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EMBED for wordpress. Want more? Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! The Voynich Manuscript is a document that is notable for its strange text, that to date hasn't been decyphered. Theories range from a secret language or code to an old sort of joke or hoax. Reviewer: BeBeDee - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - November 6, Subject: Fascinating but not much of a mystery to me During a lull in the workday I decided to watch a youtube video that caught my attention with a picture of a giant human skeleton that had wings Anyway, the video was interesting as it was about the 15 strangest discoveries of all time.
Of course the antikythera mechanism was on it, something about a SE Asian family dynasty named the Travancores, and then this book-- the Voynich Manuscript. After it was over, I started down the rabbit hole of the "VM" for short. When I found this page with the actual digital images I flipped through each page as if reading it and couldn't help but feel that book was familiar to me.
The structure of the handwriting, the drawings, the shape of the letters This book isn't fake, it's not chinese, and it's not islamic. This is what we would call a "lost" notebook or journal of a young Leonardo Da Vinci. Before you dismiss me, hear me out Sherwood has to say. I believe she is on to something and it's worth exploring further. Reviewer: romeoquid - favorite favorite favorite favorite - July 28, Subject: More Like The Extraterrestrials Manuscript What if this was an a being visiting worlds and taking scientific notes of everything they come across.
Some of the plants look very alien to me. Reviewer: booming - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - July 16, Subject: Idon't think it's about a women health or spring It's a little bit religious and astronomical, but it's main subject is biology.
There are numerous ancient books in eastern world that mixing religion and biology, also they mixed religion and astronomy. So my opinion is that the book is describing plant's biology with many exemplifications and associating them with religion and astronomy, and totalizes them with the help of woman characters to understand them. The carbon dating on the vellum is 16th 15th century and many believe it was written around the same time. During this period the new world was just discovered and the rediscovery of ancient knowledge was starting the renaissance.
Many forget that some of our most important historical texts come from singular copies that were found and preserved during this exact time period; Cicero, Lucretius, Tacitus. Also new world expeditions were doing crazy fundraising during this same period, and peoples imaginations were running wild with what was there to be found in the ancient texts and in the new world.
Just give me a bunch of gold and you can know all these ancient secrets or all this new world knowledge!!! Reviewer: ChrisBMD - favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 2, Subject: Has anyone copied the script by hand I find the rare character sequences not surprising when I hand write the script.
It feels like a cursive stroke that is fun, but also, routine. So much so that it is almost desirable to write, but with speed and little thought to the purpose. I agree it feels Islamic, but has a structure of Latin imo.
As if the opening paragraph is a question or assertion that would be well known at the time. Several of the characters look different, but feel similar. A couple glasses of wine and they'd be the same; though the sharp changes in the stroke vs smooth changes, make me feel like these are not the same the characters. Additionally, this "feels" like a scientific log book. Strikingly, the root system of each plant is focused; the upper portions of the plants seem surreal.
I see a young person doing this who is learning, but bored at times. Not artistic, but observant. The first page is the key imo. It has an introduction, then two distinct paragraphs representing unsteeped and steeped analyses. The extended special script in the steeped third paragraph , look to me like a shorthand for representing emulsion time or magnitude of a measurment e.
Reviewer: ChristopherNumbers - favorite favorite favorite favorite - April 12, Subject: good reason to write fantastic book. Reviewer: hopetobe71 - favorite favorite favorite - April 8, Subject: Atob Transfer AtoB Transfer specializes in a taxi service pickup from and to the airport. A taxi transfer with AtoB is more than just a taxi ride.
You are treated like a special guest or a good old friend as our number one priority is total customer satisfaction. We create a unique taxi experience.
Reviewer: rayjay - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - April 6, Subject: MissionImpossible Early Islamic, around to This period known for studying and transcribing ancient Greek medical works such as Dioscorides, a Greek physician.
Early Islamism's are also known for calligraphy, or stylized writing, and this writing is likely an ancient lost form of Arabic or stylized ancient Greek. Also noting the restriction of religious figural imagery in Islam lead to a strong use of artistic depictions of flowers and plants. Solid evidence from early 12th and 13th century Muslim astrology is featured in the back of the manuscript nearly identical to "Bowl with Courtly and Astrological Signs" from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Reviewer: Devraj Baidya - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - March 8, Subject: It is a book of gardener and a herble researcher who have describe his research In this book I see herb and herb sketch of different types herble plant I think he or she observing this plant very carefully and write in his own language which is not understand by me but there are some symbol which represents some kind of odd thing in this plant, I think this is research book of a scientist research on plant.
