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  • How the Hippies Saved Physics

  • Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival
  • By: David Kaiser
  • Narrated by: Sean Runnette
  • Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (26 ratings)
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How the Hippies Saved Physics

By: David Kaiser
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
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Summary

The surprising story of eccentric young scientists who stood up to convention—and changed the face of modern physics.

In the 1970s, amid severe cutbacks in physics funding, a small group of underemployed physicists in Berkeley decided to throw off the constraints of academia and explore the wilder side of science. Dubbing themselves the “Fundamental Fysiks Group,” they pursued a freewheeling, speculative approach to physics. Some dabbled with LSD while conducting experiments. They studied quantum theory alongside Eastern mysticism and psychic mind reading, discussing the latest developments while lounging in hot tubs. Unlikely as it may seem, this quirky band of misfits altered the course of modern physics, forcing mainstream physicists to pay attention to the strange but exciting underpinnings of quantum theory. Their work on Bell’s theorem and quantum entanglement helped pave the way for today’s advances in quantum information science.

A lively and entertaining Cinderella story, How the Hippies Saved Physics takes us to a time when only the unlikeliest heroes could break the science world out of its rut.
©2011 David Kaiser (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Science & Technology Americas History Physics
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Critic reviews

“How the Hippies Saved Physics takes readers on a mind-bending trip to the far horizons of science—a place where the counterculture’s search for a New Age of consciousness opened the door to a new era in physics. Who knew that the discipline that brought us the atom bomb had also glimpsed Utopia? Amazing.” (Fred Turner, author of From Counterculture to Cyberculture)

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My youth

To reexamine and reevaluate is to question the present and past of one's existence whilst remaining firmly in the perpetual conscious now.

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How quantum mysticism became mainstream

It provides context for popular new age reference to quantum mechanics. Anyone interested in possible links between quantum mechanics and mysticism should read this work for an (as far as possible) unbiased view.

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