The Black Hole War

May 19, 2008
Bets made over a beer between scientists rarely make the headlines, but in 2004 Stephen Hawking conceded that he'd lost a bet and that a view he had held for 30 years was wrong. According to Stanford physicist Susskind (The Cosmic Landscape
), one of the leaders of the anti-Hawking camp, the argument was a simple one: if information falls into a black hole, is it lost forever? Hawking's theory that information is destroyed undermined everything scientists thought they knew about quantum physics. Susskind gives readers a course in black holes, quantum physics and string theory as he explains his belief that information cannot be destroyed. Along the way he introduces bizarre theories like the Holographic Principle (which he helped develop), claiming that the third dimension is an illusion and that energy and matter are just forms of information. Susskind also profiles two hot-shot South American physicists who helped deliver the coup de grace to Hawking's argument. Black hole and Hawking fans should go for this book, even if the great physicist was wrong. B&w illus.

June 15, 2008
Beyond the flamboyant title and subtitle, this book presents an interesting view of today's physics as it moves into ever more abstract areas. Writing for the general public, Susskind ("The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design"), a distinguished Stanford University theorist, uses a relaxed and often humorous style of presentation. He is candid in admitting that string theory, which is at the heart of the newest physics, lacks experimental proof. Nevertheless, string theory and other approaches have succeeded in convincing nearly everybody that information is "not" lost via black hole radiation. The author's informal style certainly makes his book more digestible for nonspecialists, but at times he wanders so far afield that the discussion thread is lost. Tighter editing could have made the book shorter and more understandable. Recommended for college and large public libraries.Jack W. Weigel, Ann Arbor, MI

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