The Science of Can and Can't
A Physicist's Journey through the Land of Counterfactuals
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3.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A luminous guide to how the radical new science of counterfactuals can reveal that the scope of the universe is greater, and more beautiful, than we ever imagined
There is a vast class of things that science has so far almost entirely neglected. They are central to the understanding of physical reality both at an everyday level and at the level of the most fundamental phenomena in physics, yet have traditionally been assumed to be impossible to incorporate into fundamental scientific explanations. They are facts not about what is (the actual) but about what could be (counterfactuals).
According to physicist Chiara Marletto, laws about things being possible or impossible may generate an alternative way of providing explanations. This fascinating, far-reaching approach holds promise for revolutionizing the way fundamental physics is formulated and for providing essential tools to face existing technological challenges--from delivering the next generation of information-processing devices beyond the universal quantum computer to designing AIs. Each chapter in the book delineates how an existing vexed open problem in science can be solved by this radically different approach and it is augmented by short fictional stories that explicate the main point of the chapter. As Marletto demonstrates, contemplating what is possible can give us a more complete and hopeful picture of the physical world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Theoretical physicist Marletto takes a wide-ranging look at the "counterfactual properties" of science in her lyrical yet complex debut. Modern science focuses on physical reality, she writes, but counterfactuals are "about what is possible or impossible" and consider "what could or could not be." She calls for physics to move beyond its dependence on such conditions and rules as Newton's laws of motion, argues that the "traditional conception" of physics is limiting, and urges that counterfactuals offer a more complete picture of the physical world. Marletto leads a whirlwind tour of such scientific concepts as motion and the possibility of a perpetual motion machine; thermodynamics and "the theory of the universal constructor"; and quantum computing and the possibility of a universal quantum computer that uses "all of quantum theory." References to Greek mythology, Shakespeare, chess, and Legos add life to her survey, though the dense, formal style makes some parts a challenge. Still, Marletto's love of physics shines through: "Physics is a dazzling firework display; profound, beautiful, and illuminating." Those with an interest in physics will appreciate her passion and her provocative approach.
