Posted by
Bruce Sherwood on
Jul 07, 2011; 9:51pm
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/The-Grand-Design-Philosophy-is-Dead-and-Hubris-tp6559131p6560096.html
I read the new book by Hawking and Mlodinow with interest but with
surprise at some facile ex cathedra statements including not only the
one about "philosophy is dead" but also some statements about physics
that seemed to come out of nowhere, stated with far more assurance
than seemed warranted. A quick check at Amazon of reader comments
shows that I'm not alone in thinking that there's less here than meets
the eye.
On the other hand, I can recommend highly the popular science book
"The Dance of the Photons" by Anton Zeilinger, the Austrian
experimental physicist who has been a major contributor to the new
understandings of quantum mechanics that have emerged in the last few
decades, made possible by highly sophisticated experimental techniques
(e.g. single photon experiments, delayed choice experiments, etc.). At
one point in the book he appropriately celebrates measurements that
quantitatively address certain aspects of reality that have long been
major issues in philosophy (and physics). These recent measurements
actually rule out some plausible philosophical stances with respect to
reality. It's intriguing that a physical measurement could do that.
Bruce
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