Overview

Today, quantum information theory is among the most exciting scientific frontiers, attracting billions of dollars in funding and thousands of talented researchers. But as MIT physicist and historian David Kaiser reveals, this cutting-edge field has a surprisingly psychedelic past. How the Hippies Saved Physics introduces us to a band of freewheeling physicists who defied the imperative to ""shut up and calculate"" and helped to rejuvenate modern physics. For physicists, the 1970s were a time of stagnation. Jobs became scarce, and conformity was encouraged, sometimes stifling exploration of the mysteries of the physical world. Dissatisfied, underemployed, and eternally curious, an eccentric group of physicists in Berkeley, California, banded together to throw off the constraints of the physics mainstream and explore the wilder side of science. Dubbing themselves the ""Fundamental Fysiks Group,"" they pursued an audacious, speculative approach to physics. They studied quantum entanglement and Bell's Theorem through the lens of Eastern mysticism and psychic mind-reading, discussing the latest research while lounging in hot tubs. Some even dabbled with LSD to enhance their creativity. Unlikely as it may seem, these iconoclasts spun modern physics in a new direction, forcing mainstream physicists to pay attention to the strange but exciting underpinnings of quantum theory. A lively, entertaining story that illuminates the relationship between creativity and scientific progress, How the Hippies Saved Physics takes us to a time when only the unlikeliest heroes could break the science world out of its rut.

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Reviews

...likeable history of an idiosyncratic recent period in science... Independent on Sunday ...Kaiser highlights the group's key role in keeping some major research themes alive. BBC Focus This is an enjoyable read, with an engaging cast of characters... Literary Review ...fascinating journey through some of the more unusual footnotes in the annals of quantum physics...a book brimming with colourful and curious characters... Times Literary Supplement It is hard to write a book about quantum mechanics that is at once intellectually serious and a page-turner. But David Kaiser succeeds...Illuminating. Nature It's rare to find quantum physics mentioned in the same breath with sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll...I heartily enjoyed How the Hippies Saved Physics. The Wall Street Journal Proof that science is at its most interesting when it is at its weirdest. Herald Magazine

It 's rare to find quantum physics mentioned in the same breath with sex, drugs and rock n roll. . . . I heartily enjoyed How the Hippies Saved Physics.

An entertaining tale. -- Philadelphia Inquirer [Kaiser] does an admirable job of making the very concepts of quantum mechanics palpable. -- Christian Science Monitor It is hard to write a book about quantum mechanics that is at once intellectually serious and a page-turner. But David Kaiser succeeds. . . . Illuminating. -- Nature It's rare to find quantum physics mentioned in the same breath with sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. . . . I heartily enjoyed How the Hippies Saved Physics. -- Wall Street Journal

Author Information

David Kaiser is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he teaches in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society and the Department of Physics. He lives near Boston.

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