Book Review: How the Hippies Saved Physics

How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival

David Kaiser

Tags: Science, spiritualism, metaphysics, history

Book Cover Summary: Today, quantum information theory is among the most exciting scientific frontiers, attracting billions of dollars in funding and thousands of talented researchers. But as MIT physicist and historian David Kaiser reveals, this cutting-edge field has a surprisingly psychedelic past. How the Hippies Saved Physics introduces us to a band of freewheeling physicists who defied the imperative to “shut up and calculate” and helped to rejuvenate modern physics.

For physicists, the 1970s were a time of stagnation. Jobs became scarce, and conformity was encouraged, sometimes stifling exploration of the mysteries of the physical world. Dissatisfied, underemployed, and eternally curious, an eccentric group of physicists in Berkeley, California, banded together to throw off the constraints of the physics mainstream and explore the wilder side of science. Dubbing themselves the “Fundamental Fysiks Group,” they pursued an audacious, speculative approach to physics. They studied quantum entanglement and Bell’s Theorem through the lens of Eastern mysticism and psychic mind-reading, discussing the latest research while lounging in hot tubs. Some even dabbled with LSD to enhance their creativity. Unlikely as it may seem, these iconoclasts spun modern physics in a new direction, forcing mainstream physicists to pay attention to the strange but exciting underpinnings of quantum theory.

A lively, entertaining story that illuminates the relationship between creativity and scientific progress, How the Hippies Saved Physics takes us to a time when only the unlikeliest heroes could break the science world out of its rut.

Reinventurer’s Book Review: This book was chosen to provide a better understanding of quantum physics. In that frame of reference, it will open your eyes to what is so clearly unbelievable and at the same time plausible. Even with diagrams and drawings you may get lost in concepts out of your prevue but the author does a decent job of providing metaphors and examples that make the pill a little bit more digestible and understandable.

For those who learn best in the fashion of a humanities course, this book is for you.  David Kaiser takes us through intimate details of the lives and work of many scientists we may never have heard of and some we only know because they were mentioned in the sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. You will be amazed at the name dropping, social issues tackled by some of these scientists, the prejudices against them and their work, the accolades, and the connections being made between quantum mechanics and the metaphysical world.  Well worth the read—little doses at a time. 

Questions to Ponder and Discuss:

What theories resonated with you the most?

In what ways did the book surprise you?

How has this book changed your view of the world and science?