Reviewer: SomethingIGuess - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - January 26, Subject: Nice Good to know actually important things are on the archive and it's not just pirated stuff. Reviewer: Meymary - favorite favorite - August 7, Subject: Graft Looks like plant grafting from a poets point of view. Elaborately done leaves n flowers.
Possibly attributes of the grafted plant with health benefits. Reviewer: Ted3 - - July 24, Subject: Diary of a schizophrenic The work has the character of a schizophrenic. Despite all appearance of intelligence, discipline, determination, and proliferation, it is utter nonsense. Reviewer: HuiLihero - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - March 20, Subject: It looks like the world under the earth.
Some plants look like sweet potatoes. Some plants for making water. Water had been reused. The Sun and Moon inside of the earth. Reviewer: Mr. A1 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - November 13, Subject: question How can i see it in reality where is it situated? Reviewer: creamcorncrazy - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 8, Subject: completely readable If one backs up from trying to crack its language you can see that its in three different languages..
Its actually telling you a story you are not ready to here.. Reviewer: Scoaband - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 3, Subject: Voynich fraud Obviously this is a hoax.
Like water color meant a mass of people, and red mean not pure, black mean evil, and so on. This book is to teach woman how to believe, work, purified, and cleanliness. LOL, I thought so they only made assumptions no real explanations. Maybe some 'strange' things But it has not been cracked, far from being cracked without some 'eyeopeners'! Not yet. Cheshire's supposed solution seems to be incorrect. The University of Bristol has retracted their press release mentioning his work.
Reviewer: cdq cndps. Reviewer: aser - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - March 19, Subject: hiiii thanks. Resources for DMG Creators. RPG Media. Tabletop Essentials. Gift Certificates. Family Oriented. Pulp Action. Dark Sun. Forgotten Realms. More Settings.
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This title was added to our catalog on October 05, Publisher Average Rating. See All Reviews. See all titles Need help? Customer Questions FAQ. Vocalisation should be considered, as in a phrase it is identical to Tick The. You cannot used both ticks together in a phrase: for whom, in her compare in the air Note the exact placement of first place vowels in regard to the tick — the vowel sign is placed at the extreme end of the stroke, necessary so that the vowel sign is not mistaken for a second place vowel.
This does not mean that the vowel is spoken before the H — if there were a vowel before the H, you would be using a full downward Hay stroke to place it against. Note also that the tick does not count as the first up or downstroke: ham haulm hem homestead hemstitch Top of page Dot Hay Use Dot Hay when the other forms cannot conveniently be written.
It is only used if the resultant outline remains legible when unvocalised. The sign for a vowel that is sounded immediately before the H sound also remains with its own stroke, whether first second or third place vowel, because it cannot "jump" over the H, e.
If you omit the vowel sign, then also omit the Dot Hay. Dot Hay on its own is meaningless, but a vowel sign on its own is preferable, when hard-pressed, if you feel the outline needs it for clarity. The Dot Hay is the outer one of the two. The two dots are not side by side in relation to the stroke. Immediately before and beside a dash vowel, which will vary according to the direction of the stroke.
To the left side of a diphthong. Blackheath loophole pinhole manorhouse This can look similar to two vowel signs written together e.
This hook is only used for inh- instr- inskr- The hook does not need vocalising, as the vowel is included in the meaning of the hook. The use of such an abrupt change of direction is always kept to an absolute minimum in the rules of Pitman's Shorthand. Whichever method is used to write the Hay, the final shape is always the same, i.
In the first two, the letter R is not sounded at all, the vowel is the same as that in "wool". Not used if the word begins with a vowel. Never omitted unless it is replaced by the medial semicircle in a compound word or phrase. A vowel on that side counts as coming after the Ar: wear era arrow Final "-ward" "-wort" "-wart" are often represented by halved Way in compound words.
It represents the W sound plus the following vowel sound, and replaces that vowel sign — it is written in the same place against the stroke as the vowel sign would occupy. Never used initially or finally in an outline. May be omitted in fast writing in the same way as vowel signs are, as long as the outline remains readable and not ambiguous. If in doubt, it is safer to write it in. This is the same direction as the short forms "with" "when" which are both dot vowels.
