137
Jung, Pauli, and the Pursuit of a Scientific Obsession
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4.5 • 10 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"The history is fascinating, as are the insights into the personalities of these great thinkers." —New Scientist
Is there a number at the root of the universe? A primal number that everything in the world hinges on? This question exercised many great minds of the twentieth century, among them the groundbreaking physicist Wolfgang Pauli and the famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Their obsession with the power of certain numbers—including 137, which describes the atom’s fine-structure constant and has great Kabbalistic significance—led them to develop an unlikely friendship and to embark on a joint mystical quest reaching deep into medieval alchemy, dream interpretation, and the Chinese Book of Changes. 137 explores the profound intersection of modern science with the occult, but above all it is the tale of an extraordinary, fruitful friendship between two of the greatest thinkers of our times.
Originally published in hardcover as Deciphering the Cosmic Number.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Miller (Einstein, Picasso), professor emeritus of history and philosophy of science at University College London, has written a difficult but rewarding account of the intersection of two great minds. Pauli and Jung, groundbreaking thinkers in physics and psychoanalysis respectively, had extensive interaction, beginning in 1932 when the deeply troubled Pauli went to Jung for treatment. The two men shared an interest in alchemy, astrology, the concept of synchronicity and a search for the single number they believed lay at the heart of the universe. Both were convinced a viable intersection of their two fields existed. Although Jung published analyses of hundreds of Pauli's dreams and the two coauthored a volume on nature and the psyche, Miller makes a weak case that those works significantly enriched physics or psychology. Miller spends more time with Pauli than Jung, and the complex mathematics of his physics leaves the reader a bit at sea. In the end, readers do gain insight into Pauli's personality, making Miller's tale illuminating on a human more than a scientific level. Illus.
Customer Reviews
Great book
This was a great read about two giants of the first half of the 20th century. I wish more of the book was devoted just to the significance of the fine structure constant and Pauli’s obsession. But maybe laying the groundwork of Pauli’s fascination with Jung and mysticism was necessary. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book. A fact which struck me as truly odd, was when esteemed physicists were asked to name the top 5 physicists of the 20th century, nobody selected Pauli. Yet his contributions (whether his own findings, or his influence on other physicists) seemed profound.
On a lighter note, I think Pauli could have been a great character on the hit TV series, the Big Bang. He would have been a great nemesis to Sheldon.
137
A mesmerizing account of how the greatest minds chased one of the fundamental mysteries in trying to find the "world formula"... to no avail!