3 out of 4 stars
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Love This Beautiful Musical Mathematical Universe by Lena Rabi Capapas, M.D. takes readers on a tour into the world of science. This book retraces the roots of physics, including quantum physics, and the people who worked earnestly to reveal the intricate elements that are beyond human sight and hearing. Talk of atoms, quarks, electrons, and holograms fill the pages, and names such as Einstein, Tesla, Bohr, Hubble, and Hertz are dropped as the author presents how advancements in the field were established, experiments tested, and how heated arguments ensued when a new idea challenged a long-held scientific belief. Throughout history, what seemed like a solid piece of evidence could suddenly be dismantled by a technological advance. This continues to happen today as fresh eyes study past findings but utilize the latest tools.
Not so fortunate have been the ones who discovered what others deemed as odd and were ridiculed for their work. For example, the author tells the story of Cleve Backster who was a lie detector expert. He connected electrodes to a plant to see if he could measure activity much similar to when humans are hooked up to a lie detector machine. Trying to get a response, he dipped a leaf from the plant into hot water. When nothing happened, he considered setting the leaf on fire. Upon having this thought, the needles on the machine started to jump indicating that the plant had read his thoughts. As can be imagined, he was dismissed as a nut, and his work was ignored. However, when people found out about his work, they started talking to their plants to increase growth.
What I liked most about this book was the explanation in chapter eleven about entanglement. I have read about this subject before, but the way the author described it made it sound even more exciting. The premise is that "any objects that have ever interacted are forever entangled." In essence, whatever happens to one will influence the other even if they are separated. This is where my epiphany came as I realized how this scientific work greatly supports the belief that we are all connected. This section of writing took the reading material from the laboratory to a personal level. If this concept is true, then it gives one pause to think about human interaction and relationships even if we are not in close physical proximity. It gives credence to the idea of long-distance prayer, sending positive thoughts to someone who needs encouragement and becoming a contributor to the well being of others. The power from this alone could change our society and make the statement "do unto others as you would have done unto you" come alive.
This is not light reading. When I selected this to review, I was under the impression after previewing the sample pages it was going to have some scientific facts sprinkled in to support the idea of frequencies and the effect they have on us. I regularly listen to music that incorporates certain beats or tones to foster peace and to elevate mood, so I am a bit familiar with this type of work and have experienced the effects of it. I was not prepared for the massive citing of all the historical pieces of evidence relating to physics. It took me quite a few chapters to warm up to the writing as it is heavy with one person's findings after another. This is not for the casual reader who likes a general knowledge of a subject. This is for people who enjoy vast amounts of detail, terminology, and scientific studies. It does contain information about frequencies and resonance, but it is an in-depth look with a textbook like quality.
For me, this was the part of the book I did not like because it felt like information overload. I found myself becoming fatigued reading about multiple individuals and what they had discovered. While I was able to understand the importance of how scientists build on the work of those who came before them, it got to be too much after awhile. I did learn a lot, and it wasn't all bad, but I felt it could have been a more enjoyable reading experience with a mixture of facts and the author's viewpoints. This comes later, but not soon enough, in my opinion.
Not only is this weighed down with facts, but it also needs improvement with formatting. I quickly noted way too much space between words right from the start, and this continued throughout the book. I also found a few errors in spelling. Because of the need for proper editing, I am awarding this a 3 out of 4 stars. And while it could be written in a more abbreviated way, that is just my preference. Some may find the information appealing, so I will not deduct a star for that.
In closing, the author has put a tremendous amount of time and work into this as evidenced by the twenty-five-page bibliography as well as an extensive index. All of this has been done with the intention to make readers aware of how much we are living in a world that is unseen to us, but we have the ability to make use of it for the good of humanity.
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Love This Beautiful Musical Mathematical Universe
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