The Quantum Theory of Fields: Volume II: Modern Applications by Steven Weinberg. Paperback book published by Cambridge University Press 2005, 489 pages.
This book is not about farming… in other words, no green pastures with bunny rabbits running around them. It’s about physics… at least I think it is… and the last time I checked there were very few rabbits associated with physics. Other forms of science are often associated with rabbits, but not physics (I’m happy to admit I have no clue at all regarding the use of rabbits in physics… I am making a wild and crazy assumption here and I’m happy to be corrected). I tend to pick up a book like this as it looks like it’s important. Yeah I know, that’s a bit of a dumb thing to write, but it can’t be as dumb as my opening line in this blog entry. I’m not a scientist (you may have guessed this) and I certainly don’t have any idea at all, about anything to do with the Quantum Theory of Fields… but this book has an aura of importance about it and therefore it must be good… Isn’t it?
The fact that I’m a bit of an ignoramus re the subject is not really that important. What is important is that the author knows what’s going on. Me, I just find the book and then try to sell it. There is that magic moment when I pick up a book like this one and make the decision about whether the author does know what they’re talking about or not. And how do I know? This is a tricky question and I don’t really have an answer. What I can say is that it’s not Voodoo and it’s not a booksellers sixth sense. Experience and a vague general knowledge of a wide variety of subjects, are probably, the most useful tools in choosing these magic books of interest, particularly regarding The Quantum Theory of Fields.
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