Hidden In Plain Sight: The fundamental link between relativity and quantum mechanics Paperback – May 29, 2012

I am an amateur cosmologist with no formal scientific training who has read dozens of books on it and related topics. i’d consider myself a very well-informed layman on the subjects covered in this remarkable little book. My own research interest lies in the area of the *next* unification, that of relativity and quantum mechanics with the world outside physics which is often lumped under the term “consciousness.” For that reason, I found Thomas’ first volume (I have not yet read the other two in his series) utterly fascinating.As I evaluate this book for the layperson like myself who is interested in grasping the fundamental ideas behind the two apparently conflicting theories, I find it to be an excellent introduction. Certainly it “suffers” from the fact that its author has a very specific viewpoint of which he wishes to convince us. He does, as many reviewers here have noted (I have read *all* the reviews and many of the comments as well), which can make it a tad annoying to read. But in his defense, he is presenting a theory that, although it is simplicity itself, will inevitably be rejected by professional physicists and cosmologists whose particular oxen he gores with such panache.There are certainly a number of places where Thomas poses straw men which he then gleefully knocks to the ground and a few where it seems to me the assumptions underlying his logical arguments are subject to question. As one example, at page 163, he makes this claim: “Even the very existence of the particle itself is dependent on the universe around it — if the universe says the particle does not exist then, by definition, it ceases to exist .” Apart from the anthropomorphism to which many other readers have voiced their objection, he doesn’t even discuss the question of how, exactly, the universe could *say* this…or anything else, for that matter.On a related note, Thomas uses the word Nature (which he capitalizes) as a synonym for something but he never defines that something. It seems to me from context that he is making a spiritual statement here (though he may disagree). In any case, he endows Nature with tremendous power (and even some wisdom) in quite a number of places. (There are more than 100 occurrences of the word “Nature” in the book!) This doesn’t bother me particularly because my own searching has suggested that Scientism (which I see as a religion which tries to exclude from the world of reality anything that cannot be explained by its rigorous but massively incomplete understanding of the world [see “Quantum Physics and Ultimate Reality: Mystical Writings of Great Physicists by Michael Green]) will never explain anything resembling the entire universe.Finally, I find myself agreeing with a number of other reviewers that he seems almost personally offended by the notions of the Many Worlds Interpretation (MWI) adopted by probably a majority of quantum physicists. I see this as an unnecessary and somewhat off-putting distraction to his main work. In the end, even his fundamental principle, that there is nothing outside the universe, is not threatened if the MWI turns out to be accurate. In that case, *our* universe is simply the one that “contains” the others in the multiverse (leaving aside the deeper question of what containership could mean in this instance).Overall, however, despite its flaws and its salesmanship, I found Thomas’ work refreshingly insightful and original. He begins in the right place, by rejecting reductionism and seeking to begin from First Principles. And he does a convincing job — at least in a non-mathematical sense — of convincing me (and many others here) of the probable correctness of his thesis.I’m definitely going to read his next two volumes in the series. Even if I end up disagreeing with him, I am certain I will be enlightened by his outside-the-box thinking and his clear and logical writing.

