings has been a staple of science fiction writers for many years. And these beings have included a message or a hidden code in the cosmos to tell us how it was done. Several physicists have speculated on the creation of a universe in a lab using inflationary dynamics of false vacuum bubbles. In particular, Physicist Andrei Linde of Stanford University suggested creating a baby universe using fine-tuned physical constants to send a message to the occupants of that universe. Codes may also be hidden in the digits of Pi or the Riemann Zeta function; it could be in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which is in effect a giant billboard in the sky, the blip from the origin of the universe. There are also cosmic neutrinos, or gravitational waves (ripples in spacetime), or photons/the speed of light could also be carrying this message.
In this book author Zeeya Merali focuses as how current knowledge in physics and cosmology help cosmologists create baby universes with its own set of physical laws. Secondly could we find the Ultimate Truth, the force behind the creation of space, time, and matter (energy)? Is there a God behind all this? Where is the link between us and the Creator? The book discusses if science proves the beliefs held by an established religion? Religion is one of the motivating factors for the author as she interviews numerous physicists and their contribution to cosmology. It becomes apparent why The Templeton Foundation and its “Spiritual Progress” funded this project. Each chapter focuses on one key subtopic and features conversations with physicists. The diversity of scientists’ religious beliefs is an interesting topic, and author freely expresses her own religious beliefs, which explains her enthusiasm for bringing physicists with strong religious orientation.
Readers who believe in scientific evidences, and the veracity scientific explanations may find this book unbearable. Even religious readers may also be bored because of weak interplay between science and religion. Case in point, the reflections of physicist Antoine Suarez. He shares his religious convictions convinced him to plan physics experiments that would disprove quantum physics, and when it did not, he found a new way to fit his god into this picture, by embracing the “many worlds interpretation” of quantum physics proposed by physicist Hugh Everett.
There are several notable figures in science who have openly criticized finding god in physics and biology. Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking famously said in an interview in June 2015 that there is no god and science is able to explain the origination of everything. Hawking also said that before we understood science, it was natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation about creation and the origin of the universe. He suggested that it is unnecessary to invoke God. Theoretical chemist Peter Atkins of University of Oxford has pointed out on the incompatibility of science and religion. He observes that the religion scorns the power of human comprehension, and science encourages inquiry and reasoning. In one interview with Ben Stein, Atkins said that the religion was "a fantasy", and "completely empty of any explanatory content. It is also evil! Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is another prominent critic of religion said that religion is both a source of conflict and a justification for belief without evidence. It is not based on evidence and called it "one of the world's great evils".
Merali’s true intentions show up when she observes that string theory and inflation may be hiding the truth that God may have created heavens and earth. She focuses on such topics as the relation between the laws of physics and God’s happiness, the existence of a physical “consciousness field,” and how quantum physics may support religious beliefs such as life after death, and resurrection. She hopes that within the next few decades physicists may be able to create baby universes. This is fiction than science, since the data from the LHC particle accelerator is not supporting her wish. We need scientific claims that can be backed up with evidence and not by wishful thinking. She ignores one key question in this book. Do humans have moral and ethical right to tinker with cosmos?
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Book Reviewed: Uncompromising Activist: Richard Greener, First Black Graduate of Harvard College, by Katherine Reynolds Chaddock
The life and work of a distinguished civil rights activist Richard Greener
In this book, author Katherine Chaddock of the University of South Carolina chronicles the fascinating and colorful life of civil rights activist Richard Greener (1844-1922). Long before Dr. Martin Luther King, there were many African American leaders in the nineteenth century. They fought for equality and civil rights which includes Frederick Douglass, John Mercer Langston, Booker T Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, William Wells Brown and Richard Greener.
Professor Chaddock re-creates the life and turbulent times of a fierce leader whose quest was for equality and dignity of colored people. The book provides fascinating insights into her subject’s magnetic character, with a mixture of piety and ambition. It partly explores the complexities of his relationships with other civil rights leaders and the American politicians of the day. From humble beginnings in Boston to the National Capital and later Russia as an American representative brings to life this almost forgotten African-American statesman. Despite discrimination and blatant racism before and after the Civil War, Greener’s achievements are mainly in the field of education and as a statesman. He met with many successes and disappointments that illuminates the ongoing struggles to define citizenship in a democracy. He graduated from Harvard and later became a professor at University of South Carolina. When he was a student, he attended lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Ward Beecher, and listened to antislavery meetings of Frederick Douglass and Senator Charles Sumner. He was never consistently linked to an accessible and definitive position like Frederick Douglass’s fight for emancipation; Booker T. Washington’s ideas about accommodation; and W. E. B. Du Bois’s uncompromising activism and full inclusion. His education and philosophy, light-skinned “white man” like features and street smartness in making friendship with whites isolated him from black masses. In a final irony for a life that often played between being black and white, his death certificate identified him as “white.”
