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Liked It “It's very rare for a book about popular physics to make me uncomfortable, yet I had those moments with this one. It may be that I've grown used to science books that try to make the subject more approachable to a mainstream audience by being warm and fuzzy. This book doesn't really go there,...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“It's very rare for a book about popular physics to make me uncomfortable, yet I had those moments with this one. It may be that I've grown used to science books that try to make the subject more approachable to a mainstream audience by being warm and fuzzy. This book doesn't really go there, which is refreshing for its genre. What this book does do is approach the problems that a future president most likely will encounter and apply the use physics, or at least a scientific approach, to find the best solution.
Eric S wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The first section probes the different types of weapons that could be used within the US, and their relative effectiveness. It's interesting to discover the difficulty of deploying the more elaborate weapons, most noteworthy being the dirty bomb. How does a bad person transport a device with concentrated radiation without dropping dead from the radiation? And if a dirty nuclear device is deployed in a city and it increases a persons radiation exposure by 0.1 rems, is that enough to justify an evacuation?
The final chapter about global warming also caught me off. While the author is very confident it is occurring and that humanity is largely the cause, he is careful with explaining how it is happening. Probability plays a large role in science, but the challenge is that most people are uncomfortable with probabilities. This is where using language precisely plays a significant role; "Likely" is used to mean a 65% probability of something occurring, "very likely" means 95%. What surprised me in this chapter was the critique of "An Inconvenient Truth," which the author claims is misleading because, for example, the film stated that human-caused global warming is absolutely happening. This is 100% confidence when the source claims 95% confidence. I'm sure most of this is splitting hairs for the majority of the population, but for a precise mind this is meaningful.”
“A real rare book from a scientist of impeccable honestly devoid of pretense and political calculation. This is also the text for Muller's University of California at Berkley's very popular physics class. Voted the best class at Berkley. ”
Richard W wrote this review Thursday, October 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“very good, dirty bombs and nuclear melt downs and global warming.”
Jake m wrote this review Saturday, June 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A very good read.”
Steve P wrote this review Sunday, April 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“What information does a president of the United States really need to know to make informed decisions about some of the most important issues we are facing as a nation and as a global community? Richard Muller believes that some of this knowledge should be an understanding of the basic principles of physics.
Hilarie wrote this review Thursday, March 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I loved the format of this book. Muller writes this book as though the reader was the next president of the United States. The book applies basic physics to a better understanding of five key areas: terrorism, energy, nukes, space, and global warming. I found this book to be truly enlightening. Almost daily I am bombarded by news stories featuring the challenges we are facing in at least one of these areas. Muller presents the facts, in a fair and balanced manner (honestly, I really can't tell which political party he favors) , allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions.
For example, Muller explores why the greatest threats we face from terrorists are not "dirty bombs" or stolen nuclear weapons, and why solar powered cars are not really feasible, at least with our current technology. Personally, I was especially intrigued by the section on global warming, and I felt that this section alone would have justified the purchase price of the book. In each section he also presents a brief historical perspective with an emphasis on the physics involved in each situation. I was totally fascinated by his exploration of the facts surrounding the anthrax attacks which followed the 911 attacks.
Muller's writing style is pleasantly conversational, almost as though you were having a discussion with your own personal science advisor. He also strikes the right balance between simplifying the physics to the level of easy understanding without insulting the intelligence of the reader. I enjoyed this book so much that I lent the copy I borrowed from our local library to my husband, who promptly purchased a copy midway through reading the book. This was a great read, and one that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend, even to our current president.”
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