Musing about quantum physics

I like #13 of Colleen's recent Thursday Thirteen:  "Why do you insist the universe is not a conscious intelligence, when it gives birth to conscious intelligences?" — Roman philosopher Cicero.

Cicero came up with that over 2,000 years ago.  But I'm musing about quantum physics because Colleen wrote in a comment below that post:  "I’m thinking of getting a Quantum Physics for Dummies book."

I had never thought of such a book, but I asked her:  "Is there a Quantum Physics for Dummies book, Colleen?  I want one, too."

Yes, indeed there is such a book!  Unfortunately, it costs $18.99.  Since my library doesn't have a copy, I decided to start with some simple books about quantum physics.  Yep, I'm starting at the baby level and moving "up" to the preschool level, but I really am interested in the subject.  (I took all the science and math subjects I could during high school, like biology and chemistry and physics.)  So here are my first two requests:

Baby Loves Quantum Physics! ~ by Ruth Spiro, illustrated by Irene Chan, 2017, children's picture book, 20 pages

Accurate enough to satisfy an expert, yet simple enough for baby, this clever board book engages readers in a game of hide-and-seek with Schrodinger's famous feline.**  Can cat be awake and asleep at the same time?  Age-appropriate language encourages baby's sense of wonder.  Adults may learn a thing or two, as well.  With tongue firmly in cheek, this book introduces highly intellectual science concepts to the littlest learners.

Do You Know Quantum Physics? ~ by Chris Ferrie, 2022, children's science, 32 pages

From general relativity to quantum physics, from astrophysics to rocket science and from robotics to climate change, this book will intrigue and teach young scientists a variety of subjects.

** In Schrödinger's original formulation, a cat, a flask of poison, and a radio-active source are placed in a sealed box.  If an internal monitor (e.g., a Geiger counter) detects radioactivity (i.e., a single atom decaying), the flask is shattered, releasing the poison, which kills the cat.  As illustrated, the objects are in a state of superposition:  the cat is both alive and dead. — Wikipedia

Reading makes me think

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz

hosts The Sunday Salon.

Exercising

"You are only as old as you feel, my dear." . . . "Then I must be a hundred years old."

I am pretty sure that I'm older than either of these characters from page 187 of Lilly Mirren's novel Home Sweet Home, but most days I don't really feel that I'm actually 83 years old.

When I sat down and picked up my Kindle to continue reading a few pages before that, I had just walked to the store and back in heat around 90° Fahrenheit.  I was feeling my age, but NOT feeling "a hundred years old."

In this heat, I would rather exercise inside than take long walks, so I found this chart I posted five years ago, HERE.  I think I will work on these flexibility and balance exercises, rather that taking my usual walks around the neighborhood.  I hope clicking on the chart will enlarge it for you.  HERE's another good chart.

Two more books I've found in moving

I know these two books (found together) were my friend Donna's books because she got Justice signed by the author.  She and I both studied that book, so I have a copy somewhere.

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? ~ by Michael J. Sandel, 2009, ethics, 320 pages

What are our obligations to others as people in a free society?  Should government tax the rich to help the poor?  Is the free market fair?  Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth?  Is killing sometimes morally required?  Is it possible, or desirable, to legislate morality?  Do individual rights and the common good conflict?  His "Justice" course is one of the most popular at Harvard.  See what I posted about it HERE.

Treasury of Joy and Enthusiasm ~ edited by Norman Vincent Peale, 1981, stories, 191 pages

The author says "joy" and "enthusiasm" can be cultivated to make your life better.  He shares insights and wisdom from such people as Helen Keller, Dale Evans Rogers, Thomas A. Edison, Art Linkletter, Charles Lindbergh, C. S. Lewis, Vince Lombardi, and Margaret Sanger.  I may read this book next, since I presented a paper on "Joy or Despair?" at the Southeastern Undergraduate Philosophy Conference at Emory University in the early 1970s, to counter the negativity of the existentialists.  If we choose what to do, as they claim, then why would anyone choose despair?

Caturday

Wait, what?!?  A cat in a vending machine?

No, no, no, Clawdia does NOT approve.

Beginning ~ 25 years ago

Beginning

The clock on the wall ticked, slowly counting down the seconds until Trina Cook regained her freedom.  With a sigh, she tore her gaze from the time-piece and focused instead on the English paper on the desk in front of her.  She had to get at least eighty percent this time if she wanted to keep her marks up high enough to get into university.

