Amazingly well explained concepts that stream you to the miniscule, abstract world of Quantum Mechanics.


A durable, indelible work...   July 15, 2002
 24 out of 25 found this review helpful

I've been a fan of this book since it was published in hard back in 1982 and recent re-reading remind me that it is still one of the best, most accessible lay books on quantum physics that has ever been written. It is a little hard to track down sometimes, but perhaps they will eventually reissue it. Unfortunately, Heinz Pagels died in a mountain climbing accident years ago and won't be able to update this wonderful book. It would be great if one of his many colleagues and admirers would undertake to do it.


A Solid Introduction to Quantum Reality   July 18, 2001
 19 out of 25 found this review helpful

Pagels' work is understandably the best layperson introduction to both interpreting and understanding Quantum Mechanics. It is a wonderful prelude to Omnes' book, Understanding Quantum Mechanics, and ties in much of elementary particle physics from Bohr to Gell-Mann.

The most remarkable part of this book is Pagels' lucid discussion on Bell's Inequality. Bell's Theorem, for those who are interested, forever demolishes the Einsteinian views of local causality, and of hidden variable determinism. Bell derived his classical probability and showed that either we have a violation of local causality (resulting in Einstein turning in his grave) OR, that if hidden variable theories are operative in the wave function, they do so non-locally (i.e. at the edge of spacetime).

In my own lectures and discussions, I have used Pagels' expose to derive a non two-additive Borel measure which explains the non-linear effects we see in actual polarization experiments of Bell's type. Indeed, Pagels gave life and meaning to my Complex-Valued Influence Probability Theory. In effect Pagels initial work, if read carefully, will expalin why we have quantum entanglement and the corkscrewing effects of oppositely-directed photons as they carry information non-locally and non-locally deterministically.


The Best Quantum Physics Overview   June 5, 1999
 27 out of 27 found this review helpful

It is a shame that this book is out of print. Pagels' lucid explanations of the quantum world are the best within lay science publishing. I also believe that Pagels' rational approach is far and away a better introduction/exploration than the Eastern Mysticism-based books like Zukav's "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" or Fritjof Capra's "The Tao of Physics." Of course, those books are useful as entertainment (as exotic Parallelism) but it should be noted that the connections between Eastern Mysticism and Quantum Mechanics in regards to questions of conciousness and reality are not accepted as valid by any but a minuscule minority of thinkers. Pagels' approach is much more true to the thinking in new physics circles. In regards to a second edition that Mr. Beagle is hoping for, it will not be forthcoming due to the untimely demise of Pagels in a mountaineering accident in the late 80's. He is sorely missed! Also, for the very best in Computer Culture-related lay science (even though it is somewhat dated) I can't recommend his "The Dreams of Reason" highly enough - especially to those familiar with his other works! I've seen both books in used book shops many times.


Fabulous discussion of modern physics   November 17, 1998
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Pagels follows modern physics in an understandable way. If you had trouble understanding p-chem, this is the book for you. Not good for people who haven't had college physics or equivalent.