This is the result of the groundbreaking research into the documents in a steamer trunk found in an abandoned residence in Chicago, long forgotten in the history. From this emerges the life of a leading pioneer and an uncompromising black activist. Highly recommended to readers interested in African American history, civil rights, slavery and racial politics.
In this book, author Katherine Chaddock of the University of South Carolina chronicles the fascinating and colorful life of civil rights activist Richard Greener (1844-1922). Long before Dr. Martin Luther King, there were many African American leaders in the nineteenth century. They fought for equality and civil rights which includes Frederick Douglass, John Mercer Langston, Booker T Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, William Wells Brown and Richard Greener.
Professor Chaddock re-creates the life and turbulent times of a fierce leader whose quest was for equality and dignity of colored people. The book provides fascinating insights into her subject’s magnetic character, with a mixture of piety and ambition. It partly explores the complexities of his relationships with other civil rights leaders and the American politicians of the day. From humble beginnings in Boston to the National Capital and later Russia as an American representative brings to life this almost forgotten African-American statesman. Despite discrimination and blatant racism before and after the Civil War, Greener’s achievements are mainly in the field of education and as a statesman. He met with many successes and disappointments that illuminates the ongoing struggles to define citizenship in a democracy. He graduated from Harvard and later became a professor at University of South Carolina. When he was a student, he attended lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Ward Beecher, and listened to antislavery meetings of Frederick Douglass and Senator Charles Sumner. He was never consistently linked to an accessible and definitive position like Frederick Douglass’s fight for emancipation; Booker T. Washington’s ideas about accommodation; and W. E. B. Du Bois’s uncompromising activism and full inclusion. His education and philosophy, light-skinned “white man” like features and street smartness in making friendship with whites isolated him from black masses. In a final irony for a life that often played between being black and white, his death certificate identified him as “white.”
This is the result of the groundbreaking research into the documents in a steamer trunk found in an abandoned residence in Chicago, long forgotten in the history. From this emerges the life of a leading pioneer and an uncompromising black activist. Highly recommended to readers interested in African American history, civil rights, slavery and racial politics.
Monday, July 3, 2017
Book Reviewed: The Jewish Bible: Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures -- The New JPS Translation
Hebrew Bible: A translation in the spirit and beliefs of Rabbinic Judaism
The Hebrew Bible was written in three different ancient languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Although a modern version of each of these languages is spoken today, most modern readers would have difficulty with the ancient versions of biblical texts. Ancient Hebrew was spoken by Jews, and the language of Old Testament. Isaiah 19:18 calls it “the language of Canaan,” while other verses label it “Judean” and “language of the Jews” (2 Kings 18:26; Isaiah 36:11, 13; 2 Chronicles 32:18; Nehemiah 13:24). Ancient Aramaic originated in northern Syria was widely used during the Assyrian rule. A few passages in the Old Testament were written in Aramaic (Genesis 31:47; Ezra 4:8-6:18, 7:12-26; Jeremiah 10:11). It was very popular in the ancient Israel and was commonly spoken in Jesus’ time.
In this book, a translation of the Hebrew Bible is rendered truthful to the beliefs and spirit of the ancient Jews expressed in Torah, first five books of the Bible. They are the books of the Law given to Moses. The other major sections are the Prophets (Nevi'im), and the Kethuvim (Writings). A brief history may be relevant in understanding the translations of this book. The traditional name given to the authoritative Hebrew text is the Masoretic Text. The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures made for the Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria around 3rd century B.C. Alexandria had a large Jewish population whose primary language was Greek. A legend contained in the Letter of Aristeas claimed that Ptolemy Philadelphus commissioned a translation to be made into Greek by six men from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, sent by the high priest in Jerusalem. These 72 scholars purportedly came up with identical translations. Scholars generally discount the legend, but the name "Septuagint" -- from the Latin word for seventy (LXX) became the traditional name for this translation.
