Paradox

Paradox has been on my nightstand for a while now. I picked it up originally because it looked exactly like the kind of book that would capture my imagination as a kid. I loved science books — especially science books that taught me something unexpected, something unbelievable, something that seemed more like science fiction. I loved learning about science because it set the rules for what was possible — and then hinted at those things that seemed impossible but could possibly be.

I loved books about stars and planets. I loved books about atoms and quarks and photons. I loved books about how animals communicate. I loved books about how planes fly. I loved books about black holes and white dwarfs and quasars. And really what I loved about all of those books is that they confirmed what my child’s mind knew must be true — that the world is a mysterious place, not at all boring or predictable, something to be explored and wondered at.

And then, for a while, I found the world boring and predictable. It wasn’t cool to talk about quarks or homing pigeons or the concept of infinity. And then I met my wife, and found to my great amazement that someone else was intrigued and astounded by the world we live in. And I started reading books about science and nature and the world again.

This is a book for people who see the world this way. Jim Al-Khalili has written a book for people who are not embarrassed to be curious, to wonder at the world, to marvel at the mysteries around us.

The title is, if not deceptive, then at least misleading. The common philosophical meaning of “paradox”  is something that appears true but, upon further examination, cannot logically be so. What Al-Khalili intends here is the opposite, something that seems patently false, ridiculous, impossible, yet from observation must be true. His task is to bridge that gap.

Paradox begins with the classics: the Monty Hall paradox, Zeno’s paradoxes, Maxwell’s demon, and a few others. As Al-Khalili moves forward through the history of science, he covers Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity, the time-travel “can you go back in time and kill your own grandfather” paradox, Schrödinger’s Cat, and Fermi’s Paradox. In each chapter Al-Khalili dissects the apparent paradox into component parts that are more easily understood, and then walks the reader through the explanation, making what at first appears absurd finally make sense.

I recommend this book for curious people.