The Quark and the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple and the Complex

Gell-mann is, quite simply, an expert in more fields than most people have a passing interest in. Added to this is a lucid, entertaining writing style, and the ability to knit together seemingly disparate concepts from the fields of physics, cosmology, genetics, information theory, evolution, behavioural psychology, sociology...you name it. It seems a few people have been criticising Gell-mann for overextending himself, boasting about his own achievements or simply writing a dislocated, jumbled book. My advice to these people is to 'look for the patterns behind the apparent randomness', as Gell-mann might have put it (because they are there, all right), give him his due for his own (considerable) contributions to physics and admire his courage in even attempting to connect so many ideas, let alone succeeding as well as does.I loved this book, and I think anyone interested in just about any aspect of science ought to like it too.

Murray Gell-Mann is an odd combination of a brilliant and focused physicist and an curious and open citizen of the world. This book manages to showcase both sides of the man. _The Quark and the Jaguar_ begins as a tour of 20th century physics, the big theories complete with Gell-Mann's scientific commentary and personal descriptions of the people who made them, himself included. Along the way the book drifts more and more into the areas that Gell-Mann is concerned about outside physics: the environment, the study of complexity, the future of the human race. Gell-Mann communicates his concerns and views without ever getting up on a soapbox or skewing his descriptions of the state of theoretical physics today.

Saving money by buying this book? How can that be? The answer is very simple.1) For instance, you want to buy a book about thought experiment involving Schrödinger cat, because you are interested how is it possible that cat can be simultaneously both, live and dead. Well, quantum mechanics doesn't imply that cat is live and dead at the same time, so there is no such a problem.2) Say, you want to buy a book about parallel universes which suppose to emerge from strange quantum mechanical laws. Don't, because those parallel universes doesn't emerge from quantum mechanics (or from any other known physical law!)3) Likewise, don't buy books which wants to 'explain' spooky affects of one photon on the other in the distance. That is not what happening after all.4) Also, some books covers the subject about how biological evolution violate the second law of thermo-dynamics (because in biological evolution order tend to increase with the passage of time). Truth is that this is not truth.All these, and many other questions Gell-Mann clearly explain in 'Quark and the Jaguar', so don't waste your time and money on those books.You may ask your self: But, maybe Gell-Mann is wrong? Maybe he is, but it is extremely unlikely. He is the greatest living authority on quantum mechanics you can find around, so it is very wise to take seriously what he wants to tell us. Gell-Mann is, by all means, a far away from popular speculation and misunderstandings. His goal is not to take your money by writing what most people want to hear - a kind of misticism in science.'Quark and the Jaguar' covers really wide range of subjects, which is not very surprising considering his brilliant mind. If you want to open up your mind this is the book for you. After reading it, you can start studying subjects you are especially interested for. 'Quark and the Jaguar' is must for any intelligent individual.

How do you file a book like "The Quark and the Jaguar?" I could file it with books discussing quantum physics. That would certainly be appropriate. Then, again, I could file it with books on evolution. That would be equally appropriate. But then I might decide to file it in the section on public policy toward the environment, and environmental protection. Certainly, that is an appropriate place for this book. But wait. It also belongs in the section dealing with artificial intelligence and complex adaptive systems. So, where would you put it? I'm still not sure.Murray Gell-Mann's "The Quark and the Jaguar" takes us on a whirlwind tour from the "simple" construct of quantum physics to the complex adaptive system in a coat of spots moving stealthily through the forest in search of game. Through all this, Gell-Mann ties the entire tapestry into the unifying concepts of complex adaptive systems leaving the reader in awe at the wonder and complexity that arises from the natural evolutionary processes governing the universe in which we live.The book is organized in four parts. The first is a general-purpose section that discusses everything from information theory to the scientific method and the power of scientific theories. It's always a pleasure to read a description of science and the scientific method from a leading scientist such as Gell-Mann. The sections dealing with falsifiability, selection pressure on the scientific enterprise, unifying characteristics of scientific theories, and the power of theory give a clear and illuminating explanation of the essence of science.The second part of the book deals with quantum physics. Here you will find Gell-Mann's own story about the (theoretical) discovery of the quark and how it fits into the standard model. Gell-Mann's discussion about the standard model is among the clearest I've seen for the general reader. I found his explanation of all the so-called quantum paradoxes especially well done. From the standard model Gell-Mann explains some of the ideas within superstring theory and the hope that this may provide the unification of physics that has been anticipated for so long.I always hesitate to differ with anyone of Gell-Mann's stature. Especially in public. It invariably leads to embarrassment. Still, I'm just as loath to read a book and find myself in complete agreement with all its points. On the subject of complexity I found myself out of sorts with the trend followed by Gell-Mann. He begins by describing complexity as algorithmic complexity. This is essentially the length of the shortest binary code that can describe the phenomena. Gell-Mann then points out some rather obvious deficiencies with this definition. For example, it is a maximum for a completely random string of bits, yet we don't typically associate complexity with randomness. From there Gell-Mann takes us to something he calls effective complexity. Yet Gell-Mann la

This book contains nothing really new, neither is very funny and nor will the language make it a classic. Still, this is one of those books that make a difference. Many young scientists will read this book and many will be sceptical. However, some of them will also become intrigued and fascinated by the potential of complexity theory which is so well mediated by Gell-Mann. Some of these may eventually change the world... I will not be surprised the day when a laureate, that just received the prize from the hands of the swedish royalties, tells us: - It all started when I read Gell-Mann's book about complexity. I just couldn't get it out of my head...