Home Sweet Home ~ by Lilly Mirren, 2020, fiction (Australia), 266 pages

Trina is starting over after a painful separation from her husband of almost twenty years.  Grief and loss force her to re-evaluate her life.  She returns to her hometown where she has to deal with all of the things she left behind, a hometown she hasn't visited since high school graduation.  When the police officer who lives next door comes knocking with questions about a tragedy from the past, Trina finds herself exploring the trauma of her childhood and facing the

pain and stigma she's run from for so long.  Trina must confront the ghosts of her past and a mystery that's haunted her adult life.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Thursday Thoughts

I got a couple of photos one minute apart the other day, that show how the sky seemed to open up and dump rain on us.  I laughed because I had just read these lines on page 168 of The Great Upending by Beth Kephart (2020, YA fiction, 288 pages, 9/10):

"I think it will rain."

"I thought the skies had forgotten how."

"I don't think the skies think," I say.

"Wish I didn't have to think," he says.

I had to laugh at such a coincidence.  I love Beth Kephart's writing!

Word of the Day

co·in·ci·dence / noun = 1.  a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection.  2.  correspondence in nature or in time of occurrence.  Example:  "By coincidence, a heavy rain started shortly after I read those words."

I'm game ~ are you?

Have you ever played Bananagrams?  My friend Sharon texted me a photo, saying, "This is what happens when I have no internet and I'm bored."  I texted back:  "Words and more words."  It looked familiar and rather like Scrabble, so I texted back to her:  "Bananagrams?"  Her:  "Do you want to play?"  Me:  "I don't know the rules."  She assured me, "It's easy."  With nary a pause, I replied, "Shall we try?"  So ....... we ended up downstairs in our new community room with her Bananagrams bag, and she started teaching me.  I won't go through all the details, but Sharon began by saying there are four words to know:

1. SPLIT ~ begin by turning over all tiles
2. PEEL ~ pick one tile
3. DUMP ~ return one tile, and take three
4. BANANAS ~ end of game

Uh, I guess you'll have to take a look at the actual game to learn all about those words, but the winner of the game becomes the TOP BANANA.

Word of the Day

nar·y / adjective (informal, dialect) = nonstandard form of not.  Example:  "With nary a pause, I got up and went to play Bananagrams!"

As we neared the end of our first game, Alyssa came along while walking her dog, and we invited her to join us.  She didn't know how to play, either, but took her dog home and came back to join us.  Sharon was just as patient as she taught her the game, too.  After several games, we called it a night, with Sharon wondering how long we'd been playing.  I said, "I can tell you."  I grabbed my phone, checked the time we had texted earlier, and that's when we realized our total playing time had been nearly three hours!  WOW!!

This was what my friend Donna came up with back in 2020.  I blogged about it HERE.  You can click to enlarge the photo.

Two books about places

Nowhere Is a Place ~ by Bernice L. McFadden, 2006, fiction, 316 pages

Nothing can mend a broken heart quite like family.  Sherry has struggled all her life to understand who she is, where she comes from, and, most important, why her mother slapped her cheek one summer afternoon.  The incident has haunted Sherry, and it causes her to dig into her family's past.  Like many family histories, it is fractured and stubbornly reluctant to reveal its secrets; but Sherry is determined to know the full story.  In just a few days' time, her extended family will gather for a reunion, and Sherry sets off across the country with her mother, Dumpling, to join them.  What Sherry and Dumpling find on their trip is the assorted pieces of their family's past.  When pulled together, they reveal a history of survival and joy.

"Bernice L. McFadden’s Nowhere Is a Place is a hauntingly-disturbing and redemptive frame story of many generations of a Yamasee Native-American and African-American family from pre-slavery times until July 1995." — Bowling Green Daily News

Tennessee (8th edition) ~ by Margaret Littman, 2019, travel guide, 560 pages

Tennessee is the birthplace of the blues, the cradle of country music, and the home of the Smokies.  This travel guide is designed for history buffs, families, music lovers, and outdoor adventurers.  It has full-color photos and detailed maps so you can experience the best of the state.

I picked up these TWO books from our library here at the Crown Center, and today is TWOsday.