This is the same direction as the short forms "what" "would" which are both dash vowels. Mnemonic: you begin writing this one in the same direction as you write a horizontal dash vowel i. The medial semicircle is occasionally called the "W diphthong" in some older books, reflecting the fact that it is made up of only vowels, even though sometimes it does the job of a consonant when it begins a syllable. As it requires some thought to decide when it is safe to use the medial semicircle instead of stroke Way, it is best to practice as many examples as possible, so that no hesitation occurs during dictation, hence the lengthy but not exhaustive list below.
The resultant outline must be unambiguous even when the semicircle is not written in. For the compound words, I have given the root word in the "compare" line. This allows the outline to reflect the words that the compound word is made from, making the outline more legible: memoir homework i.
Shorthand instruction books describe the strokes Hway and Hwel as representing "WH" and "WHL" which is referring to longhand and not to the sounds. It is better to associate the strokes with the sounds they represent, and treat the longhand spelling as a separate matter entirely. Even though many people do not pronounce the H, you should still learn the different forms because of their usefulness in providing distinguishing outlines and because the longhand still needs to be spelled correctly regardless of popular pronunciation.
Outlines should be consistent and not change to reflect people's differing pronunciation. This is not an additional hook to give an additional sound. It is therefore best to learn the stroke as a whole without mentally taking it apart into its constituent sounds. These two strokes are therefore not compound consonants.
Never written downwards. These two hooks add their sound to the Ell in the same way that Circle S adds its consonant before a stroke i. The aim is to keep related words looking similar, and have distinctive outlines for words that may have the same consonant structure but a different spread of vowels or different derivation.
Top of page Phrases and compound words Whichever form of W is used in the basic outline, this may change to one of the other methods when the word becomes part of a phrase or compound word.
The main consideration is the ease of the join, producing a speedy and reliable outline, but the resultant outline must be easy to read back, even when vowels and unattached signs are omitted. It is seldom necessary to insert any of the unattached semicircles when writing phrases, but they are shown in some of the examples, so that you know where the signs belong. Stroke Way replaced by medial semicircle. They also need to have a semicircle at all times, whether attached or unattached, because in phrases or compound words they could be read as "man" "men".
The phrase "men and women" is common enough to remain unvocalised, but in other phrases vowels may be necessary to show whether these words are singular or plural. The verb "will" in phrases is represented by a plain upward Ell and the semicircle is not necessary — it is always very clear what is meant and to insert it would defeat the purpose of the phrase, which is to gain speed. When "will" is used as a noun, it can take the semicircle, if felt necessary: will, I will, he will, that you will be, if he will have but goodwill freewill "Were" in phrases takes whatever form is easiest to write.
Again, the meaning is always clear because the word groupings involved are so common, and medial semicircle or vowel signs need not be written: were, you were, they were "Well" in phrases does take a medial semicircle, but is easily omitted without losing clarity: well, very well, so well Rather than hesitate over semicircles during a dictation, you should use full strokes or write the two halves of the outline separately and then find out the correct outline later.
Even in longhand there is often a question over whether to write something as two words, a hyphenated word or one word. Writing a longer outline or two outlines is far preferable to hesitating and losing the next few words. Making an awkward join, when separate outlines would be more readable and reliable, is also a hindrance. However, joining or not joining can indicate different uses of the same two words, shown up by where the emphasis falls in the sentence underlined.
In the second of each of the sentences below, joining the outlines would be inappropriate and make the shorthand awkward to read back: I saw the cat-walk. I saw the cat walk. This person is trustworthy. We can trust Worthy to do the job. We arrived last week. His last weak excuse was not accepted.
Short Form Why This sign is unlike any other. Prior to the Centenary version of Pitman's Shorthand in , this was the sign for the W or HW plus the "eye" sound, as in "wife" "Wight" "white", and also the short form "why" that we still use.
It behaved like the W semicircle — sometimes joined initially to certain strokes, sometimes unattached medially. Longhand often uses the letter W to indicate a long vowel. To continue the direction of curve of the preceding or next stroke, or its hook or circle, i. Make a legible join with the next stroke in the outline.
This may necessitate ignoring the rule of similar motion. With certain strokes, to differentiate between words that have an initial or final vowel and those that do not. Vowel indication only occurs in cases where both directions of Ell are equally convenient. Some of the words naturally fall into pairs e.