The Christian Church was speaking mainly in Greek, adopted the Septuagint as its "official" version of the Old Testament. Afterwards it was abandoned by Jews. The Dead Sea Scrolls, 20th century’s greatest archaeological find is the rediscovery of 230 texts of biblical books, which have begun to change details in the Scriptures. For example, In 1 Samuel 17:4, it says Goliath stood “six cubits and a span,” meaning a towering nine feet plus. But Dead Sea scroll read as saying ’”four cubits and a span,” a mere six and a half feet. Consider Psalm 145, an acrostic where each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This chapter was always a head-scratcher because the verse for one letter is missing in the standard Hebrew text.
Eugene Ulrich, professor of Hebrew at the University of Notre Dame and chief editor of the Dead Sea biblical materials suggests that in ancient times, two or more contrasting editions of biblical books existed side by side and were all regarded as Scriptures. Back then the Old Testament was far different and concludes that there were multiple editions for the following books: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Psalms and Song of Solomon. In Dead Sea Scrolls, Psalm 33 directly follows Psalm 31, skipping number 32. Did the scribes who wrote those manuscripts believe 32 was not God’s Word? It appears that Psalm 33 naturally follows Psalm 31. In fact the authors of this book consider the Hebrew meaning of Psalm 32 is uncertain and originated from the writings of Maskil, adherents of a Jewish tribe called the Haskalah movement.
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Tanakh for Rabbinic Judaism. However, to understand the Hebrew Bible’s text the scholars also use Greek and Syrian translations, quotations from rabbinic manuscripts, the Samaritan Pentateuch and others such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These are older texts and often contradict themselves. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books with their vocalization and accentuation known as the Masorah. Between 200 B.C. and 70 A.D. rabbis began establishing the standard Masoretic Text as the basis for all Old Testaments.
The Talmud holds that the Torah was written by Moses, with the exception of the last eight verses of Deuteronomy, describing his death and burial, being written by Joshua. The Mishnah proclaims the divine origin of the Torah and an essential tenet of Judaism. However modern scholarly consensus is that the Torah has multiple authors and that its composition took place over centuries.
The translations of the verses of Torah given in the book are helpful in understanding Exodus, the story of God's revelation to his people of Israel through Moses, who leads them out of Egypt (Exodus 1–18) to Mount Sinai. Jews accept the covenant with God. Moses receives the Torah from God, and teaches His laws and Covenant (Exodus 19–24) to the people of Israel. It also talks about the first violation of the covenant when the Golden Calf was constructed (Exodus 32–34). Exodus includes the instructions on building the Tabernacle and concludes with its actual construction (Exodus 25–31; 35–40). Numbers play an important role in Judaic ritual practices and are believed to be the means for understanding the divine. The priestly blessing or the Aaronic blessing which includes a rabbinic tradition of raising hands (blessing is given from a raised rostrum), and the Hebrew prayer recited by Kohanim, the Hebrew Priests. According to Torah, they are descendants of Aaron the first High Priest, older brother of Moses and have been divinely chosen by God to work in the Tabernacle and assist the Israelites in blessings, ministering, sacrifices and atoning for their sins to God, for all eternity.
The text of Kethuvim (Writings section of Tanakh) frequently presented the translators with extraordinary difficulties for conveying in with the fullness of Hebrew, because of its ambiguities, overtones, and richness. It is the goal of authors of this book to transmit something of directness, and unique Jewish expressions of piety essential to sublimity of the sacred scriptures. Recommended to readers interested in Judaism, Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament.
The Hebrew Bible was written in three different ancient languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Although a modern version of each of these languages is spoken today, most modern readers would have difficulty with the ancient versions of biblical texts. Ancient Hebrew was spoken by Jews, and the language of Old Testament. Isaiah 19:18 calls it “the language of Canaan,” while other verses label it “Judean” and “language of the Jews” (2 Kings 18:26; Isaiah 36:11, 13; 2 Chronicles 32:18; Nehemiah 13:24). Ancient Aramaic originated in northern Syria was widely used during the Assyrian rule. A few passages in the Old Testament were written in Aramaic (Genesis 31:47; Ezra 4:8-6:18, 7:12-26; Jeremiah 10:11). It was very popular in the ancient Israel and was commonly spoken in Jesus’ time.
