Quantum 2.0: The Past, Present, and Future of Quantum Physics (* * * * -)
Davies, Paul C.W.
I have become a little skeptical about reading popular science books on cutting-edge physics. These types of physics can only be truly explained using the language of mathematics. Our everyday perceptions and language can see and express the realities at our scale. However, physics at very small scales of atoms and particles, or at the very large scales of the universe, are so far away from our everyday experiences, at the human scale, that they sound magic-like. Even when explained by the best of minds, they remain unconvincing. Since we know physics is true and has been tested, as readers, we don't question the claims and explanations; instead, we look at it in awe and accept the magic without any deep understanding. It is not the writer's fault, but we are asking them to say it in a language that is simply inadequate.
However, our curiosity remains, and whether we fully appreciate it or not, we want to understand. There is a huge demand for these books. Despite my skepticism, I still decided to read this one for two reasons. First, it is written by one of my favorite science writers and a leading scientist in this area. Second, it is not just a book on Quantum physics; it focuses on the most recent applications of this strange science to new technologies that can change the world we live in.
Unlike other exotic physical theories, such as relativity or string theory, which are astounding in their imagination and explainability but have little impact on our daily lives, quantum physics has had an enormous impact on the technology we use every day. The majority of the global economy would not have been possible without the technological applications of this physics. Computers, lasers, GPS, and a host of other gadgets are direct applications of quantum physics. Yet we are standing at the threshold of a new range of even more exotic technologies, all applications of this science. In the next few years and decades, we will see these technologies changing almost everything we do. These would include quantum computers, quantum cryptography, and probably quantum biology.
The book first familiarizes the readers with the basics of quantum physics. As I mentioned before, these explanations are possibly the best one can do without involving mathematics. In the next section, he describes how these are being used in building new technologies of immense power. The author then takes us into a world where scientists still don't agree, but the possibilities are fascinating. This is the area of quantum biology and questions of consciousness. The author does a brilliant job of explaining these possibilities as lucidly as possible. In the final section of the book, the author explores some of the most vexing philosophical challenges of the quantum world.
If you are lukewarm about this book, I think you should still read it for the last section. It is brilliantly organized and exquisitely explained.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. (* * * * *)
Karunatilaka, Shehan
I generally try to read any Booker Prize winner, but for some reason, I completely missed the news that another book from South Asia won the prize in 2022. Being from that culture, I have an obvious interest in books from that region. While browsing for my next read, I came across the title and was immediately attracted.
What a tremendous book it is! Starting with the book's plot, where the protagonist has already died a violent death and his ghost is trying to figure out how, and its intense language that paints a vivid, gruesome picture of Sri Lanka during the last part of the twentieth century, the book surprised me at every turn. It raises deep questions about political purpose and the terrible violence that seems to always accompany any political movement. The protagonist is deeply imperfect, yet the moral questions he raises penetrate the reader's soul.
The language and expressions he uses should be intimately familiar to anyone from the region, but outsiders may have a tougher time getting used to it. The events are based on the island's political history, but the reader need not have prior knowledge. In fact, I am ashamed to say, I knew very little of the details until I read this book, which made me curious, and I started reading about the history of Sri Lanka from the British era onwards. However, I enjoyed and understood the book without any deep knowledge. It is also not strictly about Sri Lanka, as the story can be easily transplanted to any other part of the world that experienced political violence, and unfortunately, there are very few places that haven't.
I'd strongly recommend this book.
The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence. (* * * * -)
Davies, Paul C.W.
Topics like this age very rapidly. This one, about SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), was written in 2010, but a lot has changed in the last 15 years. Therefore, my reaction would have been significantly different had I read it then. I still found it full of fresh perspectives, but it seems a little dated factually.
Paul Davies is a brilliant science writer, and he has also been a key member of the SETI initiative. Therefore, this is an inside look at the current thinking about the future of SETI. The optimism that we will find a radio signature of intelligence has somehow diminished in recent years. The book lays out a great analysis of why that should have been the expectation from the start. It is simply too much to expect that our narrow life as a radio intelligence will match another intelligence, when we could be separated by billions of years.
