First You Build a Cloud

The most poetic, clearest, tour of modern physics I've ever read. Cole covers everything from the use of metaphor in science to quantum mechanics and general relativity in a way that makes you just want more, more, more.

...There is no way an author can convey the enthusiasm of science to people with no scientific background whatsoever... However, for the average (and above) person interested in how science informs everyday life, this is one of the best books to own. It is particularly effective if you have a college background in the physical sciences or math. Below I review some of the stronger, as well as a few weaker, points of the book.First, K.C. Cole effectively conveys the spirit of science in a nonmathematical (i.e. more visual and instinctive) way. It is a shame that almost all physics books are written so informally that the reader has to labor hard to enjoy the process (as well as results) of physics. Miss Cole, on the other hand, brings home in plain language the beauty of science. She is not afraid to use everyday examples to make physics tangeable to the average person. For example, she uses the analogy of the gears in a car (reverse, first, second... fifth) to explain that quantum mechanics is not that foreign afterall. I think her very human approach to science is desirable and effective. When people see how science affects every aspect of their daily lives, they WILL care about it. The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates started out as a natural scientist, but eventually became a philosopher because he saw that the nature of the human life matters as much as physical science. And (at leat two and a half millenia ago) it was not clear that science could lead to ethics. The scientists that Cole has chosen to convey the language of science to the general public (the Ancient Greeks, the Oppenheimer brothers, her "friend the physicist" Weisskopf, Feynman, Einstein, Gould, Sir James Jeans, and others) were multifaceted personalities who cared deeply about conveying science to the average person, as well as the way in which science affects human lives.Compared to heavyweight physicists such as Brian Greene or Michio Kaku, K.C. Cole is even more passionate about the role of science, yet does not avoid using rigorous science when appropriate. The book (rightly so) focuses mostly on modern physics. Quantum physics is covered in detail spread out in several chapters. This is useful because there is no other branch of physics that leads more naturally to philosophy.While this is not a "how things work" book, it uses selective examples to point out how much more we now know than our predecessors. She points out that quantum physics actually explains the stability and composition of the world, or ts "grainness" (i.e. classical physics allows for an infinite number of atomic configurations -- elements -- but life can only propagate if there is a limited set of elements which can be reused). And the sections that deal with light ... are especially lucid, relevant, and engaging.Now, some of the weaker points in the book include minor errors in scientific reasoning... (However, in) spite of these minor defects, the book has the three important Es: it is enlighteni

Cole has taken great pains in shaping a book that informs and delights in the tradition of Guy Murchie, whose eminently readable Music of the Spheres certainly served as an inspiration. In effect (since this is a complete reworking of her 1984 book, Sympathetic Vibrations) Cole wrote this book twice, the second time with the benefit of fifteen years of experience under her belt. It's clear that she wanted to accomplish two things: one, provide access to the ideas of physics to a wide readership; and two, convey the enthusiasm and awesome delight for physics found in the work of the greats like Newton, Einstein, Gamow, Bohr, Feynman and the Oppenheimer brothers.She succeeds. This is science writing for a popular audience at its finest. As such it is a perfect gift especially for a young person interested in science, or for anyone who would like to know more about the way physicists view our world. It is a work of love filled with luscious quotes from the great scientists and others who have shaped our modern view of the universe. In a sense it is a celebration of the scientific view of life. I have read Cole's The Universe and the Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty (1998) which enjoyed a well-deserved popular success, but I can tell you, this is an even better book. There is a sincerity and depth of earnestness here that delights. Cole's warm and human style brings the world of modern physics to life.

There should be a sign on K.C. Cole's First You Build a Cloud: and Other Reflections on Physics As a Way of Life: "Read without fear. You will not be confused or made to feel stupid." Instead, like me, you will be taking a guided tour in a world of ideas I had always assumed, because of my consistent poor showing in science and math, was excluded. The ideas are about what was once called the Natural Philosophy and always seemed like anything but to me -- the theory of relativity, the consequences of gravity, the force of inertia. They are presented in a way that intoxicates and pleases, just as I suspected these notions could, but would never know for sure, because, for sure, I would never understand them. If you read this book, you will probably come away from it, as I did, with several explanations you will never forget. The "tipping point," for example will be always as Cole put it in one of her illustrative metaphors, "One too many digs at the breakfast table leads to the divorce."

K.C. Cole's book is not for people who already know, or think they know, everything about physics. It's for people who like to marvel at the wonders of the natural world but find them all too often obscured by the jargon and equations of professional scientists. There is none of that here. The author stands firm for accessibility, and her presentation is lucid and clear. She brings readers the substance of physical science without the pedantry that weighs down many other such expositions. In short, it's an excellent guide to a wide range of fundamental concepts in physics, exploiting every opportunity to show how they illuminate everyday life.