Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Milano, BUR Rizzoli, 2011
Description
This guide to the universe aims to provide a comprehensive account of our present understanding of the physical universe, and the essentials of its underlying mathematical theory. It attempts to convey an overall understanding--a feeling for the deep beauty and philosophical connotations of the subject, as well as of its intricate logical interconnections. While a work of this nature is challenging, no particular mathematical knowledge is assumed, the early chapters providing the essential background for the physical theories described in the remainder of the book. There is also enough descriptive material to carry the less mathematically inclined reader through, as well as some 450-500 figures. The book counters the common complaint that cutting-edge science is fundamentally inaccessible.… (more)
Media reviews
"For mathematicians with a general interest in physics, Penrose’s book will be self-recommending. Other mathematicians may find it useful to scan The Road to Reality, if only to glimpse the extent to which mathematical constructs infuse theoretical physics."
User reviews
LibraryThing member FlyByPC
Just... wow. Apparently Dr. Penrose has written an entire Ph.D Physics course in a single volume. This book starts out with basic math concepts like fractions and exponents, then progresses to teach the higher math needed to understand the physics. Caveat lector: the first three hundred pages or so
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are a very intense math course in preparation for the rest of the book. Some books are meant to be read in a few hours, some over a weekend, some over the course of a few weeks or months. This book is in a class of its own; it's like finding a lost tome from an ancient civilization that holds the secrets of the Universe -- but which will take years to understand. I bought it when it came out, making a special trip to the store and paying full price. Worth every penny and then some. There are used copies available for well under US$20; for the cost of a nice dinner, you can buy many years' worth of college-level course content. Amazing. If I had to choose only one book to read for the rest of my life, this would be my choice, simply for the density of interesting content. I'll be reading this one for years. Best nonfiction book I've read in a long time. Possibly the best ever. Show Less
LibraryThing member sthitha_pragjna
Who exactly is this book for? I went through a Ph.D. in physics and can suffer some of the math. But I cannot enviosion the lay curious reader getting past the fibre bundles and Yang Mills theories. The renowned and brilliant Sir Penrose must have burned the proverbial midnight candle to pen this
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magnum opus but to what end? Also, Sir Penrose (like some quantum gravity folk) is in a minority for his questions regarding standard interpretations of quantum mechanics which he presents at painstaking detail in all of his works. He goes to elaborate extremes to set up the mathematical foundation of all physics in a original way, but you have to be extremely prepped to stay the course. You can however come away with some conclusions of Sir Penrose's regarding the latest in string theory and other such developments. These latter form a minority of the book. Causality, spacetime and general relativity, are of course the staple, but even here, the treatment could be better. Show Less
LibraryThing member thcson
It's amazing how popular this book is considering it's content. Basically you need to be familiar with advanced college-level mathematics just to make it through the opening chapters. Towards the second half of the book I suspect that even most professional physicists will be in over their heads.
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So I'm not sure who's going to read and comprehend this book from start to finish but I think it's nevertheless a useful antidote to the over-popularized science books which simplify the physics beyond recognition. If there's one lesson all people can take from this book, it's this: physics is hard. Show Less
LibraryThing member meeisenberg
I'm putting this book on my "read" shelf, because I feel I've given it due diligence. In fact, I read through the whole first section, which develops the mathematical background needed for the rest of the story. But once I ventured into the section on relativity, which begins by considering
Luckily I have some experience with mathematical exposition. I wouldn't recommend this book if you don't have that kind of background, though there may be some value in just enjoying the evocative, beautifully drafted diagrams and in savoring abstruse terminology.
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Newtonian physics as a gauge connection on a vector bundle, I realized I was in over my head. Luckily I have some experience with mathematical exposition. I wouldn't recommend this book if you don't have that kind of background, though there may be some value in just enjoying the evocative, beautifully drafted diagrams and in savoring abstruse terminology.
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LibraryThing member ztutz
I am a scientific layperson. (Admittedly a committed one.) I've been reading this book off and on for 2 years, and it continues to reward. As a study guide for interested outsiders who will follow up using other sources, it works well, explaining prerequisites as well as concepts. It is the only
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work I've ever read gives such complete coverage to classical physics, the standard model, *and* newer developments. For anyone interested in mathematical physics, and especially the geometric nature of mathematical physics, this is highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member fpagan
1100-page tome, probably destined to be renowned mathman/physicist Penrose's masterwork. Hardly a typical popularization, when it painstakingly introduces and subsequently uses a welter of advanced mathematics, but not for-experts-only esoterica either.
