David Bohm and Basil Hiley

The undivided universe

Those of you who have an interest in quantum mechanics will know that there are several different interpretations of the subject. 'The undivided universe' deals with one of those interpretations, Bohm's ontological interpretation. If you have read some of Bohm's popular accounts then you might have felt that his ideas were a bit 'wooly'. This book shows that, on the contrary they are precisely thought out - indeed I would say they are better thought out than many of the other interpretations. The book uses undergraduate level mathematics and a previous knowledge of 'orthodox' quantum theory would be useful, but no specific prior knowledge of the subject is required.

The authors show how their interpretation can be used to deal with the quantum measurement problem and the emergence of a classical limit. They also demonstrate how it can be extended to encompass quantum field theory. Their interpretation is non-local, but they show how relativistic invariance can be derived on the macroscopic scale.

The book looks at other interpretations of quantum theory, including the Copenhagen and Many-Worlds interpretations. If you are interested in the different interpretations then this book would be a good place to get a firm grounding of what they say and what their problems are.

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Paperback 412 pages
ISBN: 041512185X
Salesrank: 235576
Weight:1.25 lbs

Published: 1995 Routledge

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Paperback 412 pages
ISBN: 041512185X
Salesrank: 67760
Weight:1.25 lbs

Published: 1995 Routledge

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Paperback 412 pages
ISBN: 041512185X
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Published: 1995 Routledge

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Product Description
In the The Undivided Universe, David Bohn and Basil Hiley present a radically different approach to quantum theory. They develop an interpretation of quantum mechanics which gives a clear, intuitive understanding of its meaning and in which there is a coherent notion of the reality of the universe without assuming a fundamental role for the human observer. With the aid of new concepts such as active information together with non-locality, they provide a comprehensive account of all the basic features of quantum mechanics, including the relativistic domain and quantum field theory. It is shown that, with the new approach, paradoxical or unsatisfactory features associated with the standard approaches, such as the wave-particle duality and the collapse of the wave function, do not arise. Finally, the authors make new suggestions and indicate some areas in which one may expect quantum theory to break down in a way that will allow for a test. *The Undivided Universe* is an important book especially because it provides a different overall world view which is neither mechanistic nor reductionist. This view will ultimately have radical implications not only in physics but also in our general approach to all areas of life.

Product Description

In the The Undivided Universe, David Bohn and Basil Hiley present a radically different approach to quantum theory. They develop an interpretation of quantum mechanics which gives a clear, intuitive understanding of its meaning and in which there is a coherent notion of the reality of the universe without assuming a fundamental role for the human observer.

With the aid of new concepts such as active information together with non-locality, they provide a comprehensive account of all the basic features of quantum mechanics, including the relativistic domain and quantum field theory.

It is shown that, with the new approach, paradoxical or unsatisfactory features associated with the standard approaches, such as the wave-particle duality and the collapse of the wave function, do not arise. Finally, the authors make new suggestions and indicate some areas in which one may expect quantum theory to break down in a way that will allow for a test.

The Undivided Universe is an important book especially because it provides a different overall world view which is neither mechanistic nor reductionist. This view will ultimately have radical implications not only in physics but also in our general approach to all areas of life.

Intellectually stimulating, opens up a can of worms of QM problems *****
Bohm is one of the few genius' who didn't get much recongnition in his lifetime. Had it not been MacCarthy's persecution he would have been a distinguished professor at Princeton and made more impact in Modern Physics. His genius shows in his radically different interpretation of QM. When you read the first few chapters of his book, it gives you this "eureka" feeling and chill thru your spine. While they say currently there is no way to prove or disprove his theory as it gives the same result as Copenhagen, but I truely believe a correct theory will give insights into other fields and advance further the whole science/ civilization. Only time will tell.

Intellectually stimulating, opens up a can of worms of QM problems *****

Bohm is one of the few genius' who didn't get much recongnition in his lifetime. Had it not been MacCarthy's persecution he would have been a distinguished professor at Princeton and made more impact in Modern Physics.

