One, Two, Three...Infinity: Facts and Speculations of Science in SCIENCE : A discussions group

Apr 05, 2017 Sairica rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. George Gamow is the man who predicted that there should be Cosmic Background Radiation (CMB – an afterglow of The Big Bang which would have after billions of years cooled down to about five degrees above absolute zero – noticeable as the sizeable amount of static on your television set before we were blessed with cable), which is one of the major proofs of the Big Bang Theory and which elevated him to the status of one of the greatest Scientists of the 20th Century. (Unfortunately, the man never George Gamow is the man who predicted that there should be Cosmic Background Radiation (CMB – an afterglow of The Big Bang which would have after billions of years cooled down to about five degrees above absolute zero – noticeable as the sizeable amount of static on your television set before we were blessed with cable), which is one of the major proofs of the Big Bang Theory and which elevated him to the status of one of the greatest Scientists of the 20th Century. (Unfortunately, the man never won a noble price because I believe he wasn’t taken as seriously as he should have been taken, but after his death his prediction was tested as correct!) It is an honour to hear his words through this book and to get a glimpse into his imagination. This reminds me of a quote by Carl Sagan where he calls Books, the shackles of time. Indeed!

This is one of those books that you wish you had read when you were a kid. At least I do! The book makes me yearn for more and more. Every topic is a new subject and there is always something interesting to look forward to, from riddles and relativity to cool topology tricks (which btw are great ice-breakers!) Never did I feel that Physics could be as wonderful as after reading this marvelous book. He has explained the different kinds of infinities that we are familiar with in each field of study and has done so, beautifully. There aren’t enough adjectives to sing in praise of this book.

If you have ever wondered about physical phenomena, then, this is a book for you. However, the book does require a fair bit of an inquisitive attitude towards physical phenomena but the great fact about Gamow is that while he doesn’t literally spoon feed you; he makes the concept so simple that with a little bit of effort, you won’t have any trouble in reaching the answers, and oh boy, are you going to have some fun while you’re at it!

I am forever indebted to Gamow for explaining to me different types of infinities and how to compare them in a way that I shall find difficult to forget even if someone were to hit me on the head with a hammer (in all seriousness that experiment is out of bounds and quite frankly illegal.) The book led me to one of my favourite limericks, one that is on the Fitz Gerald Contraction. (There was a young fellow named, Fisk; Whose fencing was exceedingly brisk; So fast was his action; The Fitz-Gerald contraction; Reduced his rapier to a disk. ~Unknown) It is like an all-in-one drama only here Gamow gives you a glimpse of all the sexy little bits of the different fields of science. There are illustrations for many topics and Gamow is a master at creating wonder and awe for all the different fields.

One thing I will say, though, is that it covered a fair bit of elementary chemistry, something that is hard for me to gulp to this very day. It isn’t that I didn’t understand the chemistry part but just that I prefer the physics of it all except for possibly the part where he refers you to “Explaining the Atom” (1947) by Selig Hecht –A simple book as far as what one amazon reviewer claims, while explaining the only natural fissionable substance – Uranium 235 found in nature diluted with U-238. Seems interesting, well, as interesting as chemistry will get for me!

Apart from that, the book kept me cooing till the end. The last chapter is absolutely perfect. He ends with who knows what the universe was like before the beginning of the universe as we know it and narrates the reversal of events from possibly death to life. The man’s brilliant sense of humour and wit kept me giggling throughout the funny bits. A must read for any nosy parker with an interest in Science.
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Feb 17, 2018 Alok marked it as to-read

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Jun 25, 2021 Abhishek Gadde marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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