LibraryThing member BruceAir
Penrose is a world-class mathematician who has collaborated closely with the likes of Stephen Hawking. The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe is his latest popular work, and it's a doozy. You won't want to lug this 1,000+ page volume on vacation, but if you really want to
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start to understand how the universe works and observe an amazing (and controversial) mind in the process, buy this book. And then do as I do, tackle it in stages, and don't worry about solving all the equations. Think of them instead as beautiful abstract art. Show Less
LibraryThing member Ganzy
This book is a treasure trove. Penrose has distilled thousands of years of hard-won knowledge into a single tome, clear enough to be read by a person of reasonable intelligence. It is on a par with Euclid's elements, a scholarly work laying a path from total ignorance to modern physics. If
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civilisation were to end, this is one of the few essential books that should be saved. Show Less
LibraryThing member ServusLibri
In one sense, this review feels like cheating since I haven’t finished reading it. In another sense, it is time to speak out since I think I have gotten the feel of it. Penrose has completed his tour de force, and it may be the best of its kind, once we agree on what its kind is. He covers the
My reason for speaking now is that it may take several passes to finish, and parts I will never understand. Most of the negatives given for the book are for the failure to meet expectations. It is not popular science since it contains too much mathematics and detail. It is not physics mathematics, for even with the mathematics it doesn’t contain enough proofs. It is not a physics textbook for there is way too much material for any one course (or even a degree).
What it is though; is a powerful view into the universe of physics and mathematics for an intelligent and patient visitor. While I don’t expect in my lifetime to have the time to understand it all, Penrose once again causes me to expand my horizon, grasp some things that were beyond me before, and improve my enjoyment of that universe. For a similarly inclined reader, I cannot recommend it too highly.
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history, mathematics, and philosophy of physics; and does so brilliantly with sharp comments and outstanding graphics.My reason for speaking now is that it may take several passes to finish, and parts I will never understand. Most of the negatives given for the book are for the failure to meet expectations. It is not popular science since it contains too much mathematics and detail. It is not physics mathematics, for even with the mathematics it doesn’t contain enough proofs. It is not a physics textbook for there is way too much material for any one course (or even a degree).
What it is though; is a powerful view into the universe of physics and mathematics for an intelligent and patient visitor. While I don’t expect in my lifetime to have the time to understand it all, Penrose once again causes me to expand my horizon, grasp some things that were beyond me before, and improve my enjoyment of that universe. For a similarly inclined reader, I cannot recommend it too highly.
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LibraryThing member _Greg
It is really what it says it is! Penrose is the best person to write this book. At the same time, I'm finding it harder going than his earlier books. It is longer, yet it is not as gentle. I'm finding the coverage of complex analysis insufficient to really follow his points. I've taken a break from
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reading it until I can brush up on my understanding of complex analysis from other sources. This book would be total candy to anyone with a strong background in the mathematics used by theoretical physicists. I hope to report on progress in a later update of this review. Show Less
LibraryThing member epeeist
Better than his speculative books against strong artificial intellegence.
LibraryThing member CaUplWL
This is a concise (despite its length at 1099 pages) summary of much of mathematics and mathematical physics. Penrose has a readable style and is attempting to provide enough understanding of mathematics to illuminate mathematical physics. In the process, he provides a short summary of a loth of
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different math concepts. While you probably won't master all of them from his summaries, they provide both a good introduction and a good review. Show Less
LibraryThing member br77rino
This is a big book full of mathematical insights. It's a bit like Feynman's Lectures, but not as lucid. Still, it's well worth reading for all the mathminds out there. For example, there is a very good description of hyperbolic geometries (for those new to hyperbolic geometries) using images from
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M.C. Escher. Show Less
LibraryThing member justine
A giant science reference book for the general audeince by a giant of physics.
LibraryThing member xamevou
The book is frustrating, as it starts very slow, with easy to grasp ideas, but a few pages later the concepts start to accumulate without any order and confuse even the most mathematically-oriented readers. Seriously, I doubt that many people has read the whole thing... I did, trying to understand
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the main ideas without understanding the math, but I probably failed. Show Less
LibraryThing member orderflow
Best book on physics ever!
LibraryThing member HadriantheBlind
A feast for any physicist, or anyone who wants to learn the depth and beauty of physics, etc. as we know it. Not dumbed down at all. Throws every subject imaginable at you. If you can understand it, this book is truly amazing.
EDIT: I have recently learned in a conversation at uni that there are
EDIT: I have recently learned in a conversation at uni that there are
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some controversies with the book and orthodox physics, most notably in the areas of string theory, Penrose's idea of twistors and the idea of more than 4 dimensions. However - considering how much else that he covers and so well, that if the general public still put forth the time and Herculean effort necessary to read the book, the world might be much better off for it. Still 5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member mykl-s
A giant book of physics, which might have been revealing if I had spent a great deal of time with it.
Original publication date
2004
ISBN
8817050210 / 9788817050210