Fear of a black universe : an outsider's guide to the future of physics

Fear of a black universe An outsider's guide to the future of physics

Stephon Alexander

Book - 2021

"Where does great physics come from? As a young graduate student, cosmologist Stephon Alexander had a life-changing lesson in the subject. When asked by the legendary theoretical physicist Christopher Isham why he had attended graduate school, Alexander answered: "To become a better physicist." He could hardly have anticipated Isham's response: "Then stop reading those physics books." Instead, Isham said, Alexander should start listening to his dreams. This is only the first of a great many surprising and even shocking lessons in Fear of a Black Universe. As Alexander explains, greatness in physics requires transgression, a willingness to reject conventional expectations. He shows why progress happens when some... physicists come to think outside the mainstream, and both the outsiders and insiders respond to the resulting tensions. He also shows why, as in great jazz, great physics requires a willingness to make things up as one goes along, and a willingness to rely on intuition when the path forward isn't clear. Unfortunately, most physicists are too afraid of being wrong -- and jeopardizing their careers -- to embrace this sort of improvisation. Indeed, for a long time Alexander was, too. Of course, Alexander doesn't mean that physics should be lawless. After all, even jazz musicians must respect the key and tempo of the music their fellow musicians are playing. But it does mean that not all the answers can be found, as Isham argued, as equations in a book. Drawing on Einstein's notion of principle theories -- ideas that constrain the shape that other theories take -- Alexander shows that from general relativity to quantum theory, three principles underlie everything we know about the Universe: the principle of invariance, the quantum principle, and the principle of emergence. Using these three principles as a guide, Alexander takes a stab at some of the greatest mysteries of the Universe, including what happened before the Big Bang; the quantum theory of gravity; the nature of dark energy and dark matter; and the quantum physics of consciousness. Along the way, he explains where our understanding of the universe and those principles don't jibe, as in the nature of the Big Bang, and asks what such discrepancies mean. He shows us what discoveries lie on the horizon, and crucially, calls on us not just to embrace improvisation and knowledge outside of physics but to diversify our scientific communities by reaching out to people of color. As compelling as it is necessary, Fear of a Black Universe offers us remarkable insight into the art of physics and empowers us all to theorize"--

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Subjects
Cosmology.
Physics > Research > Methodology.
Research > Philosophy.
Research > Social aspects.
Published
New York : Basic Books 2021.
Language
English
Main Author
Stephon Alexander (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
viii, 245 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781541699632
  • Part I.
  • 1. Escape from the Jungle of No Imagination
  • 2. The Changeless Change
  • 3. Superposition
  • 4. The Zen of Quantum Fields
  • 5. Emergence
  • 6. If Basquiat Were a Physicist
  • Part II. Cosmic Improvisations
  • 7. What Banged?
  • 8. A Dark Conductor of Quantum Galaxies
  • 9. Cosmic Virtual Reality
  • 10. Embracing Instabilities
  • 11. A Cosmologist's View of a Quantum Elephant
  • 12. The Cosmic Biosphere
  • 13. Dark Ideas on Alien Life
  • 14. Into the Cosmic Matrix
  • 15. The Cosmic Mind and Quantum Cosmology
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Theoretical physicist Alexander (The Jazz of Physics) searches the far reaches of the cosmos while addressing the experiences of marginalized people in STEM fields in his refreshing survey. He begins by outlining three principles that underlie humans' knowledge of the universe--invariance (about the speed of light and relativity), the quantum principle (about subatomic forces), and the principle of emergence (about how life comes from elements)--before considering more mysterious aspects of the universe such as dark matter and the cosmic biosphere. As he describes different theories, Alexander adds personal anecdotes about his experience as a Black man in science ("Though I had the same technical training as my postdoc peers," he writes, "my social isolation enabled me to... embrace ideas on the fringes of established knowledge"), his friendships with other scientists, and how he became interested in physics. He argues that one should "never be afraid of even the most absurd ideas, and even to embrace them," and that minority voices ought be elevated because of the "outsider's perspective" they bring. Diversity in science, he writes, "is not simply a social justice concern...it enhances the quality of the science we accomplish." The result is both an excellent work of advocacy and a welcoming introduction to physics. (Aug.)

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Review by Library Journal Review

Dark matter remains a mystery to physicists, but scientists regardless make assumptions based on known physics, rather than accepting the unknown or a deviation from the known. Theoretical physicist Alexander (Brown Univ.; The Jazz of Physics) proposes that this attitude is the field's major flaw, which keeps it from accepting ideas from outsiders and makes scientists play it safe. His book promises to be frank and sometimes controversial: he encourages creativity in theoretical physics and challenges the idea that science is purely mathematical. He aims to inspire readers who feel unwelcome in scientific communities (drawing on his own experience as a Black man in STEM) and prove to academe that diversity is better for everyone and every field. In engaging and accessible writing, Alexander explains how physics is inflected by non-science disciplines, including art, philosophy, sociology, and psychology. He also looks at the past, present, and future of physics in relation to theory (the principle of invariance of light, the quantum superposition principle, the principle of emergence). VERDICT An interesting and thorough collection of thought experiments for physicists, cosmologists, and aspiring scientists who want to think outside the box. The book will especially appeal to readers of popular science.--Cate Triola, Capella Univ., Minneapolis

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A renowned cosmologist argues that empowering scientific outsiders and taking risks on nontraditional ideas will result in transformative science. "I hope to convince my readers that diversity in science is not simply a social justice concern, but that it enhances the quality of the science we accomplish." So writes Brown University physics professor Alexander, the 2020 president of the National Society of Black Physicists as well as an electronic musician, at the beginning of this captivating scientific journey. He points out that deviance often results in innovation, and women and minorities often innovate more, leading to a logical conclusion: "Perhaps it is time to value and elevate minorities, thus enabling them to make major contributions, not in spite of their outsider's perspective, but because of it." The author's own contributions include unraveling the mysteries of the early universe and advancing ideas relating to quantum gravity, and he deftly explains these and more in accessible and often personal prose. But it's Alexander's enthusiasm for seriously exploring theories on the frontier of physics that makes this more exciting than most similar books: Are life and the universe truly decoupled? Did the wave function of the universe undergo self-observation at its realization, and was this a form of cosmic proto-consciousness? The author draws on research from a variety of disciplines--physics, cosmology, biology, philosophy--to bolster his compelling arguments. As he shows, the current models of our universe--and the theories scientists use to construct them--may be called into question, requiring creative, interdisciplinary thinking to resolve. This beautiful and surprising book will leave readers wanting to learn more about the author and his mind-bending ideas, and it makes a perfect complement to Chanda Prescod-Weinstein's recent book, The Disordered Cosmos. Lush with ideas and bold in its analysis of the status quo, this book reorients our view of science and the universe. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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