An initial downwards Ell cannot take an initial circle or loop. Note the placing of the vowel signs against the Ell: first place vowels are written at the beginning of the stroke, which with downwards Ell is at the top. In such cases it is behaving similarly to stroke Chay. This does not produce an ideal join to the Ell shallow angle, and both strokes going backwards but does allow similar motion between the En and Ell. Presumably the thickness of Jay helps readability despite the poor join compare with "unlatch" below.
Ell used in phrases for "will" is normally upwards. Special outlines London Londoner Londonderry but generally thus: Landon Linton After small Shun Hook, follow the motion — most of them have downward Ell: sensational positional conversational transitional compensational Top of page e These not only continue the motion, but also produce compact outlines with clear sharp joins film fulminate volume voluminous vellum Velma realm column columnar calumny Coleman calamity coulomb calamine columbine Colombo Columbus skulk skullcap but skulker onlooker to join the Ker helterskelter compare skelter scolder scalder — one might expect upwards Ell in the second part of "helterskelter" in order to retain the direction of the circle, but compactness is more important here.
For compactness: unwarlike mirrorlike lawyerlike Compare warlike warily rarely relic Top of page 2. Clear join with preceding or next stroke Downwards Ell does not always make a good join with the following stroke, or may produce an outline with too much backward movement, so in some cases the rule of similar motion cannot be used. With some of the words beginning "-un" this has the incidental advantage of retaining the outlines they are derived from: inlaid unlaid unled unload unladen unladylike unlatch unlearn unlovable unleavened unleash unlettered unlighted unlikelihood unlaboured unlabelled unsullied insulted unsling enslave unsaleable facile but facility fuselage fossilology footslog Note distinguishing outlines: unsold unsoiled unsold has the shorter outline as it is the most frequent word; outlines with diphthongs very often keep the strokes in full Hook L is used in a few instances even though vowels may intervene where it produces a brief and distinctive outline that cannot clash with anything else more such outlines on Theory 7 Hooks R L page : analytic enliven molecule Top of page 3.
Vowel indication For initial and final Ell, and only with certain strokes, different in each case. Vowel indication never occurs medially — medial Ell is chosen only for convenience and to a lesser degree to show derivatives.
Downward Ell standing alone never takes a hook, as this would look like stroke Wel. Normal upwards Ell is used, which also achieves similar motion: scrawl scrawly scroll scrolly secretly The rule for final vowel indication is stretched to include these: actual actually structural structurally artistical artistically fantastical fantastically statistical statistically logistical logistically egotistical egotistically These follow similar motion, but do not vary for final vowel indication: intellectual intellectually conjectural conjecturally electoral Note: electorial When a suffix is adding another L sound to a word that already ends in L, the outline repeats the Ell, to reflect the lengthened pronunciation.
Only an extra final dot is needed: weasel weaselly tinsel tinselly It is always helpful to insert the final vowel sign if the outline itself does not show whether there is a final vowel or not. A small number of words with halved strokes take a downward Ell to achieve similar motion with the preceding curve, hook or circle.
Such words generally do not come in pairs like "full fully" and so similar motion is the only issue: completely boldly bloodless softly swiftly exactly adequately worldly Compare proudly broadly sprightly strictly contritely where the normal upward Ell achieves similar motion as a matter of course. Note also short form coldly. Top of page Derivatives Some derivative outlines may change the direction of the stroke Ell. In those cases the Ell is repeated.
This section on negatives points up the necessity for shorthand writers to have a good grasp of how English words are formed and their meanings. These and similar negatives are also described on Theory 18 Prefixes page. This is the same liberty that is being taken when the first place "I" diphthong is joined to the end of the stroke e.
The short form includes the L sound, so no stroke Ell is required: almost always all-wise all-round all-rounder almighty already although altogether all-important all-in Top of page Downstroke Ler Downward Ell is thickened to add the unaccented sound of "-er". It is it is only used where a downward Ell would normally be used, i. No vowel sign is required for the unaccented vowel within it. The stroke Ld is always written downwards. No vowel comes between the L and D sounds, and no vowel comes after it.
Ray joins better in most combinations. It is faster to write than Ar and, because there are more downstrokes than upstrokes in Pitman's Shorthand, using Ray keeps a large number of outlines from descending too far.