In this book, a translation of the Hebrew Bible is rendered truthful to the beliefs and spirit of the ancient Jews expressed in Torah, first five books of the Bible. They are the books of the Law given to Moses. The other major sections are the Prophets (Nevi'im), and the Kethuvim (Writings). A brief history may be relevant in understanding the translations of this book. The traditional name given to the authoritative Hebrew text is the Masoretic Text. The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures made for the Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria around 3rd century B.C. Alexandria had a large Jewish population whose primary language was Greek. A legend contained in the Letter of Aristeas claimed that Ptolemy Philadelphus commissioned a translation to be made into Greek by six men from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, sent by the high priest in Jerusalem. These 72 scholars purportedly came up with identical translations. Scholars generally discount the legend, but the name "Septuagint" -- from the Latin word for seventy (LXX) became the traditional name for this translation.
The Christian Church was speaking mainly in Greek, adopted the Septuagint as its "official" version of the Old Testament. Afterwards it was abandoned by Jews. The Dead Sea Scrolls, 20th century’s greatest archaeological find is the rediscovery of 230 texts of biblical books, which have begun to change details in the Scriptures. For example, In 1 Samuel 17:4, it says Goliath stood “six cubits and a span,” meaning a towering nine feet plus. But Dead Sea scroll read as saying ’”four cubits and a span,” a mere six and a half feet. Consider Psalm 145, an acrostic where each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This chapter was always a head-scratcher because the verse for one letter is missing in the standard Hebrew text.
Eugene Ulrich, professor of Hebrew at the University of Notre Dame and chief editor of the Dead Sea biblical materials suggests that in ancient times, two or more contrasting editions of biblical books existed side by side and were all regarded as Scriptures. Back then the Old Testament was far different and concludes that there were multiple editions for the following books: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Psalms and Song of Solomon. In Dead Sea Scrolls, Psalm 33 directly follows Psalm 31, skipping number 32. Did the scribes who wrote those manuscripts believe 32 was not God’s Word? It appears that Psalm 33 naturally follows Psalm 31. In fact the authors of this book consider the Hebrew meaning of Psalm 32 is uncertain and originated from the writings of Maskil, adherents of a Jewish tribe called the Haskalah movement.
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Tanakh for Rabbinic Judaism. However, to understand the Hebrew Bible’s text the scholars also use Greek and Syrian translations, quotations from rabbinic manuscripts, the Samaritan Pentateuch and others such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These are older texts and often contradict themselves. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books with their vocalization and accentuation known as the Masorah. Between 200 B.C. and 70 A.D. rabbis began establishing the standard Masoretic Text as the basis for all Old Testaments.
The Talmud holds that the Torah was written by Moses, with the exception of the last eight verses of Deuteronomy, describing his death and burial, being written by Joshua. The Mishnah proclaims the divine origin of the Torah and an essential tenet of Judaism. However modern scholarly consensus is that the Torah has multiple authors and that its composition took place over centuries.
The translations of the verses of Torah given in the book are helpful in understanding Exodus, the story of God's revelation to his people of Israel through Moses, who leads them out of Egypt (Exodus 1–18) to Mount Sinai. Jews accept the covenant with God. Moses receives the Torah from God, and teaches His laws and Covenant (Exodus 19–24) to the people of Israel. It also talks about the first violation of the covenant when the Golden Calf was constructed (Exodus 32–34). Exodus includes the instructions on building the Tabernacle and concludes with its actual construction (Exodus 25–31; 35–40). Numbers play an important role in Judaic ritual practices and are believed to be the means for understanding the divine. The priestly blessing or the Aaronic blessing which includes a rabbinic tradition of raising hands (blessing is given from a raised rostrum), and the Hebrew prayer recited by Kohanim, the Hebrew Priests. According to Torah, they are descendants of Aaron the first High Priest, older brother of Moses and have been divinely chosen by God to work in the Tabernacle and assist the Israelites in blessings, ministering, sacrifices and atoning for their sins to God, for all eternity.
The text of Kethuvim (Writings section of Tanakh) frequently presented the translators with extraordinary difficulties for conveying in with the fullness of Hebrew, because of its ambiguities, overtones, and richness. It is the goal of authors of this book to transmit something of directness, and unique Jewish expressions of piety essential to sublimity of the sacred scriptures. Recommended to readers interested in Judaism, Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament.
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