3 Reasons to read 112 Mercer Street
Recently, I read 112 Mercer Street: Einstein, Russell, Godel, Pauli, and the End of Innocence in Science by Burton Feldman. The book revolved around the philosophy and life of the physicist Albert Einstein, mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell, logician Kurt Godel, and the quantum physicist Wolfgang Pauli. The four of them met during the years of World War II to discuss philosophy and science which they were at Princeton, away from the war in Europe. Although it is not know what they talked about in their meetings, Feldman gives an outlook on each of their lives and views and from that we can infer what they would have talked about. Here are three reasons to read 112 Mercer Street:
1. The book provides insight into the lives of some of the most eminent scholars of the 20th-century. Before reading this book, I knew a lot of Einstein's life and a bit about Russell's life but I had never heard of Godel or Pauli. The first half of the book describes their lives and the contributions they made to science and I found this to be very interesting as although all of them were born and educated in Europe, they ended at Princeton during the war due to persecution or unemployment. All four of their lives are fascinating and the book does a good job or portraying that.
2. The book provides a good understanding of theoretical physics without getting too technical. One of the things that I've found is that many times, books classified as popular science (a genre of science meant for the broader public) tends to get very technical despite being meant for people with very little scientific knowledge. This book, fortunately, makes many complex topics such as general relativity, easy to understand. This book also spiked my interest in theoretical physics and encouraged me to read more about topics like special relativity and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
3. This book is interesting to anyone who's interested in the history of science. History of science is a really interesting subject to study, as it incorporates both the humanities and science. Understanding the history of science is as interesting as learning about the actual scientific theories, as you can learn about the efforts and processes that went in to derive a theory or make a discovery. By providing insight into the lives and discoveries of many scientists, mathematicians, and logicians of the 20th century, 112 Mercer Street helps us appreciate the brilliance and efforts of these people to help us understand the universe better.
At the end, I would like to say that 112 Mercer Street is a fantastic book for almost anyone, especially those who are interested in the sciences, the humanities, or both. I think I gained a lot of insight from this book and it also made me think about bigger questions brought up in the book about the world and the universe. I would recommend that one read this book.
1. The book provides insight into the lives of some of the most eminent scholars of the 20th-century. Before reading this book, I knew a lot of Einstein's life and a bit about Russell's life but I had never heard of Godel or Pauli. The first half of the book describes their lives and the contributions they made to science and I found this to be very interesting as although all of them were born and educated in Europe, they ended at Princeton during the war due to persecution or unemployment. All four of their lives are fascinating and the book does a good job or portraying that.
2. The book provides a good understanding of theoretical physics without getting too technical. One of the things that I've found is that many times, books classified as popular science (a genre of science meant for the broader public) tends to get very technical despite being meant for people with very little scientific knowledge. This book, fortunately, makes many complex topics such as general relativity, easy to understand. This book also spiked my interest in theoretical physics and encouraged me to read more about topics like special relativity and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
3. This book is interesting to anyone who's interested in the history of science. History of science is a really interesting subject to study, as it incorporates both the humanities and science. Understanding the history of science is as interesting as learning about the actual scientific theories, as you can learn about the efforts and processes that went in to derive a theory or make a discovery. By providing insight into the lives and discoveries of many scientists, mathematicians, and logicians of the 20th century, 112 Mercer Street helps us appreciate the brilliance and efforts of these people to help us understand the universe better.
At the end, I would like to say that 112 Mercer Street is a fantastic book for almost anyone, especially those who are interested in the sciences, the humanities, or both. I think I gained a lot of insight from this book and it also made me think about bigger questions brought up in the book about the world and the universe. I would recommend that one read this book.
(Above: Kurt Godel and Albert Einstein)
I have always been interested in science, and I think the concept of theoretical physics is very interesting. This book seems extremely informative and I appreciated the way you included the different aspects included within. The content of this book initially seemed very complex to me, but the way you explained it's content made it less intimidating. Great job!
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