If the vowel calls for Ar, it is used where it joins well, mainly before horizontal or upstrokes: barely bearskin Brierley terseness tiresome tireless sparsely scarcely securely doorman determine similarly requirement diurnal angular binocular Ar is sometimes used before a right clockwise curve to gain a more flowing outline, despite a vowel following it: quarrel squirrel flourish aneurism neural neuralgia but neurotic neurosis Top of page 3.
A non-standard suggested contraction could be to disjoin or intersect stroke En with "surmountable" and write in 3rd position. Before Kay Gay vowel indication is often possible: fork ferric forego farrago cork Carrick cargo Garrick clerk cleric lark lyric Sark cirque sarcasm circus circuit stark Syriac Syracuse sirocco stearic resurrect insurrection Top of page 5. Keeping them in your vocabulary notebook whenever they are encountered is helpful, so they can be practised further.
After 2 downstrokes use Ray to keep the outline from descending too far: prepare despair disappear aspire stapler taxpayer ratepayer horse-power proposer trespasser Shakespeare occasionally Shakespere babbler troubler butler splutterer totterer chatterer hairdresser discoverer ditherer tax-gatherer treasurer bookstore downstairs upstairs endorser brigadier bugbear blusterer pesterer plasterer Note: fosterer to avoid awkward join After Eff and Vee, Ar gives a more facile outline, which outweighs having 3 downstrokes: pacifier testifier defier decipherer justifier exemplifier baffler trifler muffler shuffler shoveller Top of page 2.
The resulting join between Ray and Ar is not ideal, so care is needed to write accurately: rarer roarer hurrier hairier abhorrer adherer but horror horary Note the following where the hook or circle shows the junction: harasser rehearse rehearser resorter referrer reverter heronry hero-worship The above outlines need not invade the line above, because they are written at a shallow angle.
Invading the line above is not critical, because that line is already written; descending too far is more to be avoided because you will have to jump over the lower part of that outline when writing on the next line. Top of page 7. This is in contrast to single syllable derivatives, which generally change their form as necessary e. Pairs of such outlines need to be distinctive as most of the time they will be unvocalised. This is achieved by changing the R stroke if possible, or adding an additional R stroke.
This method is only concerned with producing pairs of different outlines and avoiding bad joins, not with showing the meaning of the prefix or any attempt to reflect the two R's in the longhand: 1.
Change Ray to Ar, this accords with normal vowel indication: relevant irrelevant replaceable irreplaceable retrievable irretrievable religious irreligious 2. If the Ray cannot be changed because a bad join would result, then add Ar to the beginning. No vowel sign comes between the two R strokes: radiate irradiate reclaimable irreclaimable redeemable irredeemable reducible irreducible rational irrational 3.
If unsure about an "irr-" word during dictation, add the extra initial Ar anyway, whether it is correct or not — it will be perfectly legible. Avoiding hesitation during dictation is the highest priority, but the outline should be looked up and drilled at the first opportunity, so that you are always using the shortest outline available. R not shown Suffixes -ward -wort -wart -yard. These are unvocalised when used as suffixes. See Theory 10 Halving page for description and examples. Only the hooked form can be halved.
When no vowel follows, the P is hardly sounded. It is therefore omitted and a halved Em is used to represent the M P T sound. This reflects the pronunciation and produces a shorter outline. Do not be misled by the final "-ed" in the longhand spelling, the pronunciation is always the T sound.
The compound sound MBD i. With such words you could use stroke Imp if you wanted, but your outline would not match the theory book or the dictionary. You cannot however use a thickened halved Em, because that is not available, being already used to represent plain MD. What people say when they are speaking carefully may be entirely different from their pronunciation in actual fast usage.
Top of page 2. A lone stroke, thickened, halved and with shun hook is too indistinct to be reliable. The two strokes shown above represent identical sounds, and which to use depends on the convenience of the join. If the word is derived from one that uses a hook i. Top of page Finally 1. The reason for this is not explained, but I am assuming it is to provide an extra differentiation between the two strokes.
A non-theory suggestion would be to write "fiendish" with the Ish through the line. Compare with "misshape" above. If all the curves went the same way, the outline would be difficult to read and become illegible when written at speed. Top of page Words of non-English origin Words of French origin often pronounce their longhand "ch" with the Ish sound, although the rest of the word generally accords with English pronunciation. If you used Ish you would then have to change the past tenses to much longer outlines with full stroke Dee.
