Jean Bricmont – författare

In 1996 physicist Alan Sokal published an essay in Social Text--an influential academic journal of cultural studies--touting the deep similarities between quantum gravitational theory and postmodern philosophy. Soon thereafter, the essay was revealed as a brilliant parody, a catalog of nonsense written in the cutting-edge but impenetrable lingo of postmodern theorists. The event sparked a furious debate in academic circles and made the headlines of newspapers in the U.S. and abroad.In Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals'' Abuse of Science, Sokal and his fellow physicist Jean Bricmont expand from where the hoax left off. In a delightfully witty and clear voice, the two thoughtfully and thoroughly dismantle the pseudo-scientific writings of some of the most fashionable French and American intellectuals. More generally, they challenge the widespread notion that scientific theories are mere "narrations" or social constructions.

Many people, including physicists, are confused about what the Second Law of thermodynamics really means, about how it relates to the arrow of time, and about whether it can be derived from classical mechanics. They also wonder what entropy really is: Is it all about information? But, if so, then, what is its relation to fluxes of heat?

One might ask similar questions about probabilities: Do they express subjective judgments by us, humans, or do they reflect facts about the world, i.e. frequencies. And what notion of probability is used in the natural sciences, in particular statistical mechanics?

This book addresses all of these questions in the clear and pedagogical style for which the author is known. Although valuable as accompaniment to an undergraduate course on statistical mechanics or thermodynamics, it is not a standard course book. Instead it addresses both the essentials and the many subtle questions that are usually brushed under the carpet in such courses. As one of the most lucid accounts of the above questions, it provides enlightening reading for all those seeking answers, including students, lecturers, researchers and philosophers of science.

This book explains, in simple terms, with a minimum of mathematics, why things can appear to be in two places at the same time, why correlations between simultaneous events occurring far apart cannot be explained by local mechanisms, and why, nevertheless, the quantum theory can be understood in terms of matter in motion. No need to worry, as some people do, whether a cat can be both dead and alive, whether the moon is there when nobody looks at it, or whether quantum systems need an observer to acquire definite properties. The author’s inimitable and even humorous style makes the book a pleasure to read while bringing a new clarity to many of the longstanding puzzles of quantum physics.

Permeated by the author''s delightful humor, this little book explains, with nearly no mathematics, the main conceptual issues associated with quantum mechanics:

 The issue of determinism. Does quantum mechanics signify the end of a deterministic word-view?

 The role of the human subject or of the "observer" in science. Since Copernicus, science has increasingly tended to dethrone Man from his formerly held special position in the Universe. But quantum mechanics, with its emphasis on the notion of observation, may once more have given a central role to the human subject.

 The issue of locality. Does quantum mechanics imply that instantaneous actions at a distance exist in Nature?

In these pages the author offers a variety of views and answers - bad as well as good - to these questions. The reader will be both entertained and enlightened by Jean Bricmont''s clear and incisive arguments.

Mit möglichst wenig Mathematik und Fachsprache, liefert er den Leserinnen und Lesern Antworten auf die wichtigsten konzeptionellen Fragen, die mit der Quantenmechanik verbunden sind:

·         Die Frage des Determinismus: Läutet die Quantenmechanik das Ende einer deterministischen Weltansicht ein? Erklärt oder rechtfertigt sie den „freien Willen“?

·         Die Rolle des "Beobachters" in der Wissenschaft: Welche Rolle spielt der Mensch als Subjekt und Beobachter im physikalischen Prozess?

·         Die Frage der Lokalität: Sagt die Quantenmechanik, dass es in der Natur „spukhafte Fernwirkungen“ gibt? Und steht das nicht im Gegensatz zur Aussage der Relativitätstheorie, dass sich nichts schneller als das Licht bewegen kann?

Das Buch gibt keine endgültigen Antworten auf diese Fragen, sondern eröffnet mögliche Lösungen, die in der wissenschaftliche Gemeinschaft immer noch diskutiert werden und jenseits dessen liegen, was in üblichen Vorlesungen und populären Büchern über Quantenmechanik zu hören ist.