Hidden in Plain Sight: The simple link between relativity and quantum mechanics by "Andrew Thomas""Hidden in Plain Sight" is an interesting book that claims to reveal a link between relativity and quantum mechanics. The author claims that a true linkage can be achieved by obtaining a greater understanding at a foundational level. I'm not a qualified physicist to assert whether or not such claims are valid but I do have my reservations. To the best of my limited knowledge there is no consensus among subject matter experts in theoretical physics to quantum gravity. That being said, Dr. Thomas succeeds in making many complex topics accessible to the general public and makes reading about this topic an enjoyable experience. This educational 217-page book includes the following ten chapters: 1. Unification, 2. Universe, 3. Space is not a Box, 4. Time is not a Clock, 5. The Block Universe, 6. Quantum Reality, 7. Observing the Observer, 8. The Quantum Rationale, 9. Hidden in Plain Sight, and 10. Conclusion.Positives:1. A well-researched and accessible book for the masses.2. Conversational prose on a very interesting but challenging topic.3. Dr. Thomas shares his views and makes it perfectly clear where he stands.4. Good use of charts, illustrations and tables to assist readers.5. Provides many well-known examples of unification.6. Does a really good job of explaining the basics of quantum mechanics.7. The essence of this book is to go over a third approach to current quantum gravity research.8. This is a thought-provoking book. "Quantum mechanics tells us that everything is connected as one object: the universe. And relativity tells us that the universe is the only thing that exists."9. From my view, does a good job of undermining parallel universes. "However, the weakness of this so-called anthropic reasoning is that it can be used to predict anything, and a theory which predicts anything predicts nothing." I agree.10. The lack of absolutes in the universe. Provides compelling arguments if not at the very least provocative ideas. "However, absolute space is not an option -- Nature has to work in relative space. Remember the golden rule: Nature does the best it can with the tools available to it."11. The block universe model. "The block universe model can be considered the orthodox model of spacetime as it has its roots in special relativity and basic logic, and is the model of spacetime adopted by the vast majority of physicists." "According to the block universe scenario, the movement of time is just an illusion."12. Quantum cosmology is a fascinating topic! "Quantum cosmology considers the possibility that one of these quantum fluctuations could have expanded extremely rapidly in a process known as inflation."13. What quantum mechanics is all about, "Quantum mechanics is all about measurement." Trying to solve the quantum measurement problem. "In order to understand the process of observation at the quantum level, and to solve the quantum measurement problem, it is essential to treat objects as being connected and interacting, rather than being isolated and independent. The key to solving the quantum measurement problem is to treat the object under observation and the measurement apparatus as a single, connected, interacting system."14. One of the most interesting concepts of this book, the notion that nature has no way of assigning values. "Symmetry reflects Nature's fundamental inability to distinguish between one physical situation and another." "There is no absolute definition of any particle property: particle properties must be defined relative to each other."15. The consistencies and differences between quantum mechanics and relativity.16. Further reading section.17. A tremendous Kindle value! Very few books give you so much for 0.99 cents!Negatives:1. My skeptic sensors tend to light up when anyone claims to know something and is surprised that his fellow colleagues in the field hasn't seen what he so clearly sees. Speculating theorizing of the kind that can't be tested or verified.2. See no real purpose in overkilling the absurdity of Schrodinger's cat.3. After it's all said and done, did Dr. Thomas succeed in presenting his case?4. A tad repetitive but some of it is warranted.5. Very few endnotes.In summary, this was a thought-provoking book. So is there a link between relativity and quantum mechanics? Dr. Thomas claims that there is and provides an interesting narrative in support of it. As far as I know, there is no consensus in the scientific community. All that aside, the book provides accessible insights into the basics of quantum cosmology. It's thought-provoking and informative. There are very few digital bargains like this one, I recommend it!Further recommendations: "Farewell to Reality: How Modern Physics Has Betrayed the Search for Scientific Truth" by Jim Baggott, "Spectrums" by David Blatner, "The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory" and "The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene, "A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing" by Lawrence M. Krauss, "About Time: Cosmology and Culture at the Twilight of the Big Bang" by Adam Frank, "Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space (Kindle Single)" and "Warped Passages" by Lisa Randall, "The Grand Design" by Stephen Hawking, "The Quantum Universe" by Brian Cox, "The Blind Spot" by William Byers, and "The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning: Why the Universe Is Not Designed for Us" and "God and the Atom" by Victor Stenger.

This principle of quantum mechanics that we don’t know or estimate where the particle will be, is simply saying “WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE NEXT SECOND OR MILLISECOND-THAT IS TRUE NOT ONLY OF THE POSITION OR VELOCITY OF THE PARTICLE BUT THAT IS WHAT EXACTLY IS HOW WE LIVE EVERY MOMENT.BECAUSE THIS THOUGHT IS ALWAYS IN OUR MIND,WE ARE AFRAID AND ANXIOUS.ONLY HUMAN BEINGS FEEL THIS ANXIETY BECAUSE ONLY HUMANS HAVE THIS IMAGINATION-WE SAY SEE HOW CALM THE CAT IS-THAT IS SIMPLY BECAUSE THE CAT DOES NOT HAVE THIS UNNERVING THOUGHT CONTINUOUSLY PLYING IN ITS MIND.ALL OUR EFFORTS ARE MAINLY TO OVERCOME THIS ANXIETY-BELIEVING IN GOD,MEDITATION ARE ALL THIS.WE WANT CERTAINITY THAT I WILL BE ALIVE NEXT SECOND-THAT IS NOT THERE-WE PRAY TO GOD SAYING GOD WILL PROTECT US -THIS THOUGHT THAT SOMEBODY IS THERE TO ASSURE ME THAT I WILL BE OKAY IS VERY REASSURING AND THAT IS WHY ALL RELIGIONS.“THE NEXT SECOND IS UNKNOWABLE “.

Un recorrido por la historia de la Física del siglo XX y de cómo algunos conceptos tomados por inmutables tuvieron que ser revisados.Por el precio pagado, es una gran compra. Además, tiene continuación.

This is good stuff!! Thomas explains complex ideas in very simple ways. You do not need a Doctorate in mathematics to understand what he says, but yet the message comes through clearly. Many splendid ideas are evaluated and the true value of them clearly explained. If you wish to improve your general background in physics and cosmology then this book is for you. There is so much knowledge packed into this small volume for so little money that this must be the deal of the year. I love it. Five stars for sure.

I loved this book, as it brings a lot of information in a very simple to understand way. It covers all the main topics of modern physics and gives alternative explanations for phenomenon that is normally explained in the classic way.

Pleasant and very easy to read, this book offers valuable insights about the Unification issue (Quantum mechanics and Special Relativity). The approach is not technical (if you are looking for a scientific rigorous model, this is not the right book), sometimes rather philosophical and based on few and simple (yes, I do recognize this value) concepts which are repeated (and repeated) during the book, bringing at least to an original approach to the topic.