Borrowed from a friend here in Shanghai.
Date: 2017
Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press
Writer: Clifford V. Johnson
Artist: Clifford V. Johnson
This is an overview of important current ideas in physics, with emphasis on cosmology, as well as a lot of material on the nature and practice of science, and some of the philosophy behind science.
All of it is presented in a series of conversations between a variety of characters, some professional scientists and some not. The conversations have the occasional awkward moment for the sake of moving the discussion along, but in general I was impressed with how naturally the conversations went, especially considering the subject matter. These were enjoyable intellectual discussions, always respectful, and full of insights and ideas. Some of the information presented gets technical, but it always quickly circles back to plain language.
There is a lot of emphasis on the idea of the multiverse, but the conversations touch on many aspects of relativity, theories-of-everything, spacetime, the relationship between science and mathematics, and even a chapter on the traditional scientific method.
The book has a diverse cast of characters, with many of them appearing in more than one dialogue. I was left wanting to learn more about several of them, past the brief glimpses we get of their lives.
Also included is a foreword by physicist Frank Wilczek, as well as extensive notes after each dialogue with recommended reading on the topics discussed.
This is a great look at science and a fascinating use of the graphic novel format.
Rating: 7.5/10
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