They write one thing which is alarmingly misleading. Talk about the same phenomena as a "particle," however, and suddenly it's like we're reading about magic. Mainstream physicists dropped this idea long ago in favour of "fields." So, for example, it may not surprise readers that a magnetic field can interact with something on either side of a wall. The biggest burden this book carries, however, is the idea that quantum particles are literally particles, which makes things seem more mystical than they need to. The later chapters are less burdened since they've explained most of the ground work by then, but clarity and directness are never these authors' strongpoints. They struggle with the order in which they explain key concepts, which means the early chapters are burdened with long tangents and scattered organization. But one more edit would have done this book a lot of good. Also, evidence of quantum effects used by neurones are provocative indeed, although the ones found so far wouldn't seem to contribute to consciousness in any sensible way. My favourite? Electrons in photosynthesis acting like little quantum computers to find the most efficient path. The amount of quantum effects that are relied on in biological systems throughout the body hints at the possibility that many, many more will be found over time. I can't write a bad review since this book introduced me to exciting, novel concepts. I'm still looking for new popular science books that teach me things I don't already know and which don't enter into the land of woo.
OVER THE EDGE HOW TO
Also, the authors really knew how to explain the steps in the scientific process a biologist needs in order to reach coherent, consistent, and non-contradictory conclusions. This book explains the double split experiment, the particle/wave duality, the measurement problem, and more specifically for the book, quantum tunneling, entanglement, coherence, and superposition. (Everyone who reads books like this one should take the time and trouble and look up the Feynman Lectures on the Character of Physical Law on Youtube, seven of the happiest hours I ever spent). The authors tell the listener in very clear terms what Feynman meant by "all the mysteries of physics are contained within the double slit experiment". This book had a lot going for it in the beginning, because the authors as biologist really know how to explain the physics. There have been many strides lately on understanding consciousness, but mixing it with the woo woo of physics the way a Depak Chopra would is never the right approach. I really get tired at how many authors (including these) refer to the problem of consciousness as the "hard problem". As much as the next person, I love the mysteries of the quantum world, but I don't want to reduce the process understudy down to that level unless it is absolutely necessary.
OVER THE EDGE CODE
The authors go off the rails and enter the land of woo with ascribing the origins of life, the genetic code in general and mutations in particular, and our consciousness as best understood by quantum mechanical processes. All objective knowledge can be broken down into the subatomic quantum mechanical level, but that doesn't mean they should be. My problem with the book is the second half. Those examples make up the first half of the book. The authors demonstrate nicely how certain biological processes such as the internal magnetic compass of a certain kind of Robin, the photosynthesis in plants, the universal energy currency of life: ATP, the enzyme process, and how the sense of smell can all be thought best in terms of quantum mechanics. They really aren't saying anything new and when they do they seem to enter into woo woo land. In less-green Fallout news, the co-founder of Fallout New Vegas developer Obsidian says the studio would definitely make another Fallout game if they "ever got the opportunity.I have a problem with most of the new science books that I've been reading lately.
Having seen this video, I choose to believe that the top folks at Bethesda developed some sort of temporary, subconscious color blindness after spending too much time staring down and arguing about different shades of green, only to unwittingly create a world inextricably dyed in green. The irony here is that Fallout 3 has often been criticized for applying a green look to pretty much everything, almost like a vaguely verdant counterpoint to the sepia filter that dominated games at the time, especially shooters. "It's still green," Lafferty jokes, adding that, "the amount of times we redid the color green, I think I lost count of." I think you should take another look at it.' And I'm like, I'm pretty sure it is.'" "Todd would call out, 'I don't think that's the right green. Pely shared his side of this exchange, which was apparently a common one.
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