His genius shows in his radically different interpretation of QM. When you read the first few chapters of his book, it gives you this "eureka" feeling and chill thru your spine. While they say currently there is no way to prove or disprove his theory as it gives the same result as Copenhagen, but I truely believe a correct theory will give insights into other fields and advance further the whole science/ civilization. Only time will tell.

Hopefully others will continue in his vein. ****
In this book, David Bohm's (probably) last major work before his death, Bohm and Hiley outline in some detail Bohm's original work on the "quantum potential" which he developed from de Broglie's earlier attempts some years ago. This book brings together Bohm and Hiley's work dealing with the quantum potential approach for varied quantum phenomena such as photon absorption, photon emission, the measurement problem in quantum physics and so on. Throughout it is wise to remind oneself of Bohm's comment on this approach when he stated that it is only one possible exploration of an idea and not meant as a final theory by any means. Bohm points out repeatedly that in order to develop the quantum theory further it needs new concepts/philosophy to delve into deeper aspects of reality. If these thoughts are not kept in mind then one gets the distinct feeling that there is something incomplete in the work as it stands. Bohm's attempts at another approach are made through his ideas of the holomovement or implicate order which, although nebulous, is explored in its principals at least as in much of Bohm's other works. I don't believe, like other reviewers have stated, that these ideas are vacuuous. New ideas are absoltely necessary in contemporary physics where the pure mathematical developments of string theory feel empty of real depth. Although speculative, at least Bohm's ideas sound physical and have a physical underpinning as those of Schroedinger, Heisenberg and Bohr in the early 20th century. The difference is that these other great physicists had some experimental work to guide them, Bohm does not, or very little. His ideas rely on the ability of experiments to probe deeper levels of reality between what is possible now say 10^-15 m and 10^-35 m, the Planck length. There exists a huge range of orders of magnitude to explore. I believe in fact the last couple of chapters of the book are the really interesting bits which contain such deeper explorations. It is unfortunate Bohm died early and it is hopefull that Hiley et al will continue his great work with the same radical enthusiasm and not be unconsciously hamstrung by the current mechanistic paradigm.

Hopefully others will continue in his vein. ****

In this book, David Bohm's (probably) last major work before his death, Bohm and Hiley outline in some detail Bohm's original work on the "quantum potential" which he developed from de Broglie's earlier attempts some years ago. This book brings together Bohm and Hiley's work dealing with the quantum potential approach for varied quantum phenomena such as photon absorption, photon emission, the measurement problem in quantum physics and so on. Throughout it is wise to remind oneself of Bohm's comment on this approach when he stated that it is only one possible exploration of an idea and not meant as a final theory by any means. Bohm points out repeatedly that in order to develop the quantum theory further it needs new concepts/philosophy to delve into deeper aspects of reality. If these thoughts are not kept in mind then one gets the distinct feeling that there is something incomplete in the work as it stands. Bohm's attempts at another approach are made through his ideas of the holomovement or implicate order which, although nebulous, is explored in its principals at least as in much of Bohm's other works.

I don't believe, like other reviewers have stated, that these ideas are vacuuous. New ideas are absoltely necessary in contemporary physics where the pure mathematical developments of string theory feel empty of real depth. Although speculative, at least Bohm's ideas sound physical and have a physical underpinning as those of Schroedinger, Heisenberg and Bohr in the early 20th century. The difference is that these other great physicists had some experimental work to guide them, Bohm does not, or very little. His ideas rely on the ability of experiments to probe deeper levels of reality between what is possible now say 10^-15 m and 10^-35 m, the Planck length. There exists a huge range of orders of magnitude to explore. I believe in fact the last couple of chapters of the book are the really interesting bits which contain such deeper explorations.

It is unfortunate Bohm died early and it is hopefull that Hiley et al will continue his great work with the same radical enthusiasm and not be unconsciously hamstrung by the current mechanistic paradigm.