The first part of the book focuses on the likelihood of life evolving elsewhere and establishes that it can be either an extremely rare event or a very commonplace one. With just a single example of life on our planet and inadequate knowledge of how life began here, it is very hard to estimate the likelihood. However, once life forms anywhere, we can be certain that the evolutionary process will take over, creating variety and gradual growth in complexity. The author is skeptical that any such process should lead to intelligent life. It took billions of years on Earth for that to happen, and it may not have happened at all. This is one argument I could not agree with. Given enough time, I believe any evolutionary process will create creatures that try to modify their surroundings to make them more conducive to their biological needs. This can only be done with intelligence, which must lead to some types of technology. That is, if there is life, it should eventually become intelligent and create technology.
The most profound conclusion of this book concerns the type of intelligence we should expect. The author is confident that, within a few hundred years, if that, the primary form of intelligence on Earth will not be biological but artificial. Therefore, all biological intelligence will eventually transcend the limits of biology and create increasingly powerful synthetic intelligence. Therefore, any search of extraterrestrial intelligence should look for signs of such intelligence. It took us only a few hundred thousand years to reach this stage, and there is no reason for it to be different elsewhere. Our search should be for intelligence, and not for biological intelligence.
The Director. (* * * * -)
Kehlmann, Daniel
This is a fictionalized novel about the Austrian filmmaker G W Pabst, who fled to Hollywood during the war, but could not fit in with the corporate nature of filmmaking there. He returned to his homeland and was approached by the Nazi leadership to make films for the regime. It is a story about making a deal with the devil and one man's attempt to save his soul and his politics while selling them to power.
I do not know much about the real person or the history, so I cannot judge the novel's historical accuracy. Therefore, I tried to enjoy it as a work of fiction. I tried to understand the complexity of the situation that many contemporary artists faced when dealing with a sinister, repressive authority, between survival and artistic and moral integrity. In that sense, the story is eternal, and we can see its shadows in all cultures and at all times.
Unfortunately, I found the book shallow and superficial. It failed to explore such a complex subject convincingly and instead felt like a caricature of the times and the characters, making it easier to understand. It almost felt like the author was expecting a popular movie out of it.
It is hard to judge the narrative quality of a translated book. Was it a fault of the author or the translator that the narration feels flat and uninteresting? I think the bulk of the blame must go to the author. The book is in the longlist of the 2026 Booker Prize, and I expect it to stay there.
The Land in Winter. (* * * * -)
Miller, Andrew
There are novels that tell a big story, there are novels that lay out big ideas, and there is a rarer breed of novels that quietly dissect a time and a place, almost silently. This is a great example of this last kind.
Set in early-sixties England, in a small town during a particularly deep winter, it follows two couples: a young doctor and his pregnant wife, and their neighbor, who is trying to run a small farm and also has a pregnant wife. On the surface, almost nothing seems to happen in their lives, but then we glimpse their inner reality—complex, disturbed, and terribly lonely. It is this that probably allows readers like us to connect with the novel.
The book creates an atmosphere that is at once serene and innocent, like the freshly fallen snow, while revealing the pain and complexity that lie just beneath the placid surface. We see a rapidly changing society, making it difficult for the protagonists to find a reliable moral compass. Isn't that the story of all modern generations?
A Fine Balance. (* * * - -)
Mistry, Rohinton
I have often thought about reading this book, but the final push came when a friend highly recommended it—someone whose literary taste matches mine. I know I will be in a minority when I cannot be too enthusiastic about this exceptionally loved novel.
Let me start with what I liked. The narrative structure of the book is tight and extremely engaging. It is hard to put down, which I had to do many times because of its length. It is also very well written. Though the characters speak English, I had no difficulty imagining them speaking in their vernacular. Another remarkable quality is how the author gives every passing character full depth and complexity.
However, I could not enjoy the novel's melodrama and occasional sentimentalism. There are just too many coincidences and predictable misfortunes encountered by the four main characters. Any time things look up, I had to anticipate a terrible downturn. At all times, I felt the author was actively contriving a storyline to express his perspective. It never felt natural to me, and I don't like it when I can feel the author's manipulative hands. Of course, all art is manipulation, but I prefer it when it remains imperceptible.
I was in my high school and college days when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency. Therefore, the backdrop of the story is what I grew up with, and I have a perverse curiosity for the horrible times it plunged the country into. Things were bad, really bad. The situations the characters in this novel faced are all real. Perhaps the author based them on news reportage. However, not all bad things happened to the same individuals. The story becomes significantly less believable when we find the same individuals are facing one terrible injustice after another.
The bottom line is that I personally prefer less melodrama. I prefer understated narratives.
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