SK: schema scholar schizophrenia schizanthus scherzo schism ischiatic eschatology scholium schooner Pasch paschal CH: escheat eschew kitsch klatsch 1.
The dot represents the whole of the syllable — do not write an extra stroke M or N just because the longhand has two of that letter.
The con dot is not omitted in the way that vowel dots are omitted at will. With some stroke combinations chiefly after Pee Bee Tee Dee it may be possible to also indicate the vowel of the second part by writing that in position as well, but not at the expense of keeping the two close together. Disjoining: writing the parts of an outline near to each other because a they cannot be joined satisfactorily, or b detaching a portion of the outline to signify another suffix, e. Its name reflects the fact that the parts would be joined if they could, or were joined to start with.
When using proximity, the outlines take their position from the first vowel of the word, as normal. In the following, the initial prefix is the first up or downstroke, so that is the one that takes its rightful position in regard to the line.
The second half of the outline can also be in position according to its vowel, but only if a convenient outline results: decompose decompression decontaminate discontinue discomfort disconnect disconcerting ill-concealed ill-conceived ill-considered malcontent overconfident overcompensate preconceive preconception precondition recompense recommend recommendation reconcile reconnoitre recondite recombine recondition reconsider reconstruct recommit reconnect recommence subconscious subcommittee subcontract subcontinent well-conducted well-constructed well-connected well-concealed Top of page In the following, the initial prefix is a horizontal stroke.
The first up or downstroke comes somewhere after the con-, so that is the stroke that is written in position in regard to the line. Unlike the "medial con" words listed above, the con- word in such phrases must retain its correct position in regard to the ruled line. Sometimes the con- word cannot be placed clearly in the combination and is better written with the con dot: Clear combination: should commend, and command, on the committee, beyond the control Needs dot: should command, and commend, on the connection, beyond control, would complete When a vowel-sign short forms is part of a phrase, then proximity can be used because the con- word is being written near a stroke rather than just a floating dot or dash: for the conditions, in the committee, for all consumers, if you would consider Compare: The conditions The committee All consumers would consider If you decide to leave a larger-than-usual space between outlines in order to signify your future punctuation in the transcript, then clearly proximity is not possible.
It would not be appropriate anyway because it should only be used for words that run on easily as per normal phrasing rules and not where there is a natural gap or pause. As shorthand speed is helped by having reasonably compact notes rather than sprawling ones, it is important that only the clearest proximity phrases are used.
Essentially, measurement is not a neutral act; it changes the character of the thing measured in some annoying ways. This challenges the idea of measurement as something which observes and comparatively assesses the properties of an object. The results of experimentation show that this is not the case. Measurement is not the assessment of the inherent properties of an object, it is the assignment of an object as a property of a scale of measurement, a metric.
So, this is a revelation of quantum physics: there are no inherent properties. They are essentially scales on which we assign a place to events, objects, or relationships.
As it turns out, sometimes the scales are incompatible with each other. Nothing to do with the object; everything to do with the scales. That is, they are always subjective in the sense that they have a personal import to the one who chooses them. The choice of a metric always means the rejection of other metrics. And the positive choice is not nearly so significant as the exclusion of the myriad of other possible metrics which could have been used to assess a phenomenon.
The choice even at the quantum level is not binary - position vs. For that is indeed what is challenged. Such a logic would be both aesthetic and moral. Perhaps most important is the recognition in this logic that we have a choice, and therefore a responsibility, about what we project. The applicability of such a logic is of course not confined to measurement. Measurement is one activity in the more general realm of language which in turn is a component of information, that are all elements, perhaps the only elements, of mind.
Perhaps that is what literature is meant to do - uncover the hidden quantum logic of language one story at a time.
And that logic exists, if it does at all, in mind not matter. Or if that way of expressing it is prejudicial, perhaps it would be better to say that it exists in matter as incipient mind. Matter merely awaits its turn at mind Meanwhile mind tells stories about matter, and there is nothing to compare these stories with Matter, of course, remains mute on the subject and just lurks, biding its time.
View all 19 comments. May 12, picoas picoas rated it it was amazing Shelves: If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review. All we need is for the environment to disperse the quantum coherence.
And it is very clear why size matters here: there is simply more interaction with the environment, and therefore faster decoherence, for larger objects. View all 18 comments. Nov 15, Max rated it it was amazing Shelves: physics. Ask scientists what quantum mechanics tells us and you will get a variety of contradictory explanations. Where does that leave the rest of us? Ball tries to help us understand the issues around quantum mechanics.
He provides perspectives I had not read before. He employs science as well as philosophy. For language, while inadequate on many occasions, is at a total loss when it comes to the quantum. We give names to things and processes, Ask scientists what quantum mechanics tells us and you will get a variety of contradictory explanations. We give names to things and processes, but those are just labels for concepts that cannot be properly, accurately expressed in any terms but their own.
But that would be to make a semantic error: equations about physical reality are, without interpretation, just marks on paper. It is just a mathematical abstraction — for which reason it is not really a wave at all, but is called a wavefunction. It can determine probabilities such as finding a quantum object in a particular position or with a particular momentum or energy, depending on the experiment.
Many physicists would disagree with that statement, but it represents the thinking of Niels Bohr and those that subscribe to the Copenhagen Interpretation. However, Ball is not a realist.
Most scientists who are realists know that the wavefunction is not a real description of the underlying reality, but believe that it corresponds to an objective reality. After all, what produces the measurements we make? This realist view is the ontic view as opposed to the epistemic view of the Copenhagenists. The idea of superposition, that a quantum object can be in two or more places or two or more states at the same time runs into arguments similar to those for wave-particle duality.
These multiple solutions can be considered separate states but it is a matter of interpretation. There is no explanation for this, but there is no reason to assume that the quantum object actually changes. With descriptions of many types of double slit experiments, he really gets you to appreciate just how strange quantum mechanics is.
He shows that not only does a particle appear to take two paths at the same time but seems to go back in time which Ball also alludes to. In the calculations, most paths cancel out. And by gathering some we may scramble the values of others.
Ball points out that measurements of spin components change based on the order. Measuring one scrambles the measurement of the other. Some variables can be measured accurately at the same time such as mass and charge but others known as conjugate variables have limited accuracy when measured at the same time - the more precise the measurement of one, the less precise the measurement of the other.
Position and momentum are conjugate variables as are energy and time. Why these and not others? A times B does not equal B times A. The difference between the calculations is the difference in accuracy of the Uncertainty Principle. Regarding momentum and measurement, momentum in waves is measured by wave length, something not conducive to a precise position measurement. Ball explains this in more detail. Sean Carroll in Something Deeply Hidden also does a very good job of explaining this.
Then there is the issue of entanglement. Ball describes this as quantum objects with shared properties represented by a single wavefunction, even though they may be far distant from each other in space. Next Ball discusses where the quantum world ends and the classical world begins. Rather it is a loss of coherence or decoherence. The Schrodinger equation describes quantum objects in terms of abstract waves that determine probabilities.
This coordination is called coherence. Given the abundance of photons, air molecules, dust grains and such in the environment, this entanglement rapidly spreads. These classical objects are decoherent and do not display quantum superposition or interference.
The classical world grows out of the quantum world. It is not separate from it. Ball devotes a couple of chapters to quantum computing. The increased speed of quantum computers is commonly ascribed to superposition, accessing more than one state of each qubit. For this the qubits must maintain coherence and not get entangled with their environment. This is a technological challenge, and so far quantum computers have only been able to maintain a small number of qubits in their quantum state for long enough to perform calculations.
So it may be a while before quantum computers challenge conventional ones. Ball sees quantum computers as having excellent potential for specific tasks such as factoring large numbers, important to cryptography, and also for large data base searches. He doubts that they will replace your laptop for everyday tasks. He also points out that there are skeptics of the idea that quantum computers achieve their speed through parallel processing due to superposition of the qubits.
Rather the increased performance may be due to qubits entangled with each other allowing them to be managed together rather than in separate steps saving time. There are other theories, but no consensus. Copenhagen is his starting point. He shows great respect for Bohr and much of what he said, but takes exception to the notion that there will never be a way to find out more about the quantum world. He thinks the theories are important even if they are wrong.
They may help find a better path to understanding the quantum by spawning new ideas. He devotes a chapter to Many Worlds which he rejects, not because its implications are bizarre, but because he finds it incoherent. A good end to this discussion is a parlor game Ball cites.
In the normal version the questioner has twenty questions which can only be answered yes or no to discover a word, person or thing the other players have agreed on. Rather they agree only to answer questions in a manner consistent with all the previous answers in a way that allows the discovery of something.
At the end whatever answer the questioner comes up with is right as long as it is consistent with those answers. It sounds a lot like our investigation of the quantum world. The questions you ask determine what you will find. View all 16 comments. In Beyond Weird, Philip Ball argues that we are undermining and oversimplifying quantum mechanics by calling it weird. Quantum mechanics is much more than that and it is a disservice to just use such a common and easy way to describe it, for want of better wording.
The problem is that we might not have the right words to describe quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics is famous for being ambiguous.
The act of measurement plays a central role in its interpretation. Why is quantum theory probabilistic? What about its lack of causality? And do quantum objects have real properties, just like the ones we see in our classical world, the so-called hidden variables of quantum mechanics, or is the measurement act just a way of getting more knowledge and does it present a limit to our knowledge, represented by the collapse of the wavefunction?
Is there some underlying meaning or must we just accept that quantum mechanics is different from any other scientific theory and stop questioning its reality?
These and many others were central themes in the arguments that Bohr, Einstein and other physicists had in the past and still have to this day. These two ways of looking at quantum theory represent the ontic and epistemic views, respectively, which remain a debate to this day among physicists. Philip Ball gives subtle hints of his stance on the meaning of quantum mechanics throughout the book. In the last chapters this subtlety slowly disappears, as his opinions get more fleshed out.
He seems to be a big fan of the role information its meaning in physics is described in the book could play in quantum theory and also in quantum computing. This a remarkable book about the foundations of quantum mechanics. Anyone from a physicist to a layperson should enjoy it. Philip Ball is a great science writer. Personally, I loved this book with its complete focus on science and would recommend it to anyone interested in knowing why quantum mechanics is indeed beyond weird.
View all 4 comments. Mar 15, Bradley rated it it was amazing Shelves: reality-bending , science , shelf , non-fiction. I always try to get alternate viewpoints from as many scientists as I can.
I also enjoy sorting out my understanding of quantum physics, searching for better stories, better analogies, and just It may not be as charming as some and I don't mind how it skimps on biographies and jumps right into the SCIENCE, but it does fall short in outright describing the math. That may be a good thing for some. Especially if you're not in the mood to crunch math. To b I always try to get alternate viewpoints from as many scientists as I can.
To be certain, this text goes beyond the everyday norm and focuses on the science. The ideas. The concerns. And it's all in the service of demystifying it all. Quantum Physics is one of those subjects that agrees on fundamental maths but invites wildly divergent theories that make a coherent STORY of our reality.
You know: Copenhagen don't go nuts on us, Everett multiple-worlds , String, and more. What we have in this book is not a biography of the physicists but an admirable attempt to make the famously weird thank you Feynman! I mean, we're human, and humans are most famous for turning all things truly fantastic into the stunningly banal.
Step by step, it demystifies the very small particles, removes the term spooky action, and naturalizes all things entangled. It gives time to the various big-action theories that align the quantum with the macro, and all of this is pretty good if not as good as some other books that cover these topics, but what this book does best is describe the current technology of quantum computers.
It doesn't shirk the shortcomings of our descriptions or the limitations of the process. This isn't a PR job by prospective companies trying to sell you a k computer.
Some developers are working on cheaper versions. What are they really good at? Factoring prime numbers. Thank goodness!
That's great for all you hackers out there! View all 6 comments. But it's getting closer -- and there's hope, says Philip Ball. Ball has written about as good a popular introduction to QM as anyone could, perhaps because he got his start as a chemist, as did I. And Ball's book has gotten many, many favorable reviews. So, why did it take me 5 months to finish this short book? Not exactly a gripping read! But every other pop-science explanation of QM I've tried to read has been worse. Some a LOT worse.
This is likely the best to date. It still has problems -- as the author freely admits. Citing something close to Rutherford's Rule, above. I particularly like Ball's observation that recapitulating the history of the discovery of QM, as is often done in physics classes, is misleading. And that "quanta" are more a symptom than a cause. Quanta were "the telltale clue and no more. I just came to "photosynthesis" in my notes, as a good example Ball and others cite as an example of QM effects in everyday life.
I wrote: Grass is green. Nature is grainy. Leave it at that. OK, that's a bit cryptic
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