Two Parts Inspiration, One Part Speculation ****
Bohm and Hiley convincingly argue that something is very wrong with the way most physicists are taught to think about quantum mechanics. The Copenhagen interpretation is shown to be just one of many, and not a very good one at that. Bohm's causal interpretation provides a physical picture of what's actually going on in a variety of quantum systems. This book ought to be required reading for physics students. Unfortunately, the book undermines its own credibility with an amazingly high level of speculative claptrap concerning the physics of consciousness, the possibility that the internal structure of an electron may be as complicated as a radio, and other nonsense. If you take the time to separate the wheat from the chaff, your efforts will be rewarded with the most reasonable interpretation of QM to date. But be careful where you step.

Two Parts Inspiration, One Part Speculation ****

Bohm and Hiley convincingly argue that something is very wrong with the way most physicists are taught to think about quantum mechanics. The Copenhagen interpretation is shown to be just one of many, and not a very good one at that. Bohm's causal interpretation provides a physical picture of what's actually going on in a variety of quantum systems. This book ought to be required reading for physics students.

Unfortunately, the book undermines its own credibility with an amazingly high level of speculative claptrap concerning the physics of consciousness, the possibility that the internal structure of an electron may be as complicated as a radio, and other nonsense. If you take the time to separate the wheat from the chaff, your efforts will be rewarded with the most reasonable interpretation of QM to date. But be careful where you step.

An alternative to the Copenhagen Interpretation *****
The authors present a different interpretation of quantum mechanics to the orthodox Copenhagen intepretation. For the serious student of quantum mechanics interested in looking at the field from a fresh perspective, Bohm and Hiley's interpretation is very interesting. Bohm is one of the great physicists of the 20th century who understood quantum mechanics as well as anyone. His 1951 textbook on the subject is a classic. Interestingly, he presented the Copenhagen intepretation in this textbook, but a few years later published articles on his ontological or hidden variable interpretation which is the presented in "The Undivided Universe." A cautionary note is this book is not for the lay person.

An alternative to the Copenhagen Interpretation *****

The authors present a different interpretation of quantum mechanics to the orthodox Copenhagen intepretation. For the serious student of quantum mechanics interested in looking at the field from a fresh perspective, Bohm and Hiley's interpretation is very interesting. Bohm is one of the great physicists of the 20th century who understood quantum mechanics as well as anyone. His 1951 textbook on the subject is a classic. Interestingly, he presented the Copenhagen intepretation in this textbook, but a few years later published articles on his ontological or hidden variable interpretation which is the presented in "The Undivided Universe." A cautionary note is this book is not for the lay person.

SCIENTIFIC JARGON PAR EXCELLENCE ***
It seems that the undivided universe is very much divided. These theory- of-cosmology-books by many a would-be-Einstein started back in 1980 with David Fiske's A THEORY OF COSMOLOGY (Vantage; out of print). Twenty years later there are a hundred of them selling like hotcakes. B&H read about thirty of them and decided to throw their quantum hat into the ring here. What results is a round-robin of physicists writing about physicists in a never ending circle of speculation parading as hypothesis. It is a bit like the Rose Bowl Parade-- the discussion centers around whose float (hypothesis) is more/less speculative, non-provable by experiment, metaphysical, ontological, unverifiable, ambiguous, and complicated. The poor reader is presumed to be a moth trying to get to the candle light through the glass bulb of theory to reach an unvisualizable reality within. The key question B&H posit is: can the theory, whether positing many worlds, many minds, sum of histories or holomovement, contain all of reality within a Hilbert Space equation. Whether the barrel will hold all the apples and still allow the lid to close? Here a word about the authors equations -- math is a shorthand, the simpler the more elegant. Their equations need so much explanation that no simplicity or elegance is achieved. Also the jargon: implicate order, pre-space, quasi-classical world, and decohering histories all need huge sections to explain. I would say most readers are left floating in a sea of abstraction. I found the implicate theory egocentric, a return to pre-Copernican days, when I read the speculation on page 389: `....through the human being, the universe is making a mirror to observe itself.' The Sci-fi writer, Philip Dick, wrote in 1978 that our reality "appears to be a projection by an artifact. ... The artifact, which I call Zebra, has created (actually only projected) our reality as a sort of mirror or image of its maker, so that the maker can obtain thereby an objective standpoint to comprehend its own self." Frankly I found the Sci-fi writer's version of cosmology far more clarifying and understandable than I did the physicists. Frankly I think the authors, B&H, wandered outside of their own sandbox.

