Tony Rothman

Doubt and Certainty is a book on science--physics, mostly--and philosophy by two academic physicists: Tony Rothman and George Sudarshan. The back cover credits Sudarshan with discovering the first theory of the weak nuclear force; Rothman also appears to be an active researcher. The book is a whimsical report of an imaginary gathering in which some of history's greatest thinkers (along with some lesser lights) meet to argue about time, entropy, creation, matter, cosmology, mathematics, etc. show more As a non- specialist in most of these areas, I found the descriptions of the scientific thought to be fascinating. As one who feels that the scientific community often gets too big for its britches, I took guilty pleasure in the candid portrayal of the disagreements that have existed and continue to exist among scientists on seemingly basic questions.

I dock this book one star because, after a while, the lighthearted nature of the writing begins to grate a little. show less

Perhaps it is my interest and background on the periphery of physics, but I personally think Rothman's use of analogy, while intended to make the subject easier, actually disguises some of the glory of this fascinating subject. That said, he does a masterful job in dealing with an entire library of subject matter in a mere 242 pages (including an excellent, thorough Index).

Another simple layman's books explaining the basic concepts of modern and classical physics. The use of analogy replaces most of the math that would be above the average layperson's level.

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