Under The Microscope

HEISENBERG PROBABLY SLEPT HERE, by Richard P. Brennan; John Wiley & Sons; 274pp; $34.95

Reviewed by Andy Reisinger

"My message is that science is a human activity, and the best way to understand it is to understand the individual human beings who practice it." This leading quote from physicist Freeman Dyson forms the motivation for Richard Brennan's book -- to explain some of the most important scientific discoveries in physics through a look at the people who brought them about.

In a casual mix of biographical, scientific and philosophical writing, Brennan introduces the private lives and scientific achievements of eight key players of modern physics. Except for the work of Isaac Newton, Brennan's focus is on developments in the 20th Century, where he discusses not only classical figures such as Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, but also recent researchers Richard Feynman and Murray Gell-Mann.

He attempts not only to explain what made their contributions to science special (except for Newton, all those discussed are Nobel prize winners), but also to understand what motivated them, what their personal circumstances were, and how their discoveries related to other events both within and outside of science.

Despite the promising concept, the book falls well short of its goals. It contains a surprising number of scientific inaccuracies and spelling mistakes, particularly of people's names. While this is maybe not of major importance in an introductory level book, I found it disturbing because sloppy and unnecessary.

The main limitation, however, lies in Brennan's simplistic view of scientific discovery. It would have been an interesting question to ask what character trait of Einstein may have destined him to develop the theory or relativity instead of quantum mechanics, but this requires a careful look into his philosophical leanings and mode of work. Instead, one of the most common phrases Brennan uses is "scientist X discovered that...". This states a historical fact, but reveals nothing about the deeper reasons.

As a consequence, the biographical data Brennan presents barely go beyond pure social interest. If this is all the reader expects, the book may serve as a useful backgrounder to the lives of famous physicists. However do not expect a better understanding of either their scientific work or particular ability to achieve what they did.

Andy Reisinger is with NIWA in Wellington