SCIENTIFIC JARGON PAR EXCELLENCE ***

It seems that the undivided universe is very much divided. These theory- of-cosmology-books by many a would-be-Einstein started back in 1980 with David Fiske's A THEORY OF COSMOLOGY (Vantage; out of print). Twenty years later there are a hundred of them selling like hotcakes. B&H read about thirty of them and decided to throw their quantum hat into the ring here. What results is a round-robin of physicists writing about physicists in a never ending circle of speculation parading as hypothesis. It is a bit like the Rose Bowl Parade-- the discussion centers around whose float (hypothesis) is more/less speculative, non-provable by experiment, metaphysical, ontological, unverifiable, ambiguous, and complicated. The poor reader is presumed to be a moth trying to get to the candle light through the glass bulb of theory to reach an unvisualizable reality within. The key question B&H posit is: can the theory, whether positing many worlds, many minds, sum of histories or holomovement, contain all of reality within a Hilbert Space equation. Whether the barrel will hold all the apples and still allow the lid to close? Here a word about the authors equations -- math is a shorthand, the simpler the more elegant. Their equations need so much explanation that no simplicity or elegance is achieved. Also the jargon: implicate order, pre-space, quasi-classical world, and decohering histories all need huge sections to explain. I would say most readers are left floating in a sea of abstraction. I found the implicate theory egocentric, a return to pre-Copernican days, when I read the speculation on page 389: `....through the human being, the universe is making a mirror to observe itself.' The Sci-fi writer, Philip Dick, wrote in 1978 that our reality "appears to be a projection by an artifact. ... The artifact, which I call Zebra, has created (actually only projected) our reality as a sort of mirror or image of its maker, so that the maker can obtain thereby an objective standpoint to comprehend its own self." Frankly I found the Sci-fi writer's version of cosmology far more clarifying and understandable than I did the physicists. Frankly I think the authors, B&H, wandered outside of their own sandbox.

This book takes you beyond hilbert space *****
This book is a work of art, on several levels.1.the book starts with explain quantum effects in a physical way with the Quantum potentail 2.it then goes beyond quantum theory,and trys to explain that Bohm approach is NOT mechanical as so many people have thought. the other levels you will have to discover your self!

This book takes you beyond hilbert space *****

This book is a work of art, on several levels.1.the book starts with explain quantum effects in a physical way with the Quantum potentail 2.it then goes beyond quantum theory,and trys to explain that Bohm approach is NOT mechanical as so many people have thought. the other levels you will have to discover your self!

A truly interesting alternative approach to Quantum Theory *****
This book lays a foundation for a completely different understanding of Quantum Theory. Utilizing this interpretation one finds that many of the "difficulties" that plague the standard theories never arise. This interpretation also leads to a more thorough understanding of the mechanisms that underlie Quantum Information Exchange and Quantum Teleportation. While these topics are not specifically discussed, the foundations are there. A must read for any serious Quantum Theorist or interested party.

A truly interesting alternative approach to Quantum Theory *****

This book lays a foundation for a completely different understanding of Quantum Theory. Utilizing this interpretation one finds that many of the "difficulties" that plague the standard theories never arise. This interpretation also leads to a more thorough understanding of the mechanisms that underlie Quantum Information Exchange and Quantum Teleportation. While these topics are not specifically discussed, the foundations are there. A must read for any serious Quantum Theorist or interested party.