Art and Science: The Physics of Our Natural World, Book Review

When you go to college, you take psychology and philosophy courses that challenge the reality of existence, while the professor tries to get your mind to think outside the box. Although this is a very good exercise, it confuses a good number of students. Maybe I have a solution for that. Perhaps all these college students need to do is consider the science behind what it is, that is, ask the question; what our reality is made of, and then work backwards from there, while asking the same questions suggested by the teachers.

If you want a book that can help you think through all of this, and maybe understand a bit more about what they’re doing with particle physics at places like CERN, then I’ve got a decent recommendation for you. The name of the book is;

“Einstein’s Space and Van Gogh’s Sky – Physical Reality and Beyond” by Lawrence Leshan and Henry Margenau, MacMillan Publishers, New York, NY, 1982, 268 pages, ISBN: 0-02-570460-5.

Now, you don’t have to be a new age person to enjoy this authors attempt to explain our current realm and reality using pure science, quantum physics and much of Einstein’s most prominent equations and theories to enjoy this book. and reflect on alternate realities, or relative observations of everything in our known world. The authors first dive into exactly how to understand and explain this concept of alternate realities and the structure of domains, realms, and relative realities.

Although this book was written in 1982, one could look at it and see that much of today’s understanding, even the most current theories of particle physics, is approached philosophically. In fact, by the time you’re done with Part I of this book, you’ll have a pretty good understanding of how to move on to Part II and Part III. The authors have a good philosophical and scientific argument for the reader regarding relativity and truth, such as what is, what is reality, and where and when it happened, will happen, or can happen.

You’ll enjoy the discussion of causality, feedback, purpose, reductionism, logic, and scientific theory testing, as the authors perhaps explain why their point of view is perfectly sound with all that is. In Part III, well, this is where things get really interesting and deep; what is real, is anything real, and why is it real, or not. There is an interesting chapter on art, one on ethics, and one on conscience.

Although these authors appear to be writing from a liberal arts perspective, which drives someone like me up the wall, their scientific use of theories and knowledge is quite good, thus this